From Metropolis (1927) to Thunderbolt (1951) - "making do" and discovery

Film Studies 2026: Making do - From Metropolis to Thunderbolt | Screening in the streaming age |

[Draft of article for the December 2026 Film Studies SSAAANZ conference, Melbourne] 

Title: From Metropolis to Thunderbolt - "making do" and discovery 

Abstract: "Making do" is a term which can often be associated with desperation, doggedness and determination on the part of a researcher facing challenges, insurmountable obstacles, bureaucratic obfuscation, indifference and, ultimately, dead-ends, in an effort to write an essay, finish a thesis, or simply finding something interesting about something they are interested in. For example, during 2024-26 the present writer determined to secure a 1 sheet first-run poster of the Australia Picnic at Hanging Rock. After four years of scanning online auction and sales sites, early in 2026 he secured one off eBay for a reasonable price. That is determination. You either break through and overcome all obstacles, or you just give up.

So where does "making do" fit in this sort of striving universe? 

As a researcher and professional archivist with a career spanning some thirty years in the academic sector, and almost fifty as a fan of the cinema, all of the above are well known and accepted by the writer. Yet, in looking back, the successes outweigh the failures, or rather, the failures are just forgotten, not worthy of remembrance, apart from the experience gained. For "making do" is an almost everyday activity for every researcher, whether fan or friend, paid professional or personal. It is passion that often wins the day, overcoming all obstacles. There is also the psychological aspect of "making do", in ensuring that acceptance is high amongst the vocabulary and understanding as one sets out on a quest to do whatever.  

Three examples are offered from the writer's encounters with films of note. The first is German - Fritz Lang's Metropolis from 1927; the second is Australian - 1951's "lost" Captain Thunderbolt.; and the last is also the first - the world's first feature, Australia's The Story of the Kelly Gang from 1906. One dates back to the late 1990s; another to the COVID lockdown of 2022; and finally, the last to post-retirement years in 2025. Outlined in this article is how "making do" resulted in discoveries of national and international significance; of lost footage found; ephemera collected; friendships made; and success through openness and collaboration, locally and abroad, as against failure forced upon the researcher by intolerable personal and institutional pettiness, prevarication, and lack of commitment to serving community.

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"Never give up; never surrender" (Jason Nesmith, Galaxy Quest)

But where does the "making do" come into it?

Very early on, beginning in the 1990s, the writer was made aware of the limitations of the Canberra-based National Film and Sound Archives of Australia. Though containing an incredibly rich collection, access was problem. The online catalogue was difficult to use then, and remains so four decades later. Some use was made of it, and there were some successes, such as obtaining a digital copy of the Australian release version of Metropolis from 1928; and of help in developing a list of early Australian posters. But very quickly it was realised that in pursuing Metropolis, the writer would have to "make do" and look elsewhere for resources of merit. The elsewhere included the evolving internet, which came into its own during the first decade of the new millennium. Of immense import was the National Library of Australia's TROVE database, with its rich collection of digitised newspapers and even film magazines. The other resource, which was found to be incredibly useful, was online auction and sale sites such as eBay and Invaluable. Both offered information and images - the very bread and butter of archival research, especially where access to the originals was not available, unless of course one was successful in purchasing a desired item. The author was, for example, lucky in being able to secure an original 24 page, first release Metropolis promotional booklet from Germany for Aus$30, remembering that the first release poster is valued at US$1 million and the world's rarest and most valuable movie poster.

One was not alone in making do, for like-minded individuals around the world were doing the same; discovering items of relevance in long lost newspapers, or on foreign websites. In working on Metropolis, the writer engaged with fellow archivists and fans not only from within Australia, but also from Germany, France, Israel, New Zealand, and the United States. The research process became international, with ease. Rare "lost" footage was found by the writer in a New Zealand archive. Previously developed relationships with German archivists restoring the film from its 65% surviving footage in the early 1990s through to the present-day 98%+ versions available on DVD and BluRay, enabled its inclusion in their work. This was "making do" in action, diving deeply and coming up trumps, such that the author was eventually able to site down and watch the almost completely restored, original director's cut of 1927 in 2010. Two decades early he only saw the second or third generation, low grade and grainy video edits, running for less than 80 minutes, as against the original two and half hours.

The Metropolis research ran over two decades, and was intense, with the author developing an extensive website to house findings. A decade then passed in which not much research was carried out, though this changed in 2022 when the subject of the lost Australian film Captain Thunderbolt came up. The challenge was there - to find Thunderbolt. Locked down due to COVID, the writer once again "made do" and began looking far and wide for the lost film. In this task is was assisted by fellow Australian film studies professional Graham Shirley, and noted Australian film and sound archivist Ray Edmondson. At the end of the day the film was found in Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic) though that dogged determination and persistence that is part of making do. Success! Well, not really, for the sweetness of the discovery quickly soured due to a copyright claim and the acceptance of that claim by the National Film and Sound Archive such that is decided, upon receiving the film in Australia from the Czech Film Archive, not to proceed with its restoration and public release. The writer was devastated with the outcome, for the important discovery was, in a flash, buried. How did this come to be? Whilst the details are too complex to outline here, they come down to a failure by an Australian cultural heritage institution to appropriately serve the people of Australia in not only protecting and preserving its cultural heritage, but in, more importantly, making it available for consideration by schools, universities, the general public and the world at large.

As a result, and as noted above, the writer gave up. For in "making do" it was not enough. A dead-end was encountered and no amount of letter writing, pleading or reasonable arguments could affect that. So what does one do when giving up is the only option. Well, most dedicated researchers would move on to something else. As that is exactly what the present writer did during 2024-2025 when the impenetrable impediment arose. The circumstances were novel, and the challenge accepted. A friend mentioned that a relative was said to have appeared in The Story of the Kelly Gang - the world's first feature film, made in Melbourne during 1906. Twelve months later, the writer discovered unknown footage from the film that could hopefully be added to a second restoration. The first restoration, carried out with expertise by staff at the National Film and South Archive of Australia, had come up with .... minutes of footage from the original release, which ran for ..... minutes. This new discovery, which appeared to be footage in the NFSA but recognized for what it was, would add an additional .... minutes. How was this footage located? The answer - using the social media platform YouTube! Importantly, and once again, collaboration with a former staffer of the NFSA, identified the fact of the actual location of the material and would hopefully lead to its incorporation in the ongoing restoration of The Story of the Kelly Gang.

The process of "making do" had given rise to three significant research outcomes, one of which was brought to fruition and made public; another of which would lead to a similar positive outcome; an a third which had tragically stalled. Such is the life of film - some never to be seen again after their initial release; other to live on and ......

The philosophy of "making do"

Learn to use the traditional methods and standard sources

Look elsewhere, in unconventional places

Work "undercover"

Have a goal

Focus

Collaborate

Evolve

Adapt

$$$ 

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Film Studies 2026: Making do - From Metropolis to Thunderbolt | Screening in the streaming age | 

Last updated: 5 April 2026

Michael Organ, Australia