Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
by John S. Robertson
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brandon Hurst, Cecil Clovelly, Charles Lane, John Barrymore, Martha MansfieldDirector: John S. Robertson
Brand: Kino International
Cinematographer: Roy F. Overbaugh
Producer: Adolph Zukor
Writer: Clara Beranger
Writer: Oscar Wilde
Writer: Robert Louis Stevenson
Writer: Thomas Russell Sullivan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Silent
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 73 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-09
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: 2172
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Movie Review: The first US horror film
Summary: 5 Stars
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has long been hailed as a classic by critics and audiences alike, both the story itself and the classic with John Barrymore. The film was made in 1920 and is truly a silent film as the only noise in the whole film is the theatre organ. It is of course designed as a suspense/horror film and although the scares are mostly psychological, it is definitely a classic in the horror genre. This was one of the very first Jekyll and Hyde films preceded only by the 1911/1912 version starring famed director James Cruz; there was also "Januskopf, Der" also in 1920 but released in the UK and probably without the appropriate rights as was "Nosferatu" by the same director. And of course the third 1920 film with Sheldon Lewis that seems to get few accolades and is normally mentioned so people can get the good version with Mr. Barrymore. This version was directed by John S. Robertson and is definitely the best portrayal of the Robert Louis Stevenson story I have seen thus far.
The classic story line is of course known by many. Dr. Jekyll, a kind and decent paragon of society starts experimenting with various potions, and hits upon one that turns himself into a fully realized personification of his dark side. The person Jekyll holds responsible is the father of his beloved Millicent, whose cynical nature opens the door to his baser instincts and his fascination with the dual personality. Despite my familiarity with the story the script was very unpredictable right up to the ending, it was very difficult to tell what was going to happen next which for a silent film is remarkable. This is often considered the first US horror film, and even though the "scare" factor is not necessarily there..... the film is ungodly creepy which is normal of older horror films as they played more on suspense than sheer terror. I think this film ranks up there with the original "house on haunted hill" as one of the best suspense films of all time. The creep factor is very evident especially in some of the later scenes, and John Barrymore does an amazing job of doing Hyde with no facial makeup which in my opinion makes this the best treatment of the story. The basic concept of the story is a split personality so Hyde being a grotesque mockery of Jekyll's appearance versus an entirely different creature as in later films, stays truer to that concept. It also makes one get downright chills after the transformation. The only downside of this film is the soundtrack which seems to have no bearing on the events of the film at all and would best be described as church organ wankery, although even with this the quality of the film was not detracted from too much. Hopefully it will eventually get a new soundtrack such as "Nosferatu" did--but due to the fact the organ is the only sound, if I require sound next time I watch it I will just gather some classical music together. This film is difficult to watch for someone from the generation of talkies--I am quite used to older films, but silent films especially one such as this with very few title cards requires full 100 percent attention as it is very easy to miss things, and I did not realize until watching this film how often I space out for a minute or so. This fact shows how good a film it is, as once resigned to full attention you find yourself wanting to keep that full attention. This story is riveting and is much like reading a book as there are many things left to the imagination as there is much action and dialogue between the characters; but there are not title cards for all the dialogue. I found myself extrapolating and imagining what the actors were saying either based on the visuals or the title cards that have been displayed. Even though it may be difficult for the talkies generation, there are a wealth of silent films and any horror buff needs to see this to understand what the beginning of horror filming was like.
The star of this film is of course John Barrymore, whose acting is a standout among all the other principles in this film, through his grimace and general creepy way of moving as Hyde his is a standout performance above all the rest, and even though it is surprising that he is the only one of his siblings that has never been nominated or won any awards it is not surprising that he is now known as the best actor out of all of them. I will be honest, other than Martha Mansfield's depiction of Millicent, Jekyll's fiancé, none of the other actors were particularly noticeable in their roles. Ms. Mansfield's emotions and acting as she grew more and more concerned about her fiancé were a delight on the screen and as she had very few displayed lines on screen almost everything with her part was done visually. As for the other actors everyone did a decent job at their role but no one really stood out on an acting level.
The photography of this film was very basic, partially due to the time and also I believe the direction. There are many wide shots in the film, that jump to close-ups which make the actions very effective. There were very few heavy close-ups although there were some, it seemed as if they went out of their way to avoid any strong close-ups of Mr. Hyde--in some case the shot would widen out on his transformation, which was also a good illustration of how painful that transformation was. As disturbing as Mr. Hyde's appearance is, I am glad there are not any extreme close ups of his vile countenance. The other main aspect I noticed was the film started out very light, and near the end of the film there were more and more low key scenes, leading up to the finale. And in regards to Millicent; most if not all of the shots that involve her are high key lighting, which further magnifies her character's virtuousness on the audience.
All in all my silent film experience was excellent, and I am glad that I picked one that was completely silent excluding the church organ. It was a very good film, and the comparisons between a silent film and reading a book are many. There is much more room for imagination on films such as these and due to the silent nature you cannot turn around or space a section as you can miss quite a bit. There is a large focus on characterization and acting as a whole--- even though there were few standouts, the actors have to work much harder in a film with no sound and low instances of dialogue to make the film a good watch. The imagination factor comes in on sound effects quite a bit as with this film there are none. Every scream, every hit of the club and every gasp have to be imagined, and for a horror film makes it that much scarier. Just like in older horror films where music is used minimally to focus on the events, having no sound effects at all really puts you in the hot seat as what we imagine is always scarier than what someone else can put on the screen.
Summary of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
This first great american horror film follows the transformation of a prominent london physician dr jekyll into the murderous mr hyde. While he explores the dual nature of man. Studio: Kino International Release Date: 10/05/2004 Starring: John Barrymore Run time: 84 minutes Director: John Stuart RobinsonIt took John Barrymore to bring class to the American horror film, at least in the eyes of the industry. Dignified and virtuous as Dr. Henry Jekyll in this 1920 silent, Barrymore transforms into id incarnate as the lascivious Mr. Hyde. With almost no makeup beyond his gnarled, knobby fingers and greasy hair, Barrymore relies almost solely on a bug-eyed grimace, a spidery body language, and pure theatrical flourish. He tends to be hammy as the leering beast of a thug but brings a tortured struggle to the repressed doctor, horrified at the demon he's unleashed, guilty that he enjoys Hyde's unrestrained life of drinking and whoring, and terrified that he can no longer control the transformations. Martha Mansfield costars as his pure and innocent sweetheart, and Nita Naldi (the vamp of Blood and Sand) has a small but memorable role as the world-weary dance hall darling who first "wakens" Jekyll's "baser nature." --Sean Axmaker
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