Classic Horror Film Club

On Tuesday night our intrepid band of classic horror movie fans watched John Barrymore in the 1920 production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Just a few thoughts on this version of Dr. J and Mr. H:
 

·      The music, most of the time, fit the movie, but later on, as the action and tens ion cranked up, it starts breaking into some lively little baroque pieces. I would call them minuets, but that’s probably not correct. Made me think of Bugs Bunny music (you know, where we all learned about classical music), or the short animated film, Bambi Meets Godzilla.

Bugs Bunny was right. Ol’ Mr. Hyde does have a pointy head! Always wondered why the cartoon versions of Hyde represented him that way. Well, there it was on the screen – John Barrymore’s Mr. Hyde, with bad dentures, fingernails only a manicurist could love, and… that pointy head. Interesting, the first few times he transitioned to Hyde, no point. With later transformations, he became more disfigured (translation -- more evil?), eventually revealing a seriously malformed cranium, which added to the creepiness factor. Mr. Barrymore would’ve made Jim Carrey proud with his facial gymnastics as he changed, looking demented, and at times, seductively demonic. That manic quality also made me think of another great transformational actor, Lon Chaney, Sr.

Loved the claustrophobic feel of the sets, especially the “exterior” shots (filmed at the Amsterdam Opera House in NYC – tried to find a little history on this old building, but the building is apparently long gone). All those London street scenes – all sets in NYC. That closed-in feeling certainly helped with the oppressive mood of the film. Those rich, sepia tones of the film, the flowery dialogue on the title cards, and the illustrations beneath or beside the images gave us the feeling of watching it as it was way back when.

“Damn It! I don't like your tampering with the supernatural.” – Dr. Richard Lanyon, to Dr. Jekyll