Twenty-two years before the brilliant James Whale classic that made Boris Karloff a star and spawned a slew of outstanding to mediocre sequels, a silent short film became the first adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel. While it cannot compare to many later versions, this surviving Edison Studios production remains an important piece of cinematic history. At only sixteen minutes, director J. Searle Dawley successfully manages to tell a coherent story as well as capture both the plight of Dr. Frankenstein and the tragedy of the monster itself.
Despite the picture quality being nearly unwatchable in parts and intertitles (title cards) that tell what's coming before each scene, this long forgotten gem is still worth a watch by horror aficionados and silent film buffs alike. As of this writing, Frankenstein (1910) is available to stream on several networks such as Halloween Flix and can probably be found on numerous websites too. In my opinion, having access to technology that enables us to view a film that is over a century old makes for a very special experience indeed.
Despite the picture quality being nearly unwatchable in parts and intertitles (title cards) that tell what's coming before each scene, this long forgotten gem is still worth a watch by horror aficionados and silent film buffs alike. As of this writing, Frankenstein (1910) is available to stream on several networks such as Halloween Flix and can probably be found on numerous websites too. In my opinion, having access to technology that enables us to view a film that is over a century old makes for a very special experience indeed.