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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 676

Frankenstein

191016 minUnited States
HorrorScience fiction
Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs
12:41
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Thomas Edison / J. Searle Dawley · Public domain

This copy runs shorter than the reference runtime. Editing and playback speed can differ between editions.

Synopsis

A young researcher believes he has discovered how to create life, but his experiment produces a being he cannot accept. The creature follows him beyond the laboratory and threatens his plans for marriage. This brief adaptation uses visual transformations and a mirror to give Mary Shelley's story a different ending.

Cast

DirectorsJ. Searle Dawley

Inspirations

Edison Studios' film freely adapts Mary Shelley's novel and is generally recognized as its first screen version. It changes both the creation of the creature and the resolution of the story.

Behind the scenes

J. Searle Dawley filmed the production at Edison's Bronx studio. The creature's formation was staged with a burning model and reversed motion, making a practical effect central to the horror.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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