Thomas Edison ‘Frankenstein’ 1910 Owner Found Dead + ‘The High and the Mighty’ Collector’s DVD

Thomas Edison ‘Frankenstein’ 1910 owner Alois F. Dettlaff found dead

Alois F. Dettlaff, the film archivist responsible for preserving the only surviving print of Thomas Edison’s 1910 film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, was found dead in the bathroom of his home in Cudahy, Wisconsin, on July 26. (Image: Charles Ogle as the Monster in the 1910 Frankenstein.)

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dettlaff’s body was badly decomposed; his daughter and son-in-law lived across the street from him, but they had not seen him in more than a month. Dettlaff, who was obsessively protective of his copy of Frankenstein, was described by his son-in-law as bitter and reclusive.

The 15-minute Frankenstein, produced by Thomas Edison’s Edison Manufacturing Company and directed by J. Searle Dawley, had in the key roles Mary Fuller (as Elizabeth), Augustus Phillips (as Dr. Frankenstein), and Charles Ogle (as the Monster).

Edison’s Frankenstein was thought lost until the mid-’70s, when Dettlaff announced he owned a copy. Much to the irritation and frustration of film lovers and historians, the discovery didn’t lead to many screenings, for Dettlaff feared that the film – already in the public domain – was going to be bootlegged.

Thomas Edison & the Motion Picture Patents Company

Thomas Edison, by the way, was also rabidly jealous of his company’s products. Edison, in fact, was a founder of the Motion Picture Patents Company (a.k.a. the Edison Trust), which did its utmost to stifle competition from independent movie producers and distributors by controlling the use of film stock and accessories. Edison’s efforts notwithstanding, his company became obsolete in less than a decade as the MPPC turned out to be a dismal failure.

Hollywood, far away from Edison’s New Jersey base (and quite close to the Mexican border in case of problems with U.S. patent laws), was a key culprit.

‘The High and the Mighty’ Collector’s Edition DVD

Long unavailable due to rights disputes, the 1954 airplane adventure drama The High and the Mighty has finally come out on DVD. A two-disc Collector’s Edition of The High and the Mighty was released on August 2 by Paramount Home Video.

Adapted by Ernest K. Gann from his own novel, The High and the Mighty is a sort of Grand Hotel on wings. This tale of a Trans-Pacific airliner that suffers engine trouble along the way was directed by William A. Wellman (whose Wings was the first film to win a “Best Production” Academy Award), and stars John Wayne, Robert Stack, Claire Trevor, Jan Sterling, Laraine Day, Robert Newton, Paul Kelly, John Qualen, Phil Harris, David Brian, Julie Bishop, and Regis Toomey.

One of the biggest hits of 1954, The High and the Mighty was nominated for six Academy Awards: Best direction (William Wellman), best supporting actress (Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor), best film editing (Ralph Dawson), best original song (“The High and the Mighty”, music by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washington), and best original dramatic/comedy score (Dimitri Tiomkin). Only Tiomkin took home the statuette for the film’s score.

Wellman was also nominated for a Director’s Guild Award, while Jan Sterling, perhaps the best trashy blonde of the 1950s, won a best supporting actress Golden Globe.

Region 1 DVD (Canada / U.S. / U.S. territories) release date: August 2, 2005

List price: US$19.99. (At Amazon: US$13.99.) Prices subject
to change.

A Paramount Home Video release.