Frankenstein (1910) 100° Anniversary

This 1910 version of Frankenstein was made by Edison Studios, written and directed by J. Searle Dawley. It was the first motion picture adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein, Charles Ogle as the Monster, and Mary Fuller as the doctor's fiancée.

Shot in three days, it was filmed at the Edison Studios in the Bronx, New York City. Although some sources credit Thomas Edison as the producer, he in fact played no direct part in the activities of the motion picture company that bore his name.

For many years, this film was believed to be a lost film. In 1963, a plot description and some stills were discovered published in the March 15, 1910 issue of an old Edison film catalog, The Edison Kinetogram.

In the early 1950s, a print of this film was purchased by a Wisconsin film collector, Alois F. Dettlaff, from his mother-in-law, who also collected films. He did not realize its rarity until many years later. Its existence was first revealed in the mid-1970s. Although somewhat deteriorated, the film was in viewable condition, complete with titles and tints as seen in 1910. Dettlaff had a 35 mm preservation copy made in the late 1970s. He also issued a DVD release of 1,000 copies.

In 2003, this particular film version of Frankenstein was adapted as a 40-page graphic novel, written by Chris Yambar and drawn by Robb Bihun. Called Edison's Frankenstein 1910, in the spirit of the film it is drawn in black-and-white and told through narration only, without dialogue.

BearManor Media released the public domain film in a restored edition on March 18, 2010, alongside with the novel Edison's Frankenstein, which was written by Frederick C. Wiebel, Jr.

On 14th October 2010, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the film, English writer and director Dave Mitchell released an online re-boot of the original film called "Frankenstein 1910 2010", with new title-cards based more on Mary Shelley's original novel, as well as re-tinting of the frames, and the use of Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" as the new soundtrack. The new version title cards focus on the concept of the rejected creation's words to his creator, who he perceives as his friend.