1965 MGM vault fire

1965 fire in California, U.S. July 2026 July 2026 1965 MGM vault fire August 10, 1965https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89801403/evening-vanguard/ Explosion Hits MGM Film Vault Evening Vanguard August 11, 1965 1 Newspapers.com Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, Culver City, California Ignition of stored nitrate film by electrical short 1 (reported) Destruction of archived Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer silent and early sound films On August 10, 1965, a fire erupted in Vault 7, a storage facility at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio (MGM) backlot (now Sony Pictures Studios) in Culver City, California. It was caused by an electrical short that ignited flammable stored nitrate film. The initial explosion reportedly killed at least one person, and the resulting fire destroyed the entire contents of the vault, which included archived prints of silent and early sound films produced by MGM and its predecessors. The only known copies of hundreds of films were destroyed. Background The storage vaults, located on Lot 3, were spaced apart from one another to prevent fire from spreading between vaults. Studio manager Roger Mayer described the vaults as "concrete bunk houses" and stated that it was considered at the time as "good storage because [the films] couldn't be stolen". The vaults were not equipped with sprinkler systems and each had only a small fan in the roof for ventilation. However, Mayer believed that a sprinkler system would have made little difference because "the amount [the studio] lost by fire was minimal".Pierce Film History 12-13 Unlike most major studios, MGM sought to preserve its early productions and those of its predecessors Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions,Pierce LOC 22 as well as prints of films purchased for remake value.Pierce LOC 39 The studio did not participate in the common practice of purposeful destruction of its catalog and even sought to preserve films of little apparent commercial value. Beginning in the 1930s, MGM donated prints and negatives of its silent films to film archives, predominantly George Eastman House, and in the early 1960s, it began a preservation program led by Mayer to transfer nitrate film prints onto safety film.Pierce LOC 22 Fire Shortly before 10:00 p.m. on the evening of August 10, 1965, an electrical short ignited nitrate film stored in Vault 7 located on Lot 3, triggering a major explosion and fire that caused the ceiling of the vault to collapse onto the stored cans of film. The initial explosion could be heard from Lots 1 and 2, as recounted by film historian Rudy Behlmer, who was walking between them at the time.Pierce Film History 12 Rudy Behlmer was walking with his editor from Lot 2 to Lot 1 [...] when he 'heard this loud noise - we later discovered it was one of the vaults blowing up' Executive Roger Mayer stated that at least one person died in the explosion,Pierce Film History 12 Roger Mayer recollected: Someone was killed in that explosion although a contemporary newspaper article states that there were no fatalities. The fire was extinguished, but none of the films stored inside the vault were salvaged.Pierce Film History 12 The explosion in vault 7 destroyed the entire contents, including the original negatives to A Blind Bargain (1922) with Lon Chaney and The Divine Woman (1928) with Greta Garbo Because of MGM's efforts to preserve its catalog of silent and early sound films, 68% of silent films produced by MGM have survived, the highest rate of any major studio.Pierce LOC 22 However, the fire destroyed the only known copies of numerous silent films, including Lon Chaney's A Blind Bargain (1922)Pierce Film History 12 The explosion in vault 7 destroyed the entire contents, including the original negatives to A Blind Bargain (1922) with Lon Chaney and The Divine Woman (1928) with Greta Garbo and London After Midnight (1927)Soister John Nicolella Henry Joyce Steve Long Harry American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913–1929 2012 McFarland 978-0786435814 333 as well as Greta Garbo's The Divine Woman (1928).Pierce Film History 12 The explosion in vault 7 destroyed the entire contents, including the original negatives to A Blind Bargain (1922) with Lon Chaney and The Divine Woman (1928) with Greta Garbo See also 1937 Fox vault fire 1978 National Archives vault fire 2008 Universal Studios fire List of lost films List of incomplete or partially lost films List of rediscovered films References Pierce David The Legion of the Condemned - Why American Silent Films Perished 1997 9 1, Silent Cinema Pierce Film History Indiana University Press; John Libbey & Company Australia en 0892-2160 3815289 Film History 5–22 Pierce David The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912–1929 https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/pub158.final_version_sept_2013.pdf September 2013 21 March 2018 Pierce LOC Council on Library and Information Resources en 978-1-932326-39-0 MGM Vault Fire, 1965 MGM Vault Fire, 1965 MGM Vault Fire Category:August 1965 in the United States Category:Fires in California 1965 MGM vault fire Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Category:Nitrate-film fires in the United States Category:Warehouse fires in the United States