We’ve lost a number of classic films—even some Oscar-nominated ones. But occasionally, lost films will pop up in places where you least expect them. Such was the case with Walt Disney’s first Christmas short, Empty Socks, which was rediscovered at The National Library of Norway in 2008. A restored version of the film was shown at the library earlier this week.
The silent film—which stars Mickey’s predecessor, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit—was originally released in 1927. It was found by two employees while they were taking inventory at the library’s nitrate film archive. “At the beginning, we didn’t know it was a lost cinematographic treasure,” Kvale Sørenssen, an archivist at the library, said. “The film was in two reels which weren’t clearly labelled.” In fact, they first thought the film might feature Felix the Cat. The reels had belonged to Norwegian collector Tor Eide. Eide gave them to the Norwegian Film Institute, which gave its collection of nitrate films to the National Library in 2007. The film was authenticated by former Disney archivist David Gerstein.
via Mental Floss
Image: National Library of Norway
