| Title: | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |
| Year: | 1920 |
| Producer: | Famous Players-Lasky Corp |
| Director: | John Robinson |
| Runtime: | 63 Minutes |
Actors / Actresses:
| Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde | John Berrymore |
| Sir George Carew | Brandon Hurst |
| Dr. Richard Lanyon | Charles Lane |
| Millicent Carew | Martha Mansfield |
| Gina | Nita Naldi |
Summary
In the begging of the movie, Dr. Jekyll is a kind doctor who works constantly between his laboratory and a free clinic for the poor. He loves Millicent, the daughter of George Carew who does not understand why Jekyll is so perfect. He suggests to Jekyll that he try something evil for a change, not that it would do a great amount of harm. This causes Jekyll to create a drug that could separate the different personalities of good and bad. With this drug, Dr. Jekyll becomes Mister Hyde, a crude evil man whom represents only the dark side of human nature. Jekyll finds himself being over come by the impulsive feelings of evil of Mr. Hyde, and when Carew find out that Hyde is Jekyll, he is killed by Hyde. In the stories climax, Jekyll knows too well the evilness of Hyde, but runs out of the drug that could return him to his good-fairing self again. When Millicent hears of her father's death she comes to Jekyll seeking comfort. In this confrontation, Jekyll transforms into Hyde, and there is an internal power struggle ... (Watch the movie).
Importance
The theme of the movie is much better than the acting. When Dr. Jekyll is tempted by George Carew, Millicent's father to know evil rather than just living in hislab and helping the poor, he experiments with a new drug that brought his evil side to life. His evil side is known as Mister Hyde, and it becomes apparent that Mr. Hyde has started to take over the mind of Jekyll. Each man inside is struggling for control on the physical being of Dr. Jekyll. This is shown by Changing scenes that are done incredibly while. Berrymore goes into a fit, and by the end, the clean cut Dr. Jekyll becomes the evil, hunch-backed Hyde. Hyde starts to take over, and when Jekyll runs out of the drug to preserve the good side, he loses control to Hyde and kills Carew. He cannot avoid changing into Mr. Hyde and when he is about to kill Millicent, he kills himself. This is considered an important movie because it was one of the best silent horror films of the time. It became clear that horror films were hard to do with not words, and even this movie had its difficulties dealing with the problem. It also had so special effects, such as morphing, that was new for the time period. All things considered, the movie did a poor job of building suspense, and it was there where it started to drag. However, the plot and the effects were well done and it is clear that it was one of the best horror films of the twenties.
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