Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (Deluxe Collector's Edition) (1920) On DVD

Actor :          John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Brandon Hurst, Charles Lane, Cecil Clovelly
Director:      John S. Robertson
Genre:          Silent Films
Year:            1920
Studio:         Kino Video
Length:        49
Released:    October 5, 2004
Rating:         Not Rated (MPAA Rating)
Format:        DVD
Misc:            NTSC, Black & White
Language:  English
Subtitles:    N/A

DESCRIPTION:

It took John Barrymore to bring class to the American horror film, at least in the eyes of the industry. Dignified and virtuous as Dr. Henry Jekyll in this 1920 silent, Barrymore transforms into id incarnate as the lascivious Mr. Hyde. With almost no makeup beyond his gnarled, knobby fingers and greasy hair, Barrymore relies almost solely on a bug-eyed grimace, a spidery body language, and pure theatrical flourish. He tends to be hammy as the leering beast of a thug but brings a tortured struggle to the repressed doctor, horrified at the demon he's unleashed, guilty that he enjoys Hyde's unrestrained life of drinking and whoring, and terrified that he can no longer control the transformations. Martha Mansfield costars as his pure and innocent sweetheart, and Nita Naldi (the vamp of Blood and Sand) has a small but memorable role as the world-weary dance hall darling who first "wakens" Jekyll's "baser nature."

Special Features :