Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912 film)

Did You Know?

• Critic Troy Howarth felt the Hyde makeup was crude yet effective, though Jekyll's laboratory set looked like a cheap closet.
• Howarth described Hyde's reign of terror as confined to brief scenes, acting like an unrestrained child rather than a genuine menace.
• In the film, Jekyll's girlfriend's father is a minister instead of the pompous aristocrat from the novel.

Plot

White-haired Dr. Jekyll secretly takes a formula in his laboratory, transforming into a dark-haired, taloned beast with fangs. After repeated use, Hyde emerges at will, knocking down a little girl and murdering his sweetheart's father, a minister. Hyde returns to the lab to find the antidote gone, and a policeman breaks in to find Jekyll dead from poison.

Production

Produced by the Thanhouser Company, the film adapted the 1887 stage play rather than the novel, telescoping events into 12 minutes. James Cruze played Jekyll as a white-haired, middle-aged doctor, transforming into an impish and violent sociopath. Some sources list Harry Benham as Hyde, but Benham stated in a 1963 interview that he doubled for Cruze in some scenes uncredited. Historian Steve Haberman noted Benham played Hyde in all Hyde scenes, as Hyde was noticeably shorter than Cruze.