Nick M
With the release of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1920 can be considered the year that birthed the cinematic horror genre. They were released only a month apart half a world away, which is an interesting coincidence. One wishes that they were on more equal footing, but Dr. Caligari is by far the better picture. Dr. Jekyll is a fairly poor adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's original story. Its set dressing is serviceable but unimaginative, its direction uninspired, and the actors' performances are decidedly mixed. Really the only aspect of the film that is of interest is John Barrymore's performance and make-up as Mr. Hyde. Still mostly known as a stage actor at this point in his career, his dual roles in this film are what began to catapult him into stardom on the screen, earning him the deserved sobriquet: the Great Profile. He is attractive and convincing in the role of the good doctor, but his transformation into and subsequent performance as Mr. Hyde is some of the finest character acting ever seen in the medium up to this point. His monster's mien is perhaps a little silly, but it is fully realized and thoroughly disturbing. It so affected contemporaneous audiences that doors and windows were smashed by people attempting to see its first performances. One reviewer noted that a friend remarked some time after seeing his performance that it gave her "an attack of the blues" from which she didn't expect she'd ever fully recover.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
10/20/24
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Mario C
Wow, what a brooding, yet, sensual adaptation of this macabre work of mind being splintered by a passion to be free from moral dilemmas. Watch and find out, if you can delve into another place and time, which will transport you to a stranger's world made up within beastly endeavors.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
John Barrymore, who plays both Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde in this movie, was such a gifted physical actor that the initial part of his transformation has no makeup. It's him contorting his body and appearance all on his own.
This adaption of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson was written by Clara Beranger (who was one of the original faculty members at USC School of Cinematic Arts) and was directed by John S. Robertson, who The Byrds wrote the song "Old John Robertson" about.
Henry Jekyll (Barrymore) is led to believe that all men have two sides at constant war for their souls: a good and evil brain, basically. A potion that he creates allows him to access that evil side of his being, unleashing Edward Hyde. Yet by the end of the film, the potion is no longer needed and the transformation comes whenever Jekyll becomes upset.
A few years after making this movie, Barrymore bought a house in Hollywood for $6,000. He got the seller to lower the price by a thousand dollars by showing up the closing dressed as Mr. Hyde.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
georgan g
Barrymore's acting is alone worth the watch. The makeup is more advanced than the earlier silent versions, but it's Barrymore's acting that bring Mr Hyde alive.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
My favorite version of the film. The acting is memorable
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
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Audience Member
John Sidney Barrymore was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1882, a member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families. His mother's early death and father's later mental breakdown were instrumental in John's lifetime of alcoholism. His older siblings, Lionel and Ethel, were also renowned, famous actors whom he rather reluctantly followed into what he called the family curse (in lieu of "business"): acting. After massive stage successes, he focused on silent films for a period of 14 years, soon gaining his nickname, "The Great Profile". He began filming Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in November of 1919. It was based on Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and is set in late 1880s Victorian London. It differed from the novella by adding the character of Millicent, Dr. Jekyll's fiancée, using as a source the London stage play that starred Richard Mansfield, a German-born but mostly English- and American-raised actor. An interesting side note is that Mansfield was performing in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1888 West-end London during the period when Jack the Ripper was murdering prostitutes on the East side of town, in Whitechapel. One audience member actually wrote to the police accusing Richard Mansfield of the Ripper murders because his onstage transformation from suave gentleman doctor into mad, beast-like killer was so overwhelming. Also, writer Robert Louis Stevenson had always intended Jekyll to be pronounced, "JEE-kul", not "JEC-kul", as a play on "hide (Hyde) and seek (JEE-kill)". Over time, Stevenson's characters influenced the English language to such an extent that dictionaries added "Jekyll and Hyde" as a "noun" meaning "one having a two-sided personality, one side of which is good and the other evil." Man is not truly one, but truly two. Reviews of Barrymore's performance screamed about his screen presence potentially threatening the public's mental as well as physical health. Overall, 1920 film critics felt this film was fine, dignified, and yet contained the excellent, disturbing performance of the star. Brandon Hurst, who played Jekyll's would-be father in law, had a long career in horror-themed films, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Man Who Laughs, Murders in the Rue Morgue, White Zombie, Ghost of Frankenstein, and House of Frankenstein. Martha Mansfield, who played Jekyll's fiancée Millicent, was severely burned in 1923 while filming The Warrens of Virginia, only to die the following day from her injuries, at the age of 24. Nita Naldi, who played the exotic dancer that Hyde convinces to stay with him, was personally selected for her role by Barrymore, when he saw her in a dance performance in New York.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
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