On April 26, 2003, the Landmark Loew?s Jersey Theatre makes film viewing history with the official public re-premiere of Edison's historic Frankenstein, presumed lost to audiences for all time.

This landmark 1910 film, considered to be the first horror movie, is also the first incarnation of the Frankenstein Monster on film. The 14-minute reel was all but forgotten until 1963 when a film historian discovered a photo of Edison?s Monster in the Edison archives in West Orange, New Jersey. The photo was reproduced in numerous publications and generated enormous interest. But no print of the movie could be found. By 1980, The American Film Institute had declared Edison's "Frankenstein" to be one of the top ten most "culturally and historically significant lost films".

But unbeknownst to the AFI and most historians, one print of this historic film had survived in the private collection of Mr. Alois Dettlaff of Wisconsin. The "Frankenstein" print was one of a number of reels belonging to his wife's grandmother who collected the prints during her years as a film distributor. Mr. Dettlaff acquired the prints after her death.

When Mr. Dettlaff learned of the AFI list, he let it be known that Edison's "Frankenstein" had indeed been preserved. But because of copyright concerns, Dettlaff has turned down requests to screen the movie from museums and film distributors the world over, and has only allowed it to be screened theatrically at two small gatherings in his hometown.

But now that Mr. Dettlaff has decided to release the film on DVD, he has agreed to allow the official public re-premiere of this landmark film at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre. The film will be screened on two days as part of programs that include other, more familiar film versions of Frankenstein's Monster.

Friends of the Loew's and the Fort Lee Film Commission are co-sponsors of this historic event.