The best of the many silent-era productions of Robert Louis Stevenson’s deeply influential novella, Robertson’s version benefits greatly from the memorable lead performance by stage legend John Barrymore, who is just as good as the uptight, morally righteous Jekyll as he is as the deranged, twisted Hyde, who looks not incidentally like someone suffering from syphilis (a major social issue after World War I). The transformation scenes are conveyed primarily via Barrymore’s impressive facial contortions, but the film’s standout skin-crawling scene—one of the most unnerving I’ve seen in silent horror—depicts a ghostly spider with Hyde’s head crawling onto Jekyll’s bed. (DVD)