Frankenstein (1910)

For anyone who hasn't seen this version of Mary Shelley's 1818 classic novel, Frankenstein is worth checking out.  The running time is only a little over 12 minutes.  The image is a little rough in spots but overall very viewable.  Produced by Edison Studios in 1910 (Edison himself actually had nothing to do with the film), and directed by J. Searle Dawley, this was the first screen adaptation of the novel.  It stars Augustus Phillips as Frankenstein, Mary Fuller as Elizabeth, and Charles Ogle as the monster.  Ogle must have been a pretty busy guy (almost as busy as William Schallert) as he appeared in over 300 films and shorts (mostly shorts) in his career.

I find it funny that instead of using lightning and electricity to create the monster, Frankenstein just mixes him up in a big bowl like a cake.  And throwing the film into reverse, the monster is "created" out of the flames to wreak havoc on the good doctor and any innocent bystanders. There are plenty of uber-dramatic and over-exaggerated gestures for one and all. 

All kidding aside, take a few minutes and check it out.

See it here on YouTube.  Or here on Archive.org.

On Screen -- Waterloo Bridge (1931)

"Waterloo Bridge" (1931) is my favorite version of the film because it's a little grittier and not as polished as the 1940 film starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor, and the story is told a little differently.  I think I read that the '31 film storyline is closer to the original story.  It's a really sad, romantic, and tragic story all at the same time.  The film was released before the production code went into effect in 1934 so to some viewers it may seem a little risqué or racy but it's still very tame by today's standards.

The film takes place in London during World War I.  "Myra" is an American chorus girl who followed a show to Europe but is now out of work resorting to street walking to make ends meet.  "Roy" is a naive young American who went to Canada to join the military so that he could fight in the war.  Roy meets Myra out on the street during a zeppelin attack on London and he immediately falls in love with her not realizing that Myra is a prostitute, while she misleads Roy explaining to him that she's a chorus girl.  The pair becomes very friendly as Myra invites him back to her apartment but then avoids Roy's questions about her history and background.  When he tricks her into spending the weekend with his family at their estate in the country, Myra begins feeling comfortable in her surroundings and around everyone in Roy's family, but then gets scared and runs off back to the city where she resumes her work.

Mae Clarke is beautiful and brilliant in her portrayal of "Myra", Kent Douglass stars as "Roy", Doris Lloyd stars as "Kitty, Myra's neighbor and "coworker."  And in one of her first roles Bette Davis costars as "Janet Cronin", Roy's sister.  The film is directed by James Whale in one of his first few directorial efforts... , yes, the same James Whale that directed "Frankenstein" (1931), "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) , and "The Invisible Man" (1933).