Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1920 poster

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1920 horror silent film based upon Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and starring actor John Barrymore.

The film was directed by John S. Robertson and co-starred Nita Naldi, and is now in the Public Domain

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.

Trivia:

  • Many adaptations of the Robert Louis Stevenson’s novelette were written as plays and performed; the earliest in the United States by Thomas Russell Sullivan opened in Boston on 9 May 1887 and moved to New York City on 12 May 1887.
  • In the short Renaissance flashback memory sequence, where Hyde is explaining to Gina about the poisonous mysteries of his secret ring, set pieces and costumes were brought from “The Jest”. That was a hit play in which John Barrymore had starred with brother Lionel Barrymore on Broadway in 1919 before shooting this picture.
  • John Barrymore hauled many of his prized potted plants from his apartment to the set to appear in scenery in the movie.
  • This was one of the first major productions filmed in Paramount’s then new Astoria Long Island studios. Opened in 1919 the studios underwent a major soundproofing renovation when talkies arrived in 1929.
  • Tallulah Bankhead was originally offered the role of Millicent, which eventually went to Martha Mansfield.