Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920 Paramount film)
A silent horror adaptation of Stevenson's classic dual-nature tale.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1920 American silent horror film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released through Paramount/Artcraft. Directed by John S. Robertson and starring John Barrymore, it is an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, based on the 1887 stage play by Thomas Russell Sullivan. The film is notable for its early use of contortion and minimal makeup to depict transformation, and for introducing a sexual undercurrent absent from the novel.
Quick Facts
- Director
- John S. Robertson
- Producer
- Adolph Zukor / Jesse L. Lasky
- Writer
- Clara Beranger / Thomas Russell Sullivan (1887 stage play)
- Based On
- Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde · Robert Louis Stevenson
- Starring
- John Barrymore / Martha Mansfield / Charles W. Lane / Nita Naldi
- Cinematography
- Roy F. Overbaugh
- Studio
- Famous Players–Lasky/Artcraft Pictures
- Distributor
- Paramount Pictures
- Runtime
- 79 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- Silent film / English intertitles
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film is set in late Victorian London and follows Dr. Henry Jekyll, a charitable doctor who develops a potion to separate his good and evil selves, transforming into the hideous Mr. Hyde. As Hyde, he indulges in debauchery, eventually murdering Sir George Carew, his fiancée's father. The screenplay by Clara Beranger deviated from Stevenson's novel by making Jekyll a saintly figure and introducing a romantic subplot with Millicent Carew, a character from the stage play.
Reader's Guide
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) is significant as one of the first major film adaptations of Stevenson's story, influencing later horror cinema. John Barrymore's performance, relying on facial contortion rather than heavy makeup for the initial transformation, was widely praised. The film's commercial success is attested by high box-office receipts and rental fees paid by movie palaces. It is now in the public domain.
Did You Know?
- John Barrymore's initial transformation into Hyde was achieved with no makeup, relying solely on his ability to contort his face and body.
- The character of Millicent Carew does not appear in Stevenson's novel but was taken from the 1887 stage play by Thomas Russell Sullivan.
- After Nita Naldi's death in 1961, The New York Times noted that John Barrymore obtained a part for her in the film after spotting her dancing at the Winter Garden Theatre.
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