Directed by John S. Robertson

Produced by Adolph S.Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky

Screenplay by Clara Beranger

Starring John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Charles W.Lane

Running time: 79 minutes

The first major screen version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale boasts John Barrymore as the good doctor whose experiments lead him to metamorphise into his hideous alter-ego.  Predating Universal’s later dominance of Hollywood horror, Barrymore was praised, at the time, as the “greatest screen actor yet” for his memorable performance whilst countless other adaptations would follow in its path.  The film retains some of the elements of Stevenson’s story, eschewed by later adaptations, but also has an interesting spin of its own – here, it is Jekyll’s insecurity over his squeaky-clean goodness which sends him on a path of self-destruction. Though surpassed a decade later by Rouben Mamoulian’s classic 1931 film, Barrymore’s repulsive Mr Hyde remains one of film’s most chilling creations.