Public Domain Movies

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1920) is considered the first great American horror film.  It is included in our program to illustrate the contributions to the Motion Pictures industry of two stars of Silent Hall of Fame - director John S. Robertson and actress Martha Mansfield.

This is a complete version and contains about 5.30 m. footage absent from other versions streamed here.

The film is based on the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.  A benevolent doctor and an aspiring scientist, Dr. Jekyll (John Barrymore) is tempted to explore the two sides of his personality - the good one and the evil one.  He invents a concoction that turns him into a monster, and an antidote that turns him back to his normal good self.

Dr. Jekyll is the official suitor of his friend's daughter Millicent (Martha Mansfield).  She is eager to be with him, but his split personality obsession prevents him from dedicating enough time to her.  Then the evil side, named Mr. Hyde, starts his own life, chasing other women and becoming more and more violent.  Millicent's father gets in harm's way by confronting Jekyll, and she herself gets in trouble, too.

In the end, Dr. Jekyll pays the ultimate price for not being able to control his evil alter ego.

Martha Mansfield played her most famous role in this film.  She was a true rising star, only to die at 24 in a freak fire accident three years later.

Directed by                      John S. Robertson
Produced by                    Adolph Zukor, Jesse Lasky
Written by                       Thomas Russell Sullivan, Clara Beranger
Based on                        The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Starring                           John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield
Cinematography               Roy F. Overbaugh
Distributed by                  Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, Paramount Pictures
Release date                   March 18, 1920
Running time                   77 minutes
Country                           United States
Language                        Silent film, English intertitles

You can see a slideshow of stills from this film and other interesting stuff on our website silent-hall-of-fame.org.

Silent Hall of Fame is the only place where we actively work to bring back from oblivion the names and legacy of formerly illustrious silent movie stars, which have made a major contribution to the industry and the world but do not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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