Fox Film Fire Little Ferry NJ 1937

Spectacular footage of 1937 Fox Film storage facility fire in Little Ferry, NJ - Digital/upload by F. Fuchs Filmed by W. Zabransky. Theda Bara and other FOX films/negatives were destroyed.

• Category

  News & Politics

[2005GLI]

where in little ferry was this building??

[ffuchs9595]

Was in the area of Van Buren, Wilson and Main

[Hugh Neely]

I've been looking for this footage! Where did you find it?

[ffuchs9595]

Given to me be a family member. I'm also an Ex-Chief of the Little Ferry Fire Dept and interested in town history. Where are you from and how did you find the video?

[Hugh Neely]

I'm a documentary filmmaker in Culver City, CA, who just completed a documentary film on Theda Bara. I found your post on You Tube just yesterday when I seached the site on the name "Theda Bara." A "scene" in my documentary covers the fire, but I had to use "stock" footage from nighttime fires from the 30's (and possibly early 40's) because I couldn't find the real footage. A historian told me he had once seen the real footage, but he couldn't remember where.

[ffuchs9595]

Would love to see your film. If you have info posted about your project on the Web, feel free to create a like to the file. I'm sure your researchers would love to see it.

[nirvanrocker]

really pisses me off how the studios treated the old silent films,if they haden't neglected them we would still have them today

[deepseadirt]

just think of how many actors ' filmographies went up in that blaze. Most of Theda's work, all of Valeska Suratts, Betty Blythe's "The Queen of Sheba", much of William Farnums initial Westerns, some early starring John Gilbert roles, some Madge Bellamy and the list probably goes on & on. Shame on Fox for not giving a darn. Nitrate's combustability was known for 30 years prior to this blaze. What a waste!

[Paul Thrussell]

Was this original 16mm Kodachrome? Rare find to have news footage in color from that time!

[DarylTheDead]

There gos the great Theda's Career. 

[antoniod]

I'd always wondered why the pre-Zanuck Fox films seened to get the short shrift in the TV packages.I guess I have my answer.

[Robert Hoskin]

What a terrible waste of beauty 35mm movies there ! Evil chemistry of Nitrate-based thing out there ! I have owning several 35mm Nitrate films and one of it called "Playing With Fire", a lost 1926 cartoon short film. I have recorded it by my 35mm Steenbeck editing machine and recorded it, uploaded it here. Let's see it there and enjoy it, mate !

[nicoley132]

UGH. *cries* Amazing footage though; thanks for uploading it.

[hwbanger]

Too bad TV wasn't big in the 30's. If it was, they might have taken better care of these films because they could have been used as programming.