Fox Film Vault

The majority of Fox Studios' collection of silent films was destroyed by fire in 1937. In the past, films were made using cellulose that had been treated with potassium nitrate and sulfuric acid, or "nitrate film." Although it produced very high-quality film, it was extremely volatile and had a propensity to catch fire when it got too warm. Nitrate film also has the drawbacks of burning hot and being extremely difficult to extinguish. It was going to keep burning if it got going. You can continue burning it even while submerged because it produces its own oxygen while burning.

The majority of Fox Studios' vintage movies were kept in an improperly ventilated archive. The majority of Fox Studios' vintage movies were preserved in an improperly ventilated archive. Nearly all of the silent films they had made between 1932 and that point were destroyed once they caught fire. In addition to the fire's destruction of hundreds of thousands of feet of film, it also resulted in one fatality and several injuries. At the time, they estimated the loss to be worth about $200,000. That works up to nearly $3.8 million in today's dollars, not to add the historical significance of numerous films that were never again watched.