Originally written April 18, 2018

Film preservation unfortunately wasn’t thought about very seriously in the early days of filmmaking, so unfortunately a lot of the earliest movies ever made are now lost. It’s a shame that we can’t view many of these films that helped evolve the filmmaking techniques we know today, and shape what filmmaking has become. However, when we do manage to find movies that have been preserved, it’s very fortunate.

When people think about what the first Frankenstein movie was, many think of the first Frankenstein movie made by Universal Studios in 1931 that starred Boris Karloff as the classic depiction of Frankenstein’s monster that we all know and recognize. However, this wasn’t the first depiction of Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein story on screen. In fact, there were actually THREE Frankenstein movies that were made before the 1931 classic: Frankenstein (1910), Life Without Soul (1915), and The Monster of Frankenstein (1920).

So, why has history forgotten these three earliest adaptations of Frankenstein, you ask? Well, sadly, the biggest reason for this is the lack of film preservation that was mentioned earlier. For the longest time, all three of these early Frankenstein movies were believed to be lost. It wasn’t until the 60s when the first Frankenstein movie from 1910 started to surface, with stills from the movie being discovered in a magazine. Then, in the 70s it was revealed that a print of the film was purchased in the 50s by Alois F. Dettlaff, a Wisconsin film collector. Dettlaff had a preservation copy made in the late 1970s and also issued a DVD release of 1000 copies. However, it wasn’t until 2010, 100 years after its release, that BearManor Media released the film in a restored edition into the public domain. Then, in 2016 the film society of the University of Geneva did their own restoration of the film as well. So, wasn’t until a few decades ago that the film was even rediscovered, and it wasn’t until very recently that the film was given a proper restored version for the public. Unfortunately, while 1910’s Frankenstein is no longer a lost film, Life Without Soul and The Monster of Frankenstein are still lost films, so this is the only one that was released before the 1931’s Frankenstein that we’re able to see. I still consider it very lucky that we have access to the very first screen adaptation of Frankenstein, though.

Take this as you will, but I find the history and story behind this movie to be more interesting than the movie itself. As enjoyable as it is to study and appreciate a lot of these early films, it’s not as enjoyable to actually just sit down and watch the movie in a non-examinatory fashion. As with all other movies this old, the quality is very grainy and uneven, and so production value is only good when looked at in a historical way. For its time I think it’s a very good movie, but by today’s standards it can be hard to watch at times. I’m impressed with the level of effects that they used even back then, but it’s more of a movie that I watch to appreciate, rather than enjoy.

I usually talk about the plot of a movie much earlier on in my reviews, but I don’t find it as big of a deal for a movie like this than for most movies. Basically, if you know the story of Frankenstein, you know what the plot of this movie is. You just get it in a very condensed version. Yes, this adaptation covers the intricate story of a doctor creating life in a roughly 15 minute film. It’s easy to get through because of this, but it’s obviously a much more watered down version of the story than future adaptations have had. I will say that considering this is a silent film, a lot of the story is told through text that appears on screen, but it is impressive how much of the movie is told just through its video.

All in all, there isn’t much else I need to say about this movie. If you read all of this, you probably spent close to the amount of time it takes to actually watch the movie, so I’ll cut it here. Just know that it’s a great thing that the first adaptation of Frankenstein has now been preserved, and that it’s available to everyone (I watched it on YouTube) to watch and appreciate. Future versions of the story are obviously much better adaptations than this, but for the very first effort of making Frankenstein into a movie, I think it does a decent job.

3.5/5