I've only seen a few of Stan Laurel's pre-Ollie movies and, truth be told, the ones I've seen aren't that great so I wasn't expecting much going into this one. However, this parody of John Barrymore's 1920 turn as the famous Dr. Jeckyll is fairly amusing. Laurel actually does a good imitation of Barrymore in monster mode, and wrings plenty of laughs out of the fact that his 'evil' deeds mostly consist of childish pranks. Laurel seems to be a good example of a talented actor needing to find the single role that's right for him in order to be successful. He's good here, but he isn't particularly memorable as an actor or comedian in his own right. It's sobering to think that, had he not been teamed with Oliver Hardy, Laurel's name might have been consigned to cinema's forgotten history along with the likes of Larry Semon and John Bunny.
Review of Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde
