''Life Without Soul'' (1915) is a lost

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

, directed by Joseph W. Smiley and written by Jesse J. Goldburg. This film is an adaptation of

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's 1818

Gothic novel Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean ...

'' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. The film is about a doctor who creates a soulless man. In the end, it turns out that a young man has dreamed the events of the film after falling asleep reading Shelley's novel. This version is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

and the second film version of ''Frankenstein''. The first version was the

Edison Manufacturing Company The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as under the name of the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by scientist / inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas A. Edison (1847–1 ...

's 12-minute

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'' (1910), written and directed by J. Searle Dawley.

Production

This full-length film (broken into five parts), was produced by the Ocean Film Corporation and featured English-born actor Percy Darrell Standing wearing little to no make-up as the 'Brute Man'. The story is about the Brute Man killing the sister of his creator (Dr. William Frawley) on her wedding night. Frawley pursues his creation across Europe finally killing him by shooting him. Frawley then dies of exhaustion. A framing device reveals that the story is being read from a book. The film was reissued in 1916 by the Raver Film Corporation with added scientific documentary footage detailing the reproduction methods of fish.Stephen Jones. ''The Essential Monster Movie Guide''. Billboard Books. 2000. Pg. 224

Cast

* Percy Standing as The Creation / Brute Man * George De Carlton as Frankenstein's Father * Lucy Cotton as Elizabeth Lavenza * Pauline Curley as Claudia Frawley * Jack Hopkins as Henry Claridge * David McCauley as Victor Frawley As A Child * Violet De Biccari as Elizabeth Lavenza As A Child * William A. Cohill as Dr. William Frawley

References

External links

* * 1915 films 1915 horror films 1915 lost films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films 1910s science fiction horror films American black-and-white films American science fiction horror films American silent feature films English-language science fiction horror films Films based on horror novels Films set in 1915 Films set in Manhattan Frankenstein films Lost horror films Lost silent American films Silent science fiction horror films {{1910s-horror-film-stub

Production

Cast

See also

References

External links