Frankenstein (1910)

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Movie
Original title Frankenstein
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1910
length 13 minutes
Rod
Director James Searle Dawley
script James Searle Dawley
production Edison Studios
occupation
Ogle as Frankenstein's monster

Frankenstein is a 1910 Edison Studios film directed by J. Searle Dawley . It was the first film adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein .

action

Frankenstein leaves his parents' home to study. Two years later, now an alchemist, he believes that he has discovered the secret of life. He reveals to his fiancé in a letter that he plans to experiment to create the perfect person and, if successful, to marry her. Frankenstein mixes chemicals, but "the evil in Frankenstein's mind created a monster instead of the perfect human". It is created in an embers; it slowly assembles from the skeleton to the outer shape. When the creature emerges from the cauldron, Frankenstein is startled at the sight of the monster and the monster escapes.

Frankenstein returns to his parents and fiancée. The monster suddenly appears in his room the evening before Frankenstein's wedding and talks to him, but hides from Frankenstein's fiancé. When the monster happens to see its image in a large mirror in the room, it is shocked, but as if spellbound.

Frankenstein has married and the monster reappears in the apartment and this time frightens Frankenstein's bride out of jealousy. There is a dispute between Frankenstein and the monster. The power of the love of Frankenstein and his bride finally thwart the monster's plans - it dissolves when it sees its reflection again, the reflection remains. Frankenstein enters the room and first sees the image of the monster, then himself in the mirror.

Remarks

The film was made in Edison Studios in the Bronx in New York City . Typical for films of his time, it consists of long takes with only a few cuts within a scene. The film was a success with critics and viewers at the time and the creation of the monster was a very good trick technique for the time.

This first film adaptation of Frankenstein was considered lost for a long time ; there were only a few still photos of the monster from the Edison catalog, as well as the description of the action there. In the 1950s, an American film collector acquired a copy of the film without being aware of its rarity. The film was announced to exist in the mid-1970s, but it took almost another 30 years for it to become generally available.

literature

  • Robert K. Klepper: Silent Films, 1877-1996. A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. McFarland, Jefferson NC et al. 1999, ISBN 0-7864-0595-3 .

Web links

Commons : Frankenstein (film, 1910)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert K. Klepper: Silent Films, 1877-1996. A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. 1999, p. 36.