Review #960: Frankenstein (1910)

Title: Frankenstein
Year: 1910
Director: J. Searle Dawley
Country: US
Language: N/A

A sad note about these early silent adaptations of masterful novels is that they are almost always overshadowed by a far greater picture several decades later. Wizard of Oz was adapted twice before Judy Garland's memorable masterpiece, The Ten Commandments would become a Charles Heston epic in the 50's and Nosferatu would be reworked as Dracula for Universal in 1931. This Frankenstein was also a victim of superior adaptation. 

Frankenstein, a young student, is seen bidding his sweetheart and father goodbye, as he is leaving home to enter a college in order to study the sciences. Shortly after his arrival at college he becomes absorbed in the mysteries of life and death to the extent of forgetting practically everything else. His great ambition is to create a human being, and finally one night his dream is realized. 

Directed by J. Searle Dawley, this was the first adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic. Dawley shot the film in just three days at the Edison studios. The original Frankenstein film has no castle, lightning storm or shrieks of ‘It’s alive!”. No stitches, green skin, or bolts in the neck. Its Monster is a lumpen hulk, wild haired and sneering; conjured in a cauldron of boiling chemicals. It's a short film that bears all the limitations of that era, yet appears to be more than mere novelty. 

The monster might not literally exist, as the movie tells us Instead of a perfect human being, the evil in Frankenstein’s mind creates a monster. It speaks plainly of the catastrophes that result from bad intentions, as the scientist is a rich and arrogant prick. Both the book and the 1931 version speak plainly that the character is separate from the scientist, but this picture has a remarkable dose of subtlety.

For many years it was believed to be a lost film. In the 1960's it was discovered and made available for home video release. This version of Frankenstein emphasizes less on "horror" and more on the psyche, and should be commended for having such forethought.