Episode 2 - Crossing Boundaries (Frankenstein 1910)

This week's episode stays in the world of silent films. Still, it crosses the line between science fiction and horror as we look at an early adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, produced in 1910 by the Edison studios. Note the "fires of creation" that birth the Creature and how it's footage of a fire burning a papier-mâché (or something) prop run backwards. At least this version of Victor is smart enough to do the creation in another room, although he needs to learn how to bar a door more securely. Victor sure faints a lot. The Creature is less goofy-looking in motion than the classic still would have you believe. Nice work with a mirror and filming, especially when the Creature disappears into the mirror at the end. The Creature is more like the version from the novel than the later Karloff version in terms of intelligence and ability to express itself. Recommended: Check out the Library of Congress's curated online collection, Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies. From History of Edison Motion Pictures: Edison's laboratory was responsible for inventing the Kinetograph (a motion picture camera) and the Kinetoscope (a peep-hole motion picture viewer). Edison's assistant, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, performed most of this work in 1888. Motion pictures became a thriving entertainment industry in less than a decade, with single-viewer Kinetoscopes giving way to films projected for mass audiences. The Edison Manufacturing Co. (later known as Thomas A. Edison, Inc.) built the apparatus for filming and projecting motion pictures and produced films for public consumption. Most early examples were actualities showing famous people, news events, disasters, people at work, new modes of travel and technology, scenic views, expositions, and other leisure activities. As actualities declined in popularity, the company's production emphasis shifted to comedies and dramas. From Decline of the Edison Company: The Edison Company tried to improve its image through several initiatives. Imitating its competitors, Edison developed a stock company of actors in 1910. The company also tried to cultivate an image of respectability by making films for public service organizations like the American Red Cross or the New York Milk Committee. Famous literary works or historical events became the inspiration for film plots. Points to ponder: The crossover between horror and science fiction: Does it say something about a society when scientific stories become cautionary tales against science gone wrong? The religious question: Is this version of Frankenstein another cautionary tale about playing God, or is it a different kind of warning? The curse of adaptation: How liberally can you adapt a work before it isn't an "adaptation" but some other kind of derivative work?