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Dawson Film Find facts for kids

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The Dawson Film Find was an amazing discovery of old movies and newsreels. In 1978, workers in Dawson City, Canada, accidentally found 533 reels of film. These films were made from a special material called nitrate film. They had been buried under an old hockey rink since 1929. The ground in Dawson City is very cold, with permafrost (permanently frozen ground). This permafrost helped keep the films safe and preserved them for many years.

This discovery was very important because many of these films were thought to be lost films. This means they were the only copies left in the world! A 2016 movie called Dawson City: Frozen Time tells the story of how these films were found and saved.

What Was Found?

The 533 film reels were made between 1903 and 1929. They were found under an old hockey rink. Among them were movies starring famous actors from the early days of cinema, like Pearl White, Helen Holmes, Grace Cunard, Lois Weber, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, and Lon Chaney. Besides feature films, the find also included rare videos of important historical events, such as the 1919 World Series baseball games.

The History of the Buried Films

Back in 1903, the Dawson Amateur Athletic Association (DAAA) started showing movies in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. When they were done with the films, they stored them in the local Canadian Bank of Commerce. Later, the films were moved to the basement of the local Carnegie Library.

In 1929, the DAAA had a problem with their ice rink. It was built over an old swimming pool, and the ice wasn't freezing evenly. Clifford Thomson, who worked at the bank and was also the treasurer for the hockey team, had an idea. He decided to use the old films to fix the rink. He took about 500,000 feet of film and stacked the reels in the old swimming pool. Then, he covered them with boards and added a layer of earth to make the rink flat.

The DAAA kept getting new nitrate films. Sadly, nitrate film is very flammable. In 1951, a fire destroyed the entire complex. But the films buried under the ice rink were safe! The permafrost kept them frozen and protected. They stayed hidden until 1978, when workers were building a new recreation center and found them by accident.

Why Were These Films Important?

The films from the Dawson Film Find were very special. Many of them were the last known copies of movies from early film studios. Because nitrate film is dangerous and can easily catch fire, the films had to be moved carefully. They were transported by military planes to Library and Archives Canada and the U.S. Library of Congress. There, experts worked to transfer the old films onto safer, modern film called safety film. This way, these precious pieces of history could be saved and watched by future generations.

List of Films Found

Not all the films found were complete. Some were too damaged to be fully restored.

  • The Office Boy's Birthday (1904)
  • A Trip through Palestine (1907)
  • Elephant Racing at Perak (1907)
  • Pasquali and Co (1909)
  • Professor Puddenhead's Patents: The Electric Enlager (1909)
  • The Girl of the Northern Woods (1910), Thanhouser
  • The Crippled Teddy Bear (1910), Independent Moving Pictures
  • The Girl of the Northern Woods (1910)
  • Unexpected Help (1910)
  • Bluebird - The Boy Girl (1910)
  • The Rosary (1910)
  • His Sick Friend (1910)
  • Birth of Flowers (1911)
  • The Taming of the Shrew (1911)
  • Vindicated (1911)
  • Little Old New York (1911)
  • The New Woman and The Lion (1912)
  • Bobby's Dream (1912)
  • For the Papoose (1912)
  • Circumstantial Evidence (1912), William Selig, Selig Polyscope Company
  • A Christmas Accident (1912)
  • Out of the Deep End (1912)
  • The Martyrs (1912)
  • His Madonna (1912)
  • This Girls of Grassville (1912)
  • The Frog (1912)
  • A Windy Day (1912)
  • The Debt (1912)
  • Out of the Deep (1912)
  • The Heat Wave (1912)
  • The Golden Curl (1912)
  • For Professional Services (1912)
  • The Hand of Destiny (1912)
  • Giuseppe’s Good Fortune (1912)
  • Circumstantial Evidence (1912)
  • A Winter's visit to Central Park, New York City (1912)
  • The Butler and the Maid (1912), Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
  • The Mystery of the Glass Coffin (1912), Émile Chautard
  • Brutality (1912), D.W. Griffith, Biograph Company
  • Casey's Vendetta (1912), Edward Dillon, Komic Film Company
  • The $2,500 Bride (1912)
  • The Sphinx, or Mrs. Carter's Necklace (1912)
  • Pansy, the Story of a Bear (1912)
  • Bread Upon the Waters (1912)
  • The Lake Geneva Camp of the YMCA (1912)
  • The Angel of The Desert (1912), Rollin S. Sturgeon, Grace A. Pierce, Vitagraph Company Of America
  • Draga, the Gypsy (1913), Rex Motion Picture Company
  • Until We Three Meet Again (1913?), Lubin Film
  • What Is the Use of Repining (1913)
  • The Pit and The Pendulum (1913)
  • Balaoo (1913), Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset, Société Française des Films Éclair
  • Fatty's Day Off (1913)
  • Hello Central, Give Me Heaven (1913)
  • A Mix-Up In Pedigrees (1913)
  • The Rose of San Juan (1913)
  • The Pajama Parade (1913)
  • The Fifth String (1913)
  • The Guiding Light (1913)
  • The Wedding Gown (1913)
  • The Star (1913)
  • Leo the Indian (1913)
  • Up and Down the Ladder (1913)
  • Sketches from Life (1913)
  • Rastus and the Game-Cock (1913)
  • Pure Gold and Dross (1913), Keystone Film Company
  • Protecting San Francisco from Fire (1913)
  • Pathé's Weekly #17 (1914)
  • Daybreak (1914), Reliance Entertainment
  • White Dove's Sacrifice (1914)
  • Love Finds a Way (1914)
  • Frou-Frou (1914)
  • Slippery Slim, the Mortgage, and Sophie (1914)
  • The Master Hand (1914)
  • The Tie that Binds (1914)
  • The New Roads Mascot (1914)
  • Sweeney's Christmas Bird (1914)
  • Environment (1914)
  • The Boss of the 8th (1914)
  • The Housebreakers (1914)
  • You Can't Beat Them (1914)
  • His Responsibility (1914)
  • Mildred's Doll (1914)
  • The Servant Girl's Legacy (1914)
  • For Her Father's Sins (1914), John B. O'Brien, Anita Loos, Majestic Motion Picture Company
  • A Double Error (1914), Theodore Marston
  • The Demon of the Rails (1914), J. P. McGowan, Edward W Matlack, Kalem Company
  • Lucille Love, the Girl of Mystery (1914), Francis Ford, Grace Cunard, Otis Turner, Universal Film Manufacturing Studios, Gold Seal Films
  • The Fable of the Household Comedian (1914?), George Ade, Essanay Studios
  • The Fable of Why Essie's Friend Got the Fresh Air (1914?)
  • The Fable of the Prevailing Craze (1914?)
  • Wildfire (1915)
  • The Scandal Mongers (1915)
  • The Bludgeon (1915)
  • The Price (1915)
  • Her Shattered Idol (1915)
  • The Shulamite (1915), George Loane Tucker, Kenelm Foss, Jury's Imperial Pictures
  • The Heart of Jabez Flint (1915)
  • The Hazards of Helen: Escape of the Fast Freight (1915)
  • Tools of Providence (1915)
  • The Quest (1915)
  • No Soup (1915)
  • The Unpardonable Sin (1915), Shubert Film Corperation
  • The Patriot and the Spy (1915)
  • The Lure of a Woman (1915)
  • The Mysterious Lady Baffles and Detective Duck: Episode 1, The Great Egg Robbery (1915), Allen Curtis, Clarence Badger
  • Fun Amongst the Pharaohs, As Seen by Homer Croy (1915)
  • The Dancer's Ruse (1915), Biograph Company
  • Ambrose's Lofty Perch (1915), Mack Sennett
  • The Child Needs a Mother (1915), L-KO Kompany
  • The Salamander, Part Five (1915), B.S. Moss Motion Picture Corporation
  • The Burglar's Baby (1915), Domino Motion Picture Corporation
  • With the U.S. Army at San Francisco (1915?)
  • The Half-Breed (1916), Allan Dwan, Triangle
  • The End of the Rainbow (1916)
  • The Crimson Stain Mystery [Assorted Episodes] (1916)
  • The Rail Rider (1916)
  • The Mysterious Mrs. M (1916)
  • Love Aflame (1917)
  • The Madcap (1916)
  • Diplomacy (1916)
  • The Whirlpool of Destiny (1916)
  • Threads of Fate (1916)
  • The Place Beyond the Winds (1916)
  • Love and Brass Buttons (1916)
  • The Female of the Species (1916), Raymond B. West, Monte Katterjohn, New York Motion Picture Company
  • The Hidden Scar (1916)
  • Her Soul's Inspiration (1916), Maie B. Havey, Bluebird Photoplays
  • Gloriana [sic] (1916)
  • Temperance Town (1916)
  • The Purple Mask (1916)
  • The Seekers (1916)
  • The Unattainable (1916)
  • Pearl of the Army (1916)
  • If My Country Should Call (1916)
  • The Hidden Scar (1916)
  • The Vicar of Wakefield (1916)
  • The Salamander (1916)
  • The Closer Road (1916)
  • The Iron Hand (1916)
  • Barriers of Society (1916)
  • Her Soul's Inspiration (1916)
  • The Social Buccaneer (1916), Jack Conway
  • The Strange Case of Mary Page (1916), J. Charles Haydon
  • A Girl's Folly (1916), Maurice Tourneur, Paragon Films
  • The Girl and the Game (1916)
  • Rolling Stones (1916)
  • When Little Lindy Sang (1916)
  • Tropical Budget Animated News of the World (1916)
  • The Recoil (1917)
  • Bliss (1917)
  • Polly of the Circus (1917)
  • The Stolen Paradise (1917)
  • It Happened to Adele (1917)
  • The Little Orphan (1917)
  • A Soul for Sale (1917)
  • Princess Virtue (1917)
  • The Red Ace (1917)
  • A Girl's Folly (1917)
  • An Even Break (1917)
  • Chicken Casey (1917)
  • The Awakening (1917)
  • The Hunting of the Hawk (1917)
  • The Spotted Lily (1917)
  • Little Bo Peep (1917)
  • The Recoil (1917)
  • The Mystery of the Double Cross (1917)
  • The Great Stanley Secret (1917), Edward Sloman, American Film Manufacturing Company
  • The Neglected Wife (1917), Will M. Ritchey, Mabel Herbert Urner, Balboa Amusement Producing Company
  • The Seven Pearls (1917), Astra Film Corp
  • The Marriage Lie (1918)
  • Bread (1918)
  • Waifs (1918)
  • Stolen Hours (1918)
  • Avenged by the Sea (1918/1922)
  • The Sea Waif (1918)
  • British War Office (1918)
  • The Lightning Raider (1918)
  • Do Husbands Deceive? (1918), Rolin Film Company
  • British Canadian Pathé News 81A (1919)
  • British Canadian Pathé News 93A (1919)
  • International News, Vol. 1, Issue 52 (1919)
  • The Montreal Herald Screen Magazine (1919)
  • All Jazzed Up (1919)
  • A Sagebrush Hamlet (1919)
  • The Silver Girl (1919)
  • The Exquisite Thief (1919), Tod Browning, Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Inc.
  • The Nights of the Bathtub, Part Two (1919?)
  • British Canadian Pathé News 14A (1920)
  • British Canadian Pathé News 76 (1920)
  • British Canadian Pathé News 88 (1920)
  • Birth of Flowers (1920/1922)
  • The Little Clown (1920)
  • Unidentified Pathé Melodrama (1920/1922)
  • British Canadian Pathé News 63B (1921)
  • British Canadian Pathé News 2B (1921)
  • Boxing Match
  • Frivolity
  • Screen Telegram
  • The Princess and the Fishbone
  • A Mix-Up at Court
  • A Set of Teeth
  • Through the Keyhole
  • The Lake of Dreams
  • The Marriage of Coca
  • The Red Feather
  • An Excursion to the Gorges du Loup
  • Dread of Doom, Itala Film
  • The Plumber's Son, Part One, Universal Pictures
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