10 Famous Lost Films You Wish You Could Watch

8. A Daughter Of The Gods (1916)

The Day The Clown Cried
Fox Film Corporation

Bringing controversial topics onto the big screen these days is a lot easier than it used to be, but during the silent film era, some people persevered and managed to produce the controversial high-fantasy, and Atlantis-influenced A Daughter Of The Gods.

The film depicts a sultan and a witch teaming up to kill a mysterious and beautiful woman in exchange for reviving the sultan's son. What made this film special wasn't just the story (though it was considered a good one), but everything related to the production, and the controversy surrounding the film's content involving the leading lady, Annette Kellerman. 

When the film was released, it became infamous for being the first film to have a full complete nude scene by a major star, despite Kellerman's long hair strategically placed to cover the crucials. Nudity aside, the film was also particularly notorious for being a ludicrously expensive and lavish production. 

Filmed entirely on location in Jamaica, the film employed 20,000 people over 8 months to shoot 220,000 feet (67,000 m) of raw footage, not to mention that no cost was spared to ensure that the sets were mosquito free.

It really is a shame to never experience cinema's first nude scene, set in an epic high-fantasy film or otherwise.

Contributor
Contributor

My life story is nothing special. I haven't cured ebola, I'm nowhere near stopping terrorism, and I'm still working on that climate change problem. Instead, all I've done so far is put a few hundred words together in an attempt to make people laugh. You can follow me at @Fry_ying_pan but don't be offended if I don't tweet back. It's usually because I've spent too long trying to think up a witty response that the reply window has closed.