For more than a hundred years a silent‑film short titled “An Unbeliever Convinced” lay forgotten in a university archive. The motion picture was originally commissioned in 1917 by UL Research Institutes (ULRI), an off‑shoot of Underwriters Laboratories, to illustrate the dangers of industrial fires and to move owners and workers from mere awareness to concrete safety action.
Rediscovery at the University of Maryland
In 2025 archivists at the University of Maryland Libraries uncovered the battered reels stored in a tin can alongside a collection of unrelated movies. The film was printed on 28 mm Pathéscope diacetate safety film—a rare early alternative to the highly flammable nitrate stock that dominated the era. Because the material does not ignite easily, the reels survived the passage of time and the occasional mishandling that destroyed countless silent titles.
Mark Coulbourne, head preservationist at the university, described the find as “something precious and important.” He reached out to film‑preservation specialist Nick Spark of Periscope Film, whose network connected ULRI with the experts needed to restore the work.
Restoration and new score
ULRI commissioned Dino Everett, an archivist with the USC HMH Foundation Moving Image Archive, to physically repair the film. Everett painstakingly pieced together broken fragments, taped torn strips, and scanned the restored footage, estimating that the reel is now 90‑95 % “saved.” Composer Jon Mirsalis added a period‑appropriate musical score, drawing inspiration from the 1927 film The Fire Brigade.
The restored version will debut at several festivals, including the 62nd Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles, giving modern audiences a glimpse of early 20th‑century fire‑safety messaging.
Why the film mattered then and now
Produced by Essanay Studios—the same company that helped launch Charlie Chaplin’s career—the short dramatizes a wealthy warehouse owner who ignores repeated fire‑hazard warnings. When a blaze erupts, workers scramble to escape, firefighters race through Chicago streets in both horse‑drawn and motorized trucks, and the owner’s daughter perishes, forcing him to confront the cost of his negligence.
“The film’s lessons still apply today as safety science confronts new hazards,” said Alan Akers, head archivist at ULRI. He noted that contemporary risks such as lithium‑ion battery fires, synthetic‑material warehouses, and data‑center incidents echo the same need to turn awareness into action.
Historical context
The early 1900s saw several catastrophic fires: the 1903 Iroquois Theatre blaze in Chicago killed over 600 people, the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York claimed 146 lives, and the 1929 Cleveland Clinic fire took 123. Films like “An Unbeliever Convinced” were among the most effective tools for communicating the urgency of fire prevention to both the public and industry leaders.
According to the Library of Congress, roughly 70 % of silent films made between 1912 and 1929 are considered lost. The recovery of this title therefore represents a rare window into the visual culture, street scenes, and firefighting technology of the era.
Impact on safety education
Steve Kerber, vice president of ULRI’s Fire Safety Research Institute, emphasized that the film “connects ULRI’s early work to the safety challenges we continue to address today.” He added that the visual record of Chicago’s fire stations, equipment, and emergency response offers valuable insight for modern safety professionals.
Beyond its historical value, the film demonstrates how an organization can harness popular storytelling media to influence behavior—a principle that remains central to ULRI’s mission.
Looking ahead
With the restored film now ready for public exhibition, ULRI hopes the story will inspire renewed commitment to fire‑prevention practices in today’s warehouses, data centers, and other high‑risk facilities. The organization plans to use the film in safety‑training seminars and as part of educational outreach to communities across the United States.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
