So much of our modern conception of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is tied up with James Whale’s famous 1931 adaptation that it’s insane to think there was ever a time when this classic story was not associated with neck bolts or Boris Karloff’s grim visage. But there were plenty of adaptations before the advent of talkies– stage versions, burlesques, and of course silent films.
The 1910 Frankenstein starring Charles Ogle as the Creature is the first ever film version of the book. It’s a loose adaptation to say the least– unlike the novel, there are no extended philosophical conversations nor is the ending tragic. Eschewing Shelley’s ruminations on life and death, this movie goes for a more psychological take on the Creature, suggesting he is born from the evil within his creator and can only be destroyed by Frankenstein sorting his ego out– a sort of Jekyll and Hyde theme, if you will. Shot in three days at the Edison Studios, this 12-minute film is more an impression of Frankenstein than anything, but it’s still worth watching– and for more than mere historical interest.
To be sure, the storytelling is very much of the usual one-reeler variety: the novel is simplified down to “man creates monster, monster runs amuck, monster is stopped by the power of love or something.” The acting is extremely broad– Augustus Philips as Frankenstein gets to be a bit much, even by the standards of the nickelodeon era– and the staging is mostly nothing you wouldn’t be able to do in a theater, though there are two cinematic flourishes.
The first is the creation of the Creature. The book keeps the details of Frankenstein’s methods vague, so adaptors have free reign to do as they please. Here, Frankenstein mixes ingredients in a tub then bakes them to life. To depict the birth, the filmmakers fashioned a dummy of the Creature, burned it, then reversed the footage in the finished film, making it look like the Creature has emerged from hell itself. A primitive special effect, but still a touch eerie.
The second interesting flourish involves the use of a mirror. Frankenstein greets his beloved Elizabeth and we see her entrance not directly, but through a mirror positioned to the right of the screen. The mirror is mainly present so the Creature (breaking into the house to demand his creator make him a mate) can see his ugliness in a dramatic moment, but it’s awesome how the director saw fit to use the mirror in additional ways.
However, what I like best about this film is Charles Ogle’s Creature, who’s become iconic in his own right among silent film buffs. He has a “Quasimodo joins a hair metal band vibe” that’s so unique, especially since in the wake of the Whale film, most versions cannot escape the influence of Jack Pierce’s famous make-up. It’s great to see a take completely independent of neck bolts and gaunt cheekbones.
Interestingly, in its day the 1910 Frankenstein created a bit of controversy. Though the filmmakers tried their best to downplay the more gruesome elements of the novel, moral watchdogs still voiced concerns that the movie was too much. The reviewer for The Motion Picture World even suggested that depictions of violence and death, while acceptable in the realm of literature, were too much presented on a movie screen.
I have to imagine the amount of smelling salts he’d need if he saw the horror movies coming out today!
Sources:
https://frankensteinia.blogspot.com/2010/03/repost-first-frankenstein-of-movies.html