We’ve only second hand accounts of John Barrymore’s supposed greatness on stage, but he was definitely at one point a handsome devil, as demonstrated in this silent film. Without the puffiness and bloating of later years, his profile is more pronounced and his acting more energetic. He plays the devoting hard working scientist who after a visit to a racy nightclub (Nita Naldi is dancing) becomes obsessed with the idea of dual natures. He concocts a potion and after a great transformation scene – becomes crazed Hyde.
Like many accounts of this tale the evil things Hyde gets up to are kept kind of vague apart from drinking and roaming the streets (at one stage it seemed to hint he was going to try for a threesome with two girls but this is shied away from; he does kill someone but the guy deserves it). There are some pretty girls in the support cast, a memorable moment where Barrymore lies in bed and has hallucinations of a spider (bit close to the bone, eh, Barrymore?), and it stands up as a solid drama with a dash of horror. But the chief attraction is the bravaura performance by its talented star.
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