Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1908

1908 in film

The year 1908 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Thomas Edison formed the Motion Picture Patents Company, with goals of controlling production and distribution, raising theater admission prices, cooperating with censorship bodies, and preventing film stock from getting into the hands...

 Selig Polyscope Company

Selig Polyscope Company

The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago, Illinois. Selig Polyscope is noted for establishing Southern California's first permanent movie studio, in the historic Edendale district of Los Angeles...

 silent

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 horror

Horror film

Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 motion picture

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 starring Hobart Bosworth

Hobart Bosworth

Hobart Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer.-Early life:Born Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth, he was a direct descendant of Miles Standish and John and Priscilla Alden on his father's side and of New York's Van Zandt family, the first Dutch settlers to land in the New...

 and Betty Harte

Betty Harte

Betty Harte , was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 108 films between 1908 and 1916.She was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania and died in Sunland, California.-Selected filmography:...

.

Directed

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 by Otis Turner

Otis Turner

Otis Turner was an American director, screenwriter and producer. Between 1908 and 1917, he directed 133 motion pictures and wrote 40 scenarios.He was born in Fairfield, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California....

 and produced

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 by William N. Selig, the screenplay

Screenplay

A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

 was adapted by George F. Fish and Luella Forepaugh based on their 1897 four act stage

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

, which was condensed into a one reel movie short

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...

.

This is the first screen adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

's novel, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

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

The film was released seven months after the death of stage actor Richard Mansfield

Richard Mansfield

Richard Mansfield was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

. Mansfield created the part in the theater beginning in 1887.

There are no known existing copies of this film.

Synopsis

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 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.

External links

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...