Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster & wallpaper

Brandon Hurst, Cecil Clovelly, Charles Lane

This story of split personality, has Dr. Jekyll a kind, and charitable man who believes that everyone has two sides, one good and one evil. Using a potion, his personalities are split, creating havoc....( read more  read more... ) Silent movie, with original organ score.

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58% liked it

2,145 ratings

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90% liked it

10 critics

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Directed by: John S. Robertson

Release Date: March 18, 1920

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DVD Release Date: January 12, 1999

Stats: 107 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (107)

  • groaningbitch
    March 12, 2008
    groaningbitch
    silent "dr. jekyll and mr. hyde" is the classic fable upon the irreconcible duality inside humanity, compounded by good and evil, a slight horror showcase for john barrymore to flaunt his daring trial of self-disfiguration, an applaud for the cosmetic department.

    the only way ...( read more)to cope with our base nature, which is symbolized as left hand, is to yield to it but concession to evil would mar the immortal purity of soul. so how should we balance it on a even scale without damaging the harmonious perfection? thus virtuously saint-alike scientist dr. jekyll chooses to discriminate his darker self into another monstrous being_mr. hyde. this marvellous transformation is made possible thru his invention of magic potion. there're various metaphors behind this legendary fable about the schizopreniac reality of human nature, the greater repression of morality causes greater frightful seed of evil, also a tale with a doctrine to condemn human's god-trespassing pride by re-incarnating oneself thru the scientic human endevor, "a sacrilege to both god and devil"....

    john barrymore's impersonation upon mr. hyde is ground-smashing, considering the phenomenon of cinematic art then, and barrymore had to compulse himself into a certain type of histrionic dramaticity to impress the audience with fierce exaggerations of movements and facial expressions. the seedy mr. hyde resembles the wretched elder witch in midieval dark age, especially when hyde in spider suit creepily crawls over jekyll on bed. that sort of bizarrely expressive method could only exist in the silent age.

    as for the cameo of silent vamp actress nita naldi who has the oriental looks of geisha, she emanates enough sensuality with her full-cup bosom, her radiant ebony hair, and also her characteristic gothic features. she's one of the archetyped beauties in the 20s, the vamp type, with all her smoldering exotica and her voluptuous tigress allure, she's almost as oriental as any other authentic oriental beauty, but magnified with her fearless earthy lasciviousness.
  • smith44
    April 3, 2007
    smith44
    Firstly this film holds a special place of significance in my movie viewing life as the oldest film I have ever seen, made in 1920, and as the first silent film I ever saw. The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde is one of the greatest and most famous works of gothic horror. So...( read more) much so that we may use the phrase "a Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde personality" to describe someone with violently changing moods. The backbone to any adaptation of this horror classic must always centre on the portrayal of Dr Jekyll, and John Barrymore not only is the backbone of the film but the entire skelleton, he virtually holds up the film. Many critics at the time acclaimed him the greatest actor yet, with virtually minimal camera trickery and limited make-up Barrymore relies on his acting skills and in particular, his ability to contort his features (to the extent of dislocating his jaw) in order to make the transformation. But despite all these admirable positives the film needs to be scary, something that silent black and white films people say is very difficult to a modern audience. Well, I disagree the silent black and white horror films tend to have the most frightening effect, I would argue, due to it's percieved deficencies i.e. soundless, colourless, actors with heavy make up and unique faces. The scariest film I have ever seen Jane Erye another literary horror classic proves in my mind this point, supported by this film. It scared the living hell out of me. Any true horror buff would instantly consider this film a classic among the great horrors. As for me a non horror buff, I consider it one of the scariest films I have ever seen.
  • mustardnoize
    November 2, 2009
    mustardnoize
    A classic treatment of a classic tale. Barrymore, as usual, is superb in his dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; while make-up and lighting definitely played a part in the now-famous transformation, it is Barrymore himself that exhibits the starkest contrast between the two hal...( read more)ves of the main character's personality through his posture, facial expressions, and exaggerated mannerisms (all, of course, without the use of sound), setting the stage for all future actors who would take on this challenging role (Fredric March, who would win an Oscar for his portrayal of Jekyll/ Hyde some dozen years after this film was made, must certainly have studied Barrymore's performance and likely took several pages from his book). As with most cinematic adaptations of Stevenson's famous 1885 novel, this film does away with the lawyer Utterson as the focal character (and replaces him with the Doctor himself, like virtually all films of this sort do), yet it does indeed utilize more elements from the source text than most, although they generally appear in different places in the cinematic narative (mostly toward the end). All in all, a remarkable silent film, and one that is recommended to fans of either the Stevenson novel or of silent horror films in general.
  • DrLappos
    August 30, 2008
    DrLappos
    Brilliantly cheesy with some of the most hammed up acting ever but hey....its a keeper.
  • ElCochran90
    September 17, 2009
    ElCochran90
    Fantastic silent. Good and well-made horror.

    78/100
  • CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    September 6, 2009
    CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    Not the first film version of the great Robert Louis Stevenson story, but one of the best. This version closely follows the 1887 play based on the story, rather than being a direct adaptation of the book itself. Dr Jekyll's fiancée's father is not the prude he is portrayed as in ...( read more)later film versions as he is the one who first introduces Jekyll to the "red light" district. This was done in order to convince Jekyll that indulging oneself is perfectly OK, if done in moderation. Jekyll likes it, but is afraid he will be controlled by the baser human drives creates and elixir in order to create two separate selves. And you know the rest.
  • rojastortu
    July 24, 2009
    rojastortu
    Very good, though not the best silent movie out there... Some scenes were just too confusing and out of tone. But the climax left me really surprised! John Barrymore was fantastic and scary.
  • Soundsofmadness
    April 25, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thanks - Not interested
  • jhollies
    April 3, 2009
    jhollies
    Surprisingly good performances and neat camera trickery.
  • mikezillatron
    March 8, 2009
    mikezillatron
    a silent horror classic.

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