Fifty Before '50: Edison's FRANKENSTEIN (1910)
About this episode
JB reflects on the significance of libraries and the history of Edison's FRANKENSTEIN.
by JB I love libraries. And Frankensteins. I have warm and fuzzy memories of both the Bellwood Library and the Arlington Heights Memorial Library from my largely misspent youth. A building full of books you could just borrow for free? Sign me up... and be still my little (black) literate heart! I especially remember a series of children’s books devoted to classic monster films published by Crestwood House in the 1970s. They all had distinctive bright orange covers. I checked them out of the library, but I have since learned they were also offered as classroom sets with teachers' guides, posters, and the books read aloud on cassette tape. I believe this is where I first encountered a picture of the monster from the 1910 Edison production of Frankenstein . However, it could have been in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine , which I became addicted to the 1970s. Where were my parents? The film was thought lost until collector Alois Dettlaff bought a copy in the 1950s from his mother-in-law, who was also a collector. At first, he did not realize its rarity. Somewhat deteriorated, the film was still in viewable condition, but Dettlaff still had a 35mm preservation…
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