Adaptations of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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Poster from the 1880s.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and first published in 1886. It is about a London lawyer who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and the misanthropic Mr. Hyde.

The work is known for its vivid portrayal of a split personality, and since the 1880s dozens of stage and film adaptations have been produced, although there have been no major adaptations to date that remain faithful to the narrative structure of Stevenson's original. Most omit the figure of Utterson, telling the story from Jekyll's and Hyde's viewpoint and often having them played by the same actor, thus eliminating entirely the mystery aspect of the true identity of Hyde, which was the original's twist ending and not the basic premise it is today. In addition, many adaptations introduce a romantic element which does not exist in the original story.[1] While Hyde is portrayed in the novella as an evil-looking man of diminutive height, many adaptations have taken liberties with the character's physical appearance, sometimes depicting him with bestial or downright monstrous features.

There are over 123 film versions, not including stage and radio, as well as a number of parodies and imitations.[2] Notable examples are listed below in chronological order.

Adaptations

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Stage

  • 1887, stage play, opened in Boston. Thomas Russell Sullivan's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The first serious theatrical rendering, it went on to tour Britain and ran for 20 years. It became forever linked with Richard Mansfield's performance; he continued playing the part up until his death in 1907. Sullivan reworked the plot to centre around a domestic love interest.
  • 1900, a play in four acts. Unproduced adaptation by Marcel Schwob and Vance Thompson.
  • 1991, stage play, opened in London. Written by David Edgar for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The play is notable for its fidelity to the book's plot.
  • 1990, musical U.S. Jekyll & Hyde. Music by Frank Wildhorn, book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Originally conceived for the stage by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. This musical features the song "This Is The Moment".
  • 2009, a new theatrical adaptation by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, for Tony Award winning local Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
  • 2010, The Holden Kemble Theatre Company run a new adaptation titled The Scandalous Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at the Edinburgh Festival and then a 3​1⁄2 week run at the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick, London.[3]
  • 2012, Synetic Theater runs a critically acclaimed silent adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde featuring Alex Mills as Jekyll/Hyde, Peter Pereyra as Lanyon, and Brittany O'Grady as the Fiancee.
  • 2012, new version by Jonathan Holloway workshopped and premiered at The Courtyard Theatre, London, featuring Melody Roche as Jekyll, Charlie Allen as Utterson and Gary Blair as Enfield.
  • 2013, a version of the story presented by Flipping the Bird at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, explores the unique twist of Jekyll as a woman, Doctor Tajemnica Jekyll, recently arrived in London from an unspecified foreign country, whose transformation to Edward Hyde came about as part of her desire to defy social boundaries. Utterson serves as her lover and lawyer, while she claims Hyde is her deformed nephew before admitting the truth.
  • 2013, Four of Swords staged an Arts Council England-funded adaptation of the story at Poltimore House, Devon.

Film

Radio

Television

  • 1955, Season 1 Episode of CBS's live CLIMAX! drama program. This is an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". Hosted by Bill Lundigan, this episode was originally aired on 28 July 1955 (Season 1 Episode 34). The story was adapted for television by Gore Vidal.[14]
  • 1959, made-for-TV film France, The Testament of Dr. Cordelier. A modern adaptation of Stevenson's novel, it stars Jean-Louis Barrault, Teddy Bilis, and Michel Vitold.
  • 1968, TV U.S. and Canada, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Starring Jack Palance, directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Dan Curtis of Dark Shadows fame. Nominated for several Emmy awards, it follows Hyde on sexual conquests and hack and slash murders.
  • 1973, TV U.S. and England, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a musical made-for-TV version starring Kirk Douglas in one of his few singing roles. No relation to the later musical version, the songs for this one were by Lionel Bart, who wrote Oliver.
  • 1989, TV UK, with Laura Dern and Anthony Andrews in the dual role. This version, adapted by J. Michael Straczynski.
  • 1990, TV U.S., Jekyll & Hyde, a four-hour, two-part, made-for-television film starring Michael Caine in the title roles. Adds in the story Jekyll's sister-in-law character (Cheryl Ladd), who is raped by Hyde.
  • 1999, TV film USA. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring Adam Baldwin. In this modern-day re-imagining, plastic surgeon Henry Jekyll learns ancient Chinese herbal medicine to give himself superhuman powers, which he uses to exact revenge for his wife's murder. Francis Ford Coppola produced.
  • 2002, TV film UK Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde starring John Hannah as both characters, with body language and wardrobe the only distinction between the appearance of the two. The narrative is chronologically disjointed, beginning with the end of the story then returning to the beginning via narrated flashbacks with the occasional brief glimpse of the reading of Jekyll's confession by Utterson.
  • 2007, TV serial UK, Jekyll. A six part BBC serial, aired from 16 June 2007, starring James Nesbitt as Tom Jackman, a modern Jekyll whose Hyde wreaks havoc in modern London.
  • 2008, TV film. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Dougray Scott, Tom Skerritt, and Krista Bridges.
  • 2013, TV U.S., Do No Harm, an NBC series. This is a contemporary take on the story, with actor Steven Pasquale in dual roles as Dr. Jason Cole/Ian Price. Cole is a successful neurosurgeon who has long been able to suppress Price, his evil, alternate personality with an experimental drug. However, Price develops an immunity to the drug and subsequently wreaks havoc on Cole's life, when in control.
  • 2015 Jekyll & Hyde a "superhero-themed" "Jekyll & Hyde" 10-episode series, produced by ITV Studios for ITV, being filmed between February and July 2015[15] Beginning on 25 October 2015, the series takes place in the 1930s and centred around Robert Jekyll, the grandson of Henry Jekyll, who has inherited his grandfather's curse to become Mr. Hyde when angry, but could keep this from happening by taking special tablets. In the course of the series, Robert finds himself caught between MIO, a British organisation created to hunt the supernatural, and the ruthless Tenebrae, an organisation that seeks to use the supernatural for power, as well as his own attempts to control the Hyde within him by researching his family history, finding his long-hidden grandmother and previously-unknown sister (Who has a Hyde of her own).
  • 2015, TV film. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Gianni Capaldi, Shaun Paul Piccinino and Mickey Rooney in his final role.[16]

Music

Book

  • 1990, Robert Bloch's The Jekyll Legacy acts as a sequel to the novel, in which Hester Lane, a reporter from Canada, discovers that she's Jekyll's heir. However, someone is continuing Jekyll's experiments. The novel takes an even more sinister turn as Jekyll's butler Poole and Mr. Utterson are bludgeoned to death.
  • 2001, Ludovic Debeurme's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde illustrated edition adapted for young readers.
  • The Robert Swindells book Jacqueline Hyde concerns the protagonist's struggle with her 'Hyde' after smelling a bottle, the contents of which releases her bad side.
  • The 2014 Daniel Levine book, Hyde, acts as the original book's companion, telling it from Hyde's perspective, adding new elements to the plot

Appearances in other fiction

  • Mad Monster Party, a 1967 American animated comedy film, features Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as guests at a party thrown by Baron Boris von Frankenstein.
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes, a novel written in 1980 by Loren D. Estleman. Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery surrounding Jekyll and Hyde.
  • 1988, video game, Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde for the NES, created by Toho.
  • 1990 novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin, a reworking of Stevenson's plot, told from the viewpoint of a maid in Jekyll's household, named Mary Reilly in this novel.
  • 1993, animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mr. Hyde appears as one of the citizens of Halloween Town. Only seen in his "Hyde" form, he keeps two smaller versions of himself underneath his hat.
  • 1994, movie U.S., The Pagemaster, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde play as supporting characters, both voiced by Leonard Nimoy.
  • 2000, film Monster Mash, during main character's trial for "failure to scare", their lawyer, a bumbling, mummy-type monster, according to Drac, once "got millions for Mr. Hyde, when he sued Dr. Jekyll for malpractice."
  • 2001, video game, Jekyll and Hyde for Windows platform, created by Cryo Interactive.
  • 2003, film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, adapted from Alan Moore's eponymous comic book series. The film adaptation stars Jason Flemyng as both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the latter using prosthetic makeup. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are employed by The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to combat The Fantom. The version of Hyde depicted in both comic and movie bears more resemblance to the Hulk than the malevolent dwarf of the novel, possessing great strength and size. As in the comic book on which it is based, this is attributed to Hyde "growing, free from boundaries, free from limitations."
  • 2004, film Van Helsing. Robbie Coltrane provides the voice of a CGI animated Mr. Hyde, who Van Helsing unintentionally kills at the cathedral of Notre Dame when pursuing him through Paris. Like in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Mr. Hyde is also portrayed as a large, hulking brute. When Hyde dies, he transforms back into Dr. Jekyll.
  • 2008, animated film, Igor: a major character is Jacqueline and Heidi.
  • 2010, in the comic series Victorian Undead there is an issue in which Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson confront Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who is the byproduct of a zombie infection.
  • 2010, television series, Sanctuary, the character Adam Worth's story was stolen by a former friend and retold under the "fictional" title of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Adam's psychological disorder is one of "split personality" at a time before modern psychiatry.
  • 2012, Sony Pictures animated film, Hotel Transylvania, Mr. Hyde can be seen as one of the monsters in Hotel Transylvania. This version has an underbite, has pale yellow skin, and wears a suit and a top hat.
  • 2014, In Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Blue & Silver, a light novel series based on the original drafts of Fate/stay night, Dr. Jekyll appears as the Servant of the Berserker class, portrayed as a gentle and good looking young man. His Noble Phantasm allows him to transform into Mr. Hyde.

Spoofs and parodies

References

  1. ↑ The Beast Within The Guardian, 13-Dec-2008
  2. ↑ Derivative works of Robert Louis Stevenson
  3. ↑ http://www.tabardweb.co.uk/jekyl.htm
  4. ↑ Nightmare! The Birth of Victorian Horror: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1996)
  5. ↑ http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Weird-Circle.html
  6. ↑ http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Favorite-Story.html
  7. ↑ http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Tell-It-Again.html#Bookshelf_of_the_World
  8. ↑ http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-NBC-Presents-Short-Story.html
  9. ↑ http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Theatre-Royal.html
  10. ↑ https://archive.org/details/cbs_radio_mystery_theater
  11. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hxn39
  12. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Strange-Case-Jekyll-Mr-Hyde/dp/1900912651
  13. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00773qr
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Jekyll and Hyde (Petra album)
  18. ↑ Mrs Hyde by Belladonna http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=35351347&blogId=196396081

External links

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