Again one blesses the membership of "You Tube" for retrieving this (in two parts). One suspects, unfortunately, that a concluding portion is still missing - the actions at the end of the film of the threatening mob returning to Dr. Pyckle's home suggest it - but even so the film is consistently funny.
When Dick Van Dyke did his comedy THE COMIC, portraying "Billy Bright", a great silent film comedian who had recently died in obscurity, he was doing an homage (with Carl Reiner, his director) to all of the great silent clowns (for example, Mickey Rooney's cross-eyed comic figure is based on Ben Turpin). But Van Dyke and Reiner gave some pride (or should I say "pryde") of place to Van Dyke's friend and part-mentor Stan Laurel. So in the course of the film they do some brief snippets of "silent Billy Bright movies" based on Laurel inspired ideas. One happens to be a comic turn based on Stevenson's THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE. It is less than a minute of THE COMIC, but it suggests what Stan would have done in a sequence if he had thought of it: Van Dyke, having taken the evil potion, is slobbering about his lab bent over as Hyde, when his up-right girl friend enters, and he jumps up and is the courtly, correct Jeckyll again. Throughout the brief scene Van Dyke alternates, walking and slobbering like Hyde behind his girlfriend, but suddenly resuming his normal proper doctor when she addresses him.
Laurel does not do that in this 1925 film. He is spoofing the John Barrymore classic 1920 straight Jeckyll and Hyde production, and one of the best parts of this version is when Stan turns "monster" and his make-up really resembles Barrymore's. Not totally, of course. Barrymore's head expanded at the back dome of the brain case when he turned into Hyde, but he has the same wild hairdo that Stan has (and that - briefly - Stan's dog has). Stan lacks John's "Great Profile" perhaps, but he does have a lanky chin like John's so the resemblance is again strong. He also jumps about and walks in a fast, humped over manner. And he is fully able to do dastardly deeds.
Barrymore (of course) killed Louis Wolheim and several others in his version. Not Stan: the evil Stan steals ice cream cones from little boys. "He shot me" one tot tells an angry crowd (yes Stan did - with a pea shooter). He ties up one pedestrian's hands with a Mexican handcuff! He is dastardly enough to horrify a woman by exploding a paper bag in back of her. However, at least one constable is able to (unwittingly, as it were) retaliate on a surprised Stan.
The film (as it now exists) has been nicely restored with some rather funny cue cards ("England in the 19th Century was not all it could have been. It could have been Italy.") At least one joke fortunately hasn't dated at all: Pyckle announces his latest chemical discovery will be his 58th Variety (a reference to Heinz's 57 varieties). It is a nice measure of reassurance that a topical joke of 1925 can still make sense in 2008. It's nice also to be able to thoroughly enjoy Stan Laurel's early work at it's best.
When Dick Van Dyke did his comedy THE COMIC, portraying "Billy Bright", a great silent film comedian who had recently died in obscurity, he was doing an homage (with Carl Reiner, his director) to all of the great silent clowns (for example, Mickey Rooney's cross-eyed comic figure is based on Ben Turpin). But Van Dyke and Reiner gave some pride (or should I say "pryde") of place to Van Dyke's friend and part-mentor Stan Laurel. So in the course of the film they do some brief snippets of "silent Billy Bright movies" based on Laurel inspired ideas. One happens to be a comic turn based on Stevenson's THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE. It is less than a minute of THE COMIC, but it suggests what Stan would have done in a sequence if he had thought of it: Van Dyke, having taken the evil potion, is slobbering about his lab bent over as Hyde, when his up-right girl friend enters, and he jumps up and is the courtly, correct Jeckyll again. Throughout the brief scene Van Dyke alternates, walking and slobbering like Hyde behind his girlfriend, but suddenly resuming his normal proper doctor when she addresses him.
Laurel does not do that in this 1925 film. He is spoofing the John Barrymore classic 1920 straight Jeckyll and Hyde production, and one of the best parts of this version is when Stan turns "monster" and his make-up really resembles Barrymore's. Not totally, of course. Barrymore's head expanded at the back dome of the brain case when he turned into Hyde, but he has the same wild hairdo that Stan has (and that - briefly - Stan's dog has). Stan lacks John's "Great Profile" perhaps, but he does have a lanky chin like John's so the resemblance is again strong. He also jumps about and walks in a fast, humped over manner. And he is fully able to do dastardly deeds.
Barrymore (of course) killed Louis Wolheim and several others in his version. Not Stan: the evil Stan steals ice cream cones from little boys. "He shot me" one tot tells an angry crowd (yes Stan did - with a pea shooter). He ties up one pedestrian's hands with a Mexican handcuff! He is dastardly enough to horrify a woman by exploding a paper bag in back of her. However, at least one constable is able to (unwittingly, as it were) retaliate on a surprised Stan.
The film (as it now exists) has been nicely restored with some rather funny cue cards ("England in the 19th Century was not all it could have been. It could have been Italy.") At least one joke fortunately hasn't dated at all: Pyckle announces his latest chemical discovery will be his 58th Variety (a reference to Heinz's 57 varieties). It is a nice measure of reassurance that a topical joke of 1925 can still make sense in 2008. It's nice also to be able to thoroughly enjoy Stan Laurel's early work at it's best.