Frankenstein (1910)

Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée ... See full summary »

Director:

J. Searle Dawley

Writers:

Mary Shelley (novel), J. Searle Dawley

Stars:

Mary Fuller, Charles Ogle, Augustus Phillips

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Mary Fuller	...	Elizabeth (uncredited)
Charles Ogle	...	The Monster (uncredited)
Augustus Phillips	...	Frankenstein (uncredited)

Storyline

Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster. A fight ensues but the monster, seeing himself in a mirror, is horrified and runs away. He later returns, entering the new bride's room, and finds her alone.

---

Plot Keywords:

monster | frankenstein | mirror | alchemy | one word title | 

---

Genres:

Short | Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1910 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankenštajn

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edison Manufacturing Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

16 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Prior to the film's rediscovery, only a few images of Charles Ogle as The Monster were known to exist. Interestingly, Ogle looks a lot younger in the film than he does in the photographs.

---

Connections

Edited into I Am Your Father (2015)

User Reviews

The Very Beginning of the Frankenstein Film History

This short film features Frankenstein leaving for college, discovering the secret of life, and then creating what he hopes will be the perfect human being. But, of course, it goes horribly wrong and instead out of his experiment comes a monster! This film is seriously pretty great. Of course, due to technology in 1910, it is very short and some of the footage is grainy. It is also silent. But this does not in any way take away from its watchability. The acting is very good, the costumes are superb, and one must single out the special effects.

The effects have Frankenstein throwing chemicals into a vat, and the vat smokes to life... half science, half magic. And then when the monster emerges, it is an effect that even today would be considered respectable. Flesh clings to bone as the flames roar from the vat... what a hideous creature comes out! The film has historical worth for a number of reasons. Obviously, it's the first Frankenstein film, but also it is a great example of early one-reel Edison filming in general. And for horror historians, it has a unique feature in the Frankenstein mythology: this version has the doctor using chemicals to create life, not spare limbs and electricity. It may be alone in that distinction.