Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1908 film)

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (a.k.a. The Modern Dr. Jekyll)is a 1908 horror film, and the first screen adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and it's based on the 1897 stageplay by Luella Forepaugh and George F. Fish. The film is directed and produced by William G. Selig. The cast is unknown, and the film is completely lost.

[edit] Plot

The film began with the raising of the stage curtain. Dr. Jekyll vows his undying love for Alice, a vicar's daughter, in her spacious garden. Suddenly, seized by his addiction to the chemical formula, Jekyll begins to convulse and distort himself into the villainous Mr. Hyde. He savagely attacks Alice, and when her father tries to intervene, Mr. Hyde takes great delight in slaughtering him. Later on, Jekyll transforms again, but haunted by visions of the gallows, Mr. Hyde takes a fatal dose of poison, killing both identities. In true theatrical tradition, the curtain then closes to an assumably appreciative audience.

Regarded by many as a prestigious production, the critics were enthusiastic, giving the anonymous actor in the title role special mention. "The change is displayed with a dramatic ability almost beyond comprehension."