Life Without Soul (Lost 1915 Silent Horror Film)

Life Without a Soul was a silent American horror film released back in 1915, written by Jesse J. Goldberg and directed by Joseph W. Smiley. It was a retelling of the Mary Shelley novel "Frankenstein" and was the second film to adapt the story. It told the tale of Victor Frawley (Played by William A. Cohill), a wealthy physician who discovers the "Fluid of Life" that can animate the dead. While reading Shelley's "Frankenstein", Frawley falls asleep and dreams of himself, his fiancee and friends as characters from the book. In the dream, Frawley, as Frankenstein, uses the fluid to turn a clay statue into a living being, dubbed "The Creation" (Played by Percy Standing). The movie follows the novel somewhat closely, with the monster going on a killing spree, climaxing in a scene set in the Grand Canyon (Actually filmed in Georgia), where Frawley manages to trap his creation in a cave and seal it with dynamite, only to die of exhaustion. Frawley then awakes from his dream, and realizing the potential dangers his elixer could cause, destroys it.

The film has been lost for many years and has not yet surfaced. It is unknown if any copy of the film still exists, although the plot, most of the actors and producers, and the shooting locations have all been made public.