Dr. Jekyll has a grand idea... what if he could harness man's evil in two distinct forms? His colleague says no, that would cause man to be both god and devil. But Jekyll presses on and creates a serum that transforms him into another being entirely, that of Mr. Hyde. The experiment seems fair at first, but quickly spirals out of hand as Hyde's violence cannot be contained. How can Hyde be stopped and what will happen to the budding romance between Jekyll and his colleague's daughter? By itself, this film is pretty amazing. The makeup effects are ahead of their time and there's a special effect involving a tarantula that impressed me greatly. The acting is good -- a bit exaggerated at times, but that was simply the style of the day. Even the picture quality is impressive... clearly a lot of love and funding went into this project and it paid off in spades. Any future Jekyll/Hyde film would have to be compared to this one, and it would be a tough film to beat.
I had the special treat of catching it at the Music Box Massacre festival at the Music Box theater in Chicago. What made this great besides a silver screen presentation? Live organ accompaniment. For the entire length of the film, the organist kept us and our emotions moving from the romantic to the terrifying... without missing a note. Silent films may have faded away and will likely never regain any level of popularity, but if you do get the chance to see one, this is the proper way. Prerecorded music has nothing on the sound of a live organ. I have to give full credit to organist Mark Noller for such an amazing and inspiring performance.
This version of "Jekyll and Hyde", more than any other, stands out as a historic plank in the annals of horror and film. While it could be argued that other versions are better or more in touch with a modern audience -- and there are dozens of remakes and reimaginings to choose from -- this is one that should be seen by any serious horror fan or film scholar. Techniques used in it, such as the makeup, could still be influential today. Newer is not always better and while we today think of "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" as the early horror masterpieces, this one should not be ruled out.
I had the special treat of catching it at the Music Box Massacre festival at the Music Box theater in Chicago. What made this great besides a silver screen presentation? Live organ accompaniment. For the entire length of the film, the organist kept us and our emotions moving from the romantic to the terrifying... without missing a note. Silent films may have faded away and will likely never regain any level of popularity, but if you do get the chance to see one, this is the proper way. Prerecorded music has nothing on the sound of a live organ. I have to give full credit to organist Mark Noller for such an amazing and inspiring performance.
This version of "Jekyll and Hyde", more than any other, stands out as a historic plank in the annals of horror and film. While it could be argued that other versions are better or more in touch with a modern audience -- and there are dozens of remakes and reimaginings to choose from -- this is one that should be seen by any serious horror fan or film scholar. Techniques used in it, such as the makeup, could still be influential today. Newer is not always better and while we today think of "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" as the early horror masterpieces, this one should not be ruled out.