EYE film museum finds lost masterpiece

A copy of a classic masterpiece of British silent cinema from 1923 that was presumed lost has been found in the archives of the EYE film museum in Amsterdam.  The film, Love, Life and Laughter, directed by George Pearson was found amongst six old film cans that a journalist from Hattern donated to the museum in November 2012. The silent film is on the list of 75 Most Wanted films from the British Film Institute (BFI). The journalist saved the film from Theater De Vries because it was set to be demolished, but did not know what films were in the cans. He hoped that they were WWII images. Love, Life and Laughter is one of only two films left over from George Pearson. It stars Betty Balfour, one of the biggest British actresses of the roaring 20s, and named "Britain's Queen of Happiness." Bryony Dixon, curator of silent films at the BFI National Archive said, "This is a major discovery featuring Betty Balfour, the biggest female star of the silent period. It is also a rare survival of the work of George Pearson, one of Britain's most talented directors of this time whose First World War drama Reveille is another film on the BFI's most wanted list. "Contemporary reviewers and audiences considered Love, Life and Laughter to be one of the finest creations of British cinema, it will be thrilling to find out if they were right!"