Silent Film of the Month: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912)

 

Run Time: 12 minutes. Studio: Thanhouser Studios. Director: Lucius Henderson. Main Cast: James Cruze, Florence La Badie, Marie Eline. 

It is October, meaning it is officially spooky season. Of course, for movie fans this time of year means a time to watch some of your favorite spooky films. While horror movies, wouldn't fully take off as a genre until the Universal monster films of the 1930's, there are still plenty of spooky themed movies from the silent era to explore. Some of these, like Nosferatu (1922) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), have gotten the attention they deserve, others have unjustly gone overlooked. A delightful example of this is this 1912 adaption of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

Everyone today is still familiar with the basic story. Dr. Jekyll is interested in separating the good and the evil that exists in the same person. So, he creates a drink that will do just this. After taking the drink his evil side manifests itself as a monster known as Mr. Hyde. As time goes on, Mr. Hyde starts to take over and become his dominant side. 

This film may be a shock to movie fans who are used to modern horror movies. One of the reasons for this is that there are no real scares. The film seems less interested in scaring the audience than it is in simply telling the story. Mr. Hyde himself may have a creepy look, but he never jumps out at you and there is never a sense of dread over what he is going to do next. However, the main reason this film may seem strange to modern movie fans is because of its brevity. This is one of many short length literary adaptations that were made during this time period. These short films often simply featured only highlights of the story and often jumped from one to another. The result was a compact telling of a familiar story. 

Despite this film being so drastically different from modern horror movies, it still holds up remarkably well today. Unlike many other literary adaptions of the time that require prior knowledge of the story, this film is self-explanatory. If you showed this to someone who had somehow never heard of the story, they would be able to follow along. This also makes the film work much better for those of us who are very familiar with the story. It creates a less fragmented and more complete feel. It is true that it can feel a bit rushed to our modern eyes but that does not mean that it is not effective. This film plays as mostly a tragedy of the consequences of playing God. While the characters are not as complex as they would be in later adaptions, it becomes very easy to emphasize with them and feel a basic emotional connection. This makes quite a few moments (especially the ending) quite emotionally effective. Because of all this the film also works quite well as a morality tale. It tells its message about not playing God effectively and in a way that never feels didactic. 

This is also a very handsome film. While the special effects are basic, they are effective. You may be able to tell how they are done but there is never a moment when they take you out of the story. The way Mr. Hyde looks is also quite well done. While he would not be scary to a modern audience, he does have an effectively creepy look to him. The sets and costumes are also delightful to look at here. 

If you are interested in watching this film, you can watch it below on YouTube.