Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

"The world's greatest actor in a tremendous story of man at his best and worst!"

1920 1h 19m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 166

HorrorScience FictionDrama

Synopsis

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A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.

“The world's greatest actor in a tremendous story of man at his best and worst!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

John Barrymore
Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
Brandon Hurst
Sir George Carewe
Martha Mansfield
Millicent Carewe
Charles Lane
Dr. Richard Lanyon
Cecil Clovelly
Edward Enfield
Nita Naldi
Miss Gina
Louis Wolheim
Music Hall Proprietor
Alma Aiken
Extra (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John S. Robertson
Writers: Clara Beranger, Clara Beranger
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

106 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John S. Robertson, shot by Roy F. Overbaugh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

John Barrymore and Brandon Hurst and Martha Mansfield carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The world's greatest actor in a tremendous story of man at his best and worst!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0011130 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John S. Robertson directs. Roy F. Overbaugh behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2106 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by John S. Robertson, shot by Roy F. Overbaugh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5John Barrymore and Brandon Hurst and Martha Mansfield carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The world's greatest actor in a tremendous story of man at his best and worst!".
7IMDB entry: tt0011130 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Roy F. Overbaugh
Runtime: 79 min · 1h 19m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

Also by

John S. Robertson

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-08-23
★ 8/10
A very good early silent with both exquisite direction and a fine acting performance by John Barrymore. Well-worth checking out for cinephiles with a heightened interest in the origins of American horror cinema.
CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 7/10
I'd have to admit that John Barrymore was certainly no oil painting. Unlike so many silent-era film stars, he could actually act, rather then just look longingly into the camera and/or the gal's doey eyes. Here he portrays Robert Louis Stevenson's eponymous characters with quite some menace and skill. The story of the eminently respectable "Jekyll" who is fascinated by the human psyche and who experiments with mind/body altering drugs, discovering his inner and pretty unpleasant id in "Mr Hyde" in the process. There now follows a battle royal between the two personalities, the decent and the monstrous, and it rapidly becomes unsafe for those around him - including "Millicent" (Martha Mansfield), whom "Jekyll" loves, and even music hall girl "Gina" (Nita Naldi), the object of the desires of his alter ego. Barrymore is great, here - though some of his transformation scenes did remind me of a rather crazed Richard III playing an invisible piano. Using some dark and dingy locations, the clever use of shadow and Barrymore's own ability to create a considerable sense of menace, this really does have the hairs on the back of your neck paying attention. The visual effects are effective and John Robertson gives us a good solid, adaptation of an eerie, provocative story that still captures the imagination now, but without the characterisations being compromised or overly relying on CGI and the like to distract us from the on-screen antics. Whilst I wouldn't say it was the best - the 1931 version was a cracker too, it is one of those stories that resonates now, as it did then, and this is a terrific interpretation.