The Film May Be Lost, But NECA Resurrects Lon Chaney’s London After Midnight Character

The legendary lost Lon Chaney movie London After Midnight may never be recovered. Still, the actor’s iconic Man in the Beaver Hat has lived on in pop culture for almost a century.

Now, NECA has announced that it will add the actor’s “vampire” character to its line of ‘Ultimate’ 7″ tall action figures. The Man in the Beaver Hat comes with three head portraits, a hat, a lantern, five interchangeable hands, and a winged cape.

Sadly, the figure will not arrive in time for Halloween this year. Lon Chaney’s Professor Edward C. Burke, disguised as the Man in the Beaver Hat, will arrive in February 2024.

Pre-orders are open now at Entertainment Earth. He is priced at $36.99. For more horror icons, check out the recently announced Mars Attacks Martians!

“Despite all copies being destroyed in a vault fire, the 1927 silent horror film London After Midnight has remained a cult classic! Lon Chaney plays a dual role as Professor Edward Burke and the Man in the Beaver Hat in a tale of murder and inevitable justice. This Ultimate action figure from the classic silver-screen movie is highly articulated and comes with lantern, removable hat, extra hands, three interchangeable heads, and attachable winged cape. The 7″ scale figure comes in collector-friendly window box packaging with opening flap.“

Copies of London After Midnight were consumed by a fire in 1965 that occurred in MGM’s vault. Since then, the movie slipped into legend, with little aside from some promotion photographs and theatrical posters circulating in collectors’ circles.

Very little of Tod Browning’s original film has survived. Several stills have been recovered, but it is unlikely we’ll ever see the complete movie resurface. However, much of the film’s production and legacy have been documented. Check out the videos below for more info.