the monster on this 1910 edison kinetogram cover looks like he has been living inside a chimney. wild hair, long fingers, absolutely no interest in the tidy silhouette that would eventually become halloween shorthand.
the library of congress restored edison’s frankenstein, the first film adaptation of the novel, in 2018. its account of the work is worth reading alongside the film: a nitrate print, replacement opening credits from another collection, a recreated intertitle, a new score by donald sosin. a film can survive and still need help becoming watchable.
this is the useful part of going back before an image became definitive. the monster stops being a logo and starts looking like a choice somebody made. another face was possible. another kind of hair was, regrettably, also possible.
the restoration is available through the library’s linked screening room. a small halloween detour, with the repair work left visible in the explanation.
image: edison manufacturing company, edison kinetogram, march 15, 1910, via the library of congress. public domain in the united states.
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