1920/2020 Forum Watch-Fest

[Kitty]

Wait - that whole ensemble was a negligée??

It was super fancy! I'm guessing this wasn't something to sleep in... just something sexy that probably wasn't going to be on for long

[Kitty]

Btw, that negligée Thomas buys - who wore it best?

I think Bebe, although they both look fabulous!

[BettyLouSpence]

Wait - that whole ensemble was a negligée??

It was super fancy! I'm guessing this wasn't something to sleep in... just something sexy that probably wasn't going to be on for long

It's so ostentatious, it looks like it'd take hours to take off

[BettyLouSpence]

Btw, that negligée Thomas buys - who wore it best?

I think Bebe, although they both look fabulous!

Uh oh... I think Gloria heard that

[donnie]

Interesting, Bebe’s maid seems to be an authentic black person --- maybe by 1920 blackface was out of fashion? I love when people of ethnicity can be spotted in old film. I also noticed the Asian girl in the lingerie shop when he first entered. What I don’t like is the teeny tiny screen time that they had. You can especially tell with the maid that she was directed to get out of the shots as soon as possible. Also, there is a black man on the train they're traveling on toward the end! Is it weird to be interested in this?

I think blackface was still being used, but probably mostly in comedies by that time. (That’s a guess.) But remember that Jolson did his Mammy number in ’27; and blackface is still very common in the Sennett late silents and early talkies. In fact, I think it was still being used in some types of live performances even up into the 40’s and 50’s, though it had long left the movies by that time, thankfully.

The two beds for a married couple. I know I keep using the word “weird”, but I’m going to, again. What a weird thing to censor! Everyone in the whole world knew and knows that married couples sleep in a single bed. What did they think the actors were going to do in there?

It does look especially odd in that scene at the end when they move the other bed in—considering all the shenanigans that have been going on in the movie. But that also was standard up into the ’50’s. Remember Ricky and Lucy’s bedroom? I didn't know that about the Flintstones.

Good observations on the props, titles, clothing, etc. This movie does indeed have a lot of interesting details to take in. And some of those clothes were weird! One of those pairs of shoes looks like something one of the bad witches would have worn in Oz.

[donnie]

I’ve just finished Jekyll. To be honest, I was a little less enthusiastic about watching this film than the others so far, because usually I’m less interested in dramatizations of novels. But I was sure wrong. This film is great!—extremely well-made, the direction, acting, lighting, camera work, tinting, sets, costumes, everything.... Also, a nice sharp print, and the Mont Alto Orchestra outdid itself on the score. Really a top-drawer production all round.

I’ll put the comments below as a spoiler, though there’s probably not anything that would ruin it since pretty much everyone knows what this is about. Will be interested to see further comments! I also have questions on a couple of plot points someone might be able to straighten me out on.

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Barrymore was perfect for the role. He at times overacts, but wonderfully so (as Jekyll, that is; you can’t overact as Hyde ). His face (again, even as Jekyll) is really an extraordinary thing to look at—no wonder he was called “the great profile”—and he could use his eyes in amazing ways, as well.

In his portrayal of Hyde, it’s really uncanny how he could change his whole posture, movements, and appearance, even considering the use of makeup. He almost gives Lon Chaney a run for his money. (Btw, did that peak on top of his head grow during the film, or did I just imagine that?) The point at which he changes in front of Lord Carewe is quite spectacular!

I loved the ghostly giant spider representation of Hyde returning as Jekyll lay in bed—pretty good special effect. (Great score at that point, too!) The morphing of Hyde's face back into Jekyll after his death at the end was less impressive—but after all, it was 1920....

All of the actors were good, as well. It was interesting seeing Nita Naldi—she was so beautiful in this. But poor Millicent....

I’ve never read the novel, so I don’t know how faithfully the storyline here sticks to that, but as a film, it is certainly effective.

[BettyLouSpence]

About to watch this. This is actually my second time viewing this film, but that was years ago so I've forgotten much of it save for the basic plot.

[BettyLouSpence]

Watched it last night. I think much of it holds up well today. I know I wouldn't want to see Barrymore's Hyde peeking around my bedpost at night

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I agree with Donnie that Barrymore sometimes overacts (I think it's the very wide eyes he sometimes affects), but overall I liked his performance here. And yes, he is wonderfully over the top as Hyde - after all, it's Hyde we're talking about!

Still photographs don't do Nita Naldi justice - she has to be seen in action. She does more than look alluring and vampy, though, remember that scene where she's haggard (what the heck happened there, btw?) and I was left impressed with her acting chops.

I thought Martha Mansfield did well as Millicent. There's not much for her character to do, unfortunately, but she handles the role very serenely. She sometimes overacts, however - very wide eyes, arms fly into the air, leaning back - as seen when she finds her father on the lawn. That being said, who knows the improvements and heights she would've gained had she lived past 24

I really loved the tinting in this film. There are some scenes where the blue tint complements the lighting wonderfully; for example, when Hyde is making arrangements to rent a room from the landlady as she holds a lamp, the only light in the room. I actually don't think I've seen pink tinted scenes in a film before this, but I found the pink scenes in the nightclub especially gorgeous.

I loved the special effects. The night scene where Jekyll is in bed and the double-exposed spider crawls onto his bed before he transforms into Hyde was my favorite - and very creepy! I agree that the transition at the very end wasn't the smoothest, but like Donnie said, it was 1920. I still love it.

Okay, so what was going on at that crappy bar in Soho where Hyde runs into Miss Gina and that other woman? Was it a brothel? I ask that because after being led up into the room where all the other men are smoking opium in bunk beds or something, he embraces the woman, bites her neck (though not fatally, thankfully) and it fades out.

I forgot to add this: George Carew seemed hypocritical. He takes Jekyll to a nightclub to "live it up" and introduces Miss Gina to him, and gets mad when Jekyll breaks it off before it gets to the kissing stage? Isn't Jekyll engaged to his daughter Millicent? Why would he want his future son-in-law kissing another woman then? And then later in the film he says he dowsn't think Jekyll is the kind of man he wants Millicent to be marrying...???? Make up your mind!! Also why was he still in the room watching when Miss Gina started vamping Jekyll?

There's a scene at the very beginning of the film that I found interesting, and isn't a story spoiler at all. Jekyll is in his lab looking through his microscope. I wonder what microrganisms he's looking at? It's likely a pond water sample in the slide he's viewing, but I found it fascinating.

[donnie]

Yes, I was also a little concerned about meeting Mr. Hyde during my sleep. Thankfully he stayed away

One other thing: I'd not realized that John Barrymore's film career began this early; I'd always associated him more with the sound era. Although thinking about it, I shouldn't have been surprised because Lionel was in several of Griffith's Biographs as far back as 1911 or so (and pretty good in them, too).

My other responses below.

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Still photographs don't do Nita Naldi justice - she has to be seen in action.

You’re exactly right—that’s the first thought that came to me when I saw her.

She does more than look alluring and vampy, though, remember that scene where she's haggard (what the heck happened there, btw?)…

I wondered that, too. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. You're right about her abilities as an actress—even in the brief screen time she had, you could tell she was good.

I thought Martha Mansfield did well as Millicent. There's not much for her character to do, unfortunately, but she handles the role very serenely. She sometimes overacts, however - very wide eyes, arms fly into the air, leaning back - as seen when she finds her father on the lawn. That being said, who knows the improvements and heights she would've gained had she lived past 24

Yes, I liked her Millicent, as well. That’s a good comment about her handling the role serenely. She seemed able to express a lot without really doing much. It seems she did have some talent, and such a pretty actress. A shame…

Okay, so what was going on at that crappy bar in Soho where Hyde runs into Miss Gina and that other woman? Was it a brothel? I ask that because after being led up into the room where all the other men are smoking opium in bunk beds or something, he embraces the woman, bites her neck (though not fatally, thankfully) and it fades out.

I wondered that, too. Maybe it’s an opium den/bar/brothel combined, kind of a three-in-one joint—just Hyde’s kind of place. And one of my plot questions was: just what exactly is happening with Hyde and the two women and the mirror at ~45:05-45:55. Did you understand that? Whatever he's doing, it seems to have been initiated by something Gina said to him.

I forgot to add this: George Carew seemed hypocritical. He takes Jekyll to a nightclub to "live it up" and introduces Miss Gina to him, and gets mad when Jekyll breaks it off before it gets to the kissing stage? Isn't Jekyll engaged to his daughter Millicent? Why would he want his future son-in-law kissing another woman then? And then later in the film he says he dowsn't think Jekyll is the kind of man he wants Millicent to be marrying...???? Make up your mind!! Also why was he still in the room watching when Miss Gina started vamping Jekyll?

Yes, that's a good observation. I didn't think about that—very hypocritical, indeed. But were they engaged at this point? As a matter of fact, just where did the proposal happen? Did I miss that? I know about midway through, the other man proposes, and she indicates there is someone else, but she doesn't say she's already engaged.

As for why Carewe stayed in the room, he seems anxious to see Jekyll’s finer character despoiled, perhaps because, consciously or unconsciously, it helps him feel better about himself; also, since he is a lecher himself, maybe he just enjoys seeing lechery.

There's a scene at the very beginning of the film that I found interesting, and isn't a story spoiler at all. Jekyll is in his lab looking through his microscope. I wonder what microrganisms he's looking at? It's likely a pond water sample in the slide he's viewing, but I found it fascinating.

I wondered that, too. Yes, looks like some pond organisms or something. Not bacteria.

[BettyLouSpence]

So many spoiler tags Here are my responses below:

► Show Spoiler

I wondered that, too. Maybe it’s an opium den/bar/brothel combined, kind of a three-in-one joint—just Hyde’s kind of place. And one of my plot questions was: just what exactly is happening with Hyde and the two women and the mirror at ~45:05-45:55. Did you understand that? Whatever he's doing, it seems to have been initiated by something Gina said to him.

Okay, upon rewatching that scene and judging from this title card that appears not long before ("As Hyde plunged deeper into his vice, his trail was soon strewn with victims of his depravity"), it seems that it was in mockery of Miss Gina, and showing the other woman that the now "fallen" Gina will be her fate.

Yes, that's a good observation. I didn't think about that—very hypocritical, indeed. But were they engaged at this point? As a matter of fact, just where did the proposal happen? Did I miss that? I know about midway through, the other man proposes, and she indicates there is someone else, but she doesn't say she's already engaged.

Hm, I could've sworn they were already engaged when the story started? But upon rewatching the beginning and looking for any signs that they were, it appears I was mistaken.

As for why Carewe stayed in the room, he seems anxious to see Jekyll’s finer character despoiled, perhaps because, consciously or unconsciously, it helps him feel better about himself; also, since he is a lecher himself, maybe he just enjoys seeing lechery.

Good point about it making him feel better about himself. Of course, he may also just be a creep like you said