Lost, abandoned and unreleased movies you’ll (probably) never see

By Matt Neal for the ABC

Warning: This story contains coarse language.

Movies are difficult, time-consuming and expensive to make, and throughout this convoluted process, a million things can go wrong.

But even when you get to the end of the film-making journey – even after you’ve written it, planned it, filmed it and edited it – there are still things that can get between you and an audience.

As a result, there are some movies that were made, but you will never see, or never see again. Some are lost, some were never quite finished, some were deliberately withheld for myriad reasons.

Here are some of the potentially greatest films you’ll probably never see.

Batgirl (2022)

Among the many reasons a film may not be released these days is, apparently, “tax write-off”. That’s the fate that befell Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s 2022 superhero movie, Batgirl.

Starring In The Heights’ Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl and Brendan Fraser as the villain Firefly, the $US70 million film also had Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman, preceding him turning up in 2023’s The Flash. Batgirl was initially intended to be a straight-to-streaming release that would have made it a flagship film for HBO Max.

But the film was abruptly cancelled in August 2022 before visual effects and reshoots could be completed. The story goes that following a merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery, Batgirl was considered for a theatrical release with a bigger budget and more promotion, but then the studio changed its mind because it felt the film looked like crap.

Instead, it dumped the film as a tax write-off. This same fate also befell Warner’s animated-live action mash-up Coyote vs. Acme about the Looney Tunes character suing Acme for faulty products, and a Scooby Doo prequel called Scoob! Holiday Haunt. While there’s a slim chance these latter two films will get released, it’s unlikely Batgirl ever will because of the cost required to finish it.

The Day The Clown Cried (1972)

One of the most notorious “lost” films is comedian Jerry Lewis’s Holocaust drama about a clown hired by the Nazis to lead children into the gas chambers.

Those who have seen a rough cut of the film are divided over its artistic merit. Actor Harry Shearer called it “drastically wrong” and the film’s co-screenwriter Joan O’Brien labelled it “a disaster”, but French film critic Jean-Michel Frodon called it “interesting and important”.

Filmed in 1972, The Day The Clown Cried was due to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival the following year, but O’Brien blocked the release, reportedly unhappy with Lewis’s script changes. Due to a mix-up with the film’s rights that gave O’Brien ultimate control, there was little Lewis could do, and the project was shelved.

O’Brien died in 2004, but the rights were never untangled. For his part, Lewis denounced the film, saying he was embarrassed by it, but prior to his death in 2017, he gave what was thought to be the final cut of the film to the US Library of Congress, with the stipulation it not be screened until 2024.

Turns out Lewis’s donation was not the finished product, but rather about 90 minutes of raw unedited footage, 106 minutes of audio, and three hours of behind-the-scenes footage, which can now be viewed by appointment at the Library of Congress.

However, it’s believed there is a 75-minute rough cut of the movie in existence, and possibly a full finished version. Whether either will ever see the light of day will most likely depend on O’Brien’s heirs giving it their blessing, which seems unlikely given O’Brien’s opposition.

All-Star Weekend (2019)

A film about two NBA mega fans, played by Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Piven, and featuring cameos from Eva Longoria, Robert Downey Jr, Ken Jeong, Gerard Butler, Benicio del Toro, DJ Khaled, Luenell and Snoop Dogg sounds like a slam dunk.

Directed by Foxx, the film was shot in 2016 and completed in 2019, but has been in limbo ever since. The main reason for the hold-up seems to be that white actor Downey Jr plays a Mexican, although the size of his role is reportedly minimal.

Foxx told Cinema Blend in 2022 that Downey Jr’s casting was inspired by The Avengers star’s Oscar-nominated blackface performance in Tropic Thunder, though it’s likely the satirical edge of Tropic Thunder’s characterisation won’t be present in Foxx’s sports film, in which Foxx also takes on a second role as a racist white cop.

“We’re trying to break open those sensitive corners where people go back to laughing again,” Foxx said by way of explanation.

Foxx released a trailer for All-Star Weekend in August last year, in the hopes of summoning some buzz and landing a release deal, but about 100,000 views later it looks like this film will be forever stuck on the bench.

Big Bug Man (2006)

You’d think the presence of acting legend Marlon Brando in his final big-screen performance would be enough to ensure a film got released, but not so for the animated superhero movie Big Bug Man.

Brando recorded his voice work as Mrs Sour for the film at his home in full drag while on oxygen just three weeks before his death in 2004. The only other confirmed cast member was Brendan Fraser, who was to play the titular hero.

The film’s release date of 2006 was pushed back to 2008, then 2010, and then the movie was never heard of again. It’s unclear whether the film was finished – in fact, it’s unclear if any animation for the US$20 million project was completed (none has surfaced), but around 2010 the production company behind the film, Studio-Free Studios, effectively disappeared, having delivered none of its promised movies, including Big Bug Man.

C—sucker Blues (1972)

Some films that languish on the unreleased list eventually see the light of day. For example the low-budget Marvel movie The Fantastic Four (1994) was pulled from release because of either rights or quality issues, depending on who you believe, but has since found a semi-permanent home online.

Other unreleased films can be shown, but only in very controlled circumstances. Perhaps the most extreme case of this is Robert Frank’s documentary of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 US tour to promote their album Exile On Main Street.

The Stones gave Frank unfettered access to the tour, including the after parties. The result is a mix of literal sex, drugs and rock and roll – the most infamous scenes include a groupie shooting heroin, Mick Jagger masturbating on a bed, and a sex party on a private jet where band members watch on and play percussion.

Upon seeing the results of Frank’s fly-on-the-orgy-wall filmmaking, Jagger reportedly told Frank “It’s a f***ing good film, Robert, but if it shows in America we’ll never be allowed in the country again”. The Stones fought Frank in court to prevent C—sucker Blues’ release.

The court put in place a strict set of conditions around the film. It couldn’t be shown until after 1979, could only be shown four times a year, and Frank had to be present at the screenings. The film also had to open with a bizarre disclaimer saying, “Except for the musical numbers, the events depicted in this film are fictitious. No representation of actual persons and events is intended”.

Frank died in 2019, and the film appears to have been last shown in 2015, though the whole thing pops up on YouTube from time to time.

Empires Of The Deep (2013)

The most expensive movie on any list like this is undoubtedly Empires Of The Deep, a colossal $US130 million omnishambles of a production that is yet to surface.

The movie merged mermaids, Greek myth and giant sea monsters, and was the brainchild of Chinese real estate mogul Jon Jiang – a billionaire with zero film-making experience, who hoped for it to be China’s answer to Avatar.

One-time “Bond girl” Olga Kurylenko was Empires Of The Deep’s only recognisable star, despite the mammoth budget. The script went through more than 40 rewrites, including many during filming (always a bad sign).

Four directors worked on it, actors quit, crew members went unpaid, stuntmen were injured, and when a trailer was finally released in 2013, the results looked like something out of a ’90s video game cutscene.

More re-shoots were done in 2014, and a second somewhat better trailer was released in 2016, but the funds to polish or promote it seemed to have run out, which is probably for the best.

Firelight (1964)

The debut films of now-iconic directors can be fascinating insights into their careers. A good example of this is Steven Spielberg’s Duel, a gripping made-for-TV thriller that was so good it got a belated theatrical release and kickstarted one of cinema’s greatest careers.

But seven years prior to Duel, a 17-year-old Spielberg made an ambitious 135-minute-long sci-fi adventure called Firelight. He made the film almost single-handedly – he’s listed as director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor and composer – and used local actors and his high school’s band to bring it to life.

The story about strange lights in the sky and alien abductions would influence his later film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, but sadly it’s unlikely we’ll ever get to see his true debut.

Firelight was screened once, to a packed theatre in his hometown of Phoenix, but two of the reels of film were given to a producer soon after as a showreel for Spielberg’s talents. The producer never returned them and they remain missing to this day.

A small sample of the film, with patchy audio, exists online, but Spielberg isn’t the only decorated director whose first work will most likely never be seen again.

Quentin Tarantino’s 1987 debut My Best Friend’s Birthday, made five years before Reservoir Dogs, was left half-finished after some film reels were lost. Similarly, Alfred Hitchcock’s first film Number 13 was unfinished and what was shot was lost, while what would be his second completed film, The Mountain Eagle, is also lost.

Other films you’ll probably never see

100 Years: Starring John Malkovich, this Robert Rodriguez short film was produced to promote a French cognac and won’t be released until 18 November 2115, i.e., when the cognac has aged appropriately. If you’re around in a century’s time, be prepared for the disappointment of this probably just being a long ad for cognac.

The Long Home: This film directed by James Franco and was due to be released in 2017 but got delayed. Soon after Franco became the subject of numerous sexual misconduct allegations, which put it on the backburner further. Given Franco’s recent starring role as a villain in French-Belgian spy film The Price Of Money, this might yet see the light of day.

Hippie Hippie Shake: Completed in 2010, this Working Title production retells the story of the 1971 Oz obscenity trial in London and stars Cillian Murphy, Sienna Miller and Hugh Bonneville. The reason for its shelving is unclear, though Working Title’s financial difficulties at the time, legal threats from the real-life versions of characters, and expensive reshoots to improve the finished product have all been touted as possibilities.

Roy Del Espacio: One of the first feature-length animated films to come out of Mexico, this sci-fi story was declared one of the worst films of all time upon release in 1983. Despite being only 41 years old, all copies of the film are reportedly lost, meaning no one can relive its Flash Gordon rip-offs and robot battles.

Farewell Performance: Featured on the British Film Institute’s (BFI) list of “most wanted” lost films, this crime drama is about the murder of an obnoxious pop singer. Prints of the film disappeared sometime after its 1963 release, but the BFI is keen to find it for its musical interludes, which include UK band The Tornados, who were at the peak of their popularity at the time.

Batman Fights Dracula: This unauthorised Filipino classic from 1967 is just one of a number of pieces of pop culture in which the Caped Crusader battles Transylvania’s best-known resident. The film is lost, as are parts of Andy Warhol’s 1964 movie Batman Dracula. Could it be a DC Comics-led conspiracy?

Two Minutes Silence: Paulette and Phyllis McDonagh were pioneering film-making sisters in the early days of Australian cinema. This anti-war drama was released in 1933 and is considered their best film, but it’s now lost. It’s also the McDonaghs’ final film. Its disappointing release contributed to them quitting the film industry.

Hollywood: This silent-era blockbuster featured cameos by 50 of Tinsel Town’s biggest stars circa 1923, including Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, Pola Negri, Douglas Fairbanks Sr, and Mary Pickford. While this would make it a treasured historical artefact, it’s one of the estimated 75 percent of films from this era that are now lost.

The Story Of The Kelly Gang: The world’s first feature film is this Aussie drama, which premiered in 1906. Only 17 minutes of footage remains.

This story was originally published by ABC News.

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