A well respected member of society and brillant researcher, Dr. Henry Jekyll takes it upon himself to explore the possibility of separating the natural instincts of man with the soul of ones ability to be good. During his research, he develops a formula which does just that, turns him into a monster named Mr. Hyde, whose sole purpose is to carry out and take part of the many human vices that Dr. Jekyll cannot afford to cast upon his reputation as a do-gooder. However, little does Jekyl know, that the addiction of desire and vice is too much for him to control his alter ego.
"my my, what a big... top hat you have..."
If you are like me, and a child of the 80s, then it’s likely that your first exposure to the Jekyll and Hyde story came from the Looney Toons. In particular, the episodes where either Bugs Bunny or even Tweety Bird casually transform into the grueling snarling Hyde character, much to the dismay of their toon opponents. But the problem with these cartoon versions of the tale is that it doesn’t convey the true moral of the story, the one of human instinct and desire. This is not just a story of a monster, but the story of addiction.
"Hmmm, now if I can only figure out some type of drink that'll turn me into a raging beast..."
You see, everyone respects Dr. Jekyll as being such an upstanding member of society that he never really gets to enjoy the pleasures of vice; things like drinking, smoking and womanizing. But just like real alcohol and real drugs, the potion that Jekyll develops to become his alter ego, Hyde, only brings about his own destruction through the abuse of giving in to his subconscious desires and destructive patterns until ultimately it brings about his own end.
"I'm freakin' out, man!"
Chances are, you are already familar with the story and have seen one version or another, but this particular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde movie is the first to be adapted to the screen, albeit a silent one. And while silent movies aren’t for everyone, this one does have a certain charm to it. You’d think it’d be something that would put you to sleep, but the over embellished body language and novelty of a silent film actually makes this quite entertaining.
In Australia, instead of dogs sleeping at the edge of your bed, they have giant pet ghost spiders that want to eat your soul.
There are many scenes throughout which are very funny just based on the silent acting, for instance the scene where Jekyll first drinks the potion and turns to Hyde becomes a long drawn out moment of body wrenching and throat grabbing. Not to mention the scenes with the hideos Mr. Hyde seducing pretty young women into having his way with them. There’s nothing quite as comical as a cone head with scraggly hair gently caressing the cheek of a squirming fair maiden.
Always a dilemma at 3 in the morning after sucking down one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer.
In addition, I’ll also add that for 1920, I thought the makeup and effects were fairly impressive. Mr. Hyde didn’t look like any kind of fake monster and was able to pull off a realistic grotesque man who rarely bathes. Also, there is one scene with a giant ghost spider which I imagine must have been a heck of an effect for the silent era of movies.
Overall, the 1920 version of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde was quite entertaining, especially considering that it’s a silent movie. And judging based on relativity to it’s era, I give it an “A-” on the 50 Horror Classics Movie pack rating scale.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah, this movie is a hoot. I still like the ’32 version more, though.
Danny,
Yea, I still haven’t seen the 1932 Jekyll & Hyde yet but it definitely looks good and will be interesting to see how it compares against the original silent movie version.