Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1920 American silent horror film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released through Paramount/Artcraft. The film, which stars John Barrymore, is an adaptation of the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. John S. Robertson directed the production, and Clara Beranger wrote the screenplay, based on the 1887 stage play by Thomas Russell Sullivan that in turn was based on the novel. Set in late Victorian London, the film portrays the tragic consequences of a doctor's experiments in separating the dual personalities he thinks define all humans: one good, the other evil. The film is now in the public domain. Plot Dr Henry Jekyll lives and works in London. When not treating the poor at his free clinic, he works long hours in his laboratory, leaving little time for his sweetheart, Millicent. Sir George Carewe, Millicent's father, is irritated by Jekyll's highmindedness, observing that "No man could be as good as he looks." After dinner one evening, Sir George lectures Jekyll about his lifestyle, insisting that every man is fundamentally composed of two "selves" which are in continual conflict. He opines that "a man cannot destroy the savage in him by denying its impulses", and that "the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." He takes Jekyll to a nightclub and arranges a liaison with Gina, one of the dancers. Jekyll backs away. Reflecting on Sir George's comments, Jekyll begins private research into ways of separating out the two basic natures of man, the good and the evil. He manages to develop a potion that transforms him into a hideous, evil counterpart that he calls "Hyde", along with a counter-potion to reverse the effect. As Hyde, Jekyll is not recognizable as himself, so to facilitate his evil counterpart's access to his home and laboratory, the doctor informs his servant Poole that his friend Mr. Hyde is to have full access.