The Johnstown Flood

Synopsis:
The Johnstown Flood re-creates one of the greatest disasters in American history, when, in 1889, over 2,000 people in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, lost their lives. In her first major role, Gaynor plays a teenage girl smitten with dashing engineer O'Brien, whose pleadings about the imminent collapse of the local dam are ignored. It's up to Gaynor to ride through the street à la Paul Revere to warn the townspeople of the imminent disaster. After 97 years, the movie's flood sequence is still a pre-CGI marvel of optical effects, matte paintings, and miniatures.

Restoration:
Restored in 4K by The Film Preserve, Ltd. and The Maltese Film Works from 35mm elements preserved at George Eastman Museum. Noted preservationists Robert Harris and James Mockoski (archivist for Francis Ford Coppola) worked on the restoration.