Curators at Library of Congress discover lost film by legendary cinema pioneer after spotting 'subtle clue'

The film, called "Gugusse and the Automaton," was made by legendary French filmmaker Georges Méliès in 1897. 

Méliès was a pioneer of special effects and directed the famous 1902 film "A Trip to the Moon."

The newly discovered film shows a magician battling a mischievous automaton in a brief slapstick sequence.

The Library of Congress described the film as "the first appearance of what might be called a robot."

"It had not been seen by anyone in likely more than a century," the release said.

"After looking closely at the film on their inspection table, they saw a star painted on one of the props," he said.

"Knowing that Méliès' film production company was called Star Film, and that he often used that iconography in his movies, they contacted a colleague who is a Méliès expert with a photo of the frame," Groth said. 

Groth added, "They also identified the title for us - which cinema and Méliès historians knew had existed, but which had been lost for decades."

The reel was sent to the Library of Congress by Bill McFarland, a Michigan man whose family had preserved the films for decades, storing them in basements, barns and garages.

Groth described the film as a "copy of a copy of a copy," indicating it had likely been widely duplicated and shared.

For those unfamiliar with Méliès' work, Groth said his influence spans from the earliest days of filmmaking to the 2011 Martin Scorsese film "Hugo," in which he is portrayed as a character.

"He created new worlds and mystified audiences, leaning on narrative storytelling to capture the audience's minds and imaginations rather than just showing them the world on screen."

"Luckily, more and more presumed lost films are coming to light," he said.

"Some are buried in larger collections," he said. "Some are, like in this case, passed down from generation to generation but are not able to easily be projected and, thus, sit fallow until they get into the right hands."