Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

This is perhaps the first film based on the classic horror story of a doctor whose experiments lead to a unique concoction that, when consumed, reveals a man’s more sinister side.

• Starring John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, and Brandon Hurst.
• Original story by Robert Louis Stevenson.
• Directed by John S. Robertson.
• Scenario written by Clara S. Beranger.

This movie was produced by Famous Players-Lasky Corp. with a copyright date of March 18, 1920 (as recorded in the US Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1912 to 1939). Copyright law of the early 1900’s provided for 28 years of protection which could then be renewed for another 28 years. Therefore, after 56 years of copyright protection a movie would fall into the public domain – as did this 1920 release of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.