Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride

Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Stan Laurel plays the respectable Dr. Pyckle who starts messing around with various chemicals and turns himself into the silly Mr. Pride. Naturally this is a take off on the Jekyll and Hyde story but it really hits close to the 1920 John Barrymore version. This isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination but it manages to be fairly entertaining in its short running time. Laurel does a very good job in the role and there are several instances where he does a good impression of Barrymore performance from the earlier film. There aren't enough laughs to keep the movie going but there are a couple sprinkled throughout.

This time, as you can probably tell from the name, of Robert Louis Stevenson's DOCTOR JEKYLL & MR. HYDE. Long a favorite of straight adaptations (there was a famous version featuring John Barrymore a few years earlier, and Frederick March would win an Oscar for his portrayal a few more years down the road), this features Stan in alternating roles as a clumsy research scientist who, his bestial nature revealed by the potion he has accidentally mixed, turns into a capering practical joker. Not polished by any means, the films manages to hold together by means of having a plot.

It is really an amazing parody of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Stan Laurel at his best plays the goofy professor Dr. Pyckle who terns to Mr. Pryde! Mr. Pryde “terrorizes” the society by doing all kinds of evil deeds, like stealing Ice Cream from little kids and pulling lots of other pranks! The world is not safe from Mr. Prydes evil mischiefs. People will try to put an end to his games and bring back piece to the society. Can he really be stopped though? Or the world will never be a safe place again? Stan Laurel gives a great performance in this silent piece of comic art. Although it is only 20 min, it is enough for Stan Laurel to put Jekyll and Hyde in a new comic perspective. All this years I never had the chance to see Laurel alone. I only knew him from the Laurel and Hardy movies. I am really glad that I got the chance to see him perform alone and I must say I could't stop laughing. So if you are a fan and you manage to get your hands on this movie, by all means don’t be reluctant and give it a shot. You might be in for a surprise by the scary Dr. Pyckle!

Stan Laurel's character in his early solo films was as different as could be from the dimbulb he played in the Laurel and Hardy team efforts a few years later. DR. PICKLE is one of the genre parodies he was making in the mid Twenties with merciless sendups of 'romance' and 'dramatic acting' (if you can, see MUD AND SAND with his devastating parody of Valentino).

DR. PICKLE AND MR. PRYDE is the Holy Grail of Laurel films; it was lost for decades, then a French print turned up in somewhat unsatisfactory video versions. Now it has been beautifully restored with the original titles, which add a great deal of amusement to Laurel's portrayal of Pickle (a veddy, veddy British scientist). But it is his take on John Barrymore's Mr. Hyde that makes this film a must-have for any comedy buff: Laurel is not only hilarious, he is actually SCARY as he 'menaces' the town while capering around with clawed hands outstretched...

This film is on an excellent new DVD of Laurel's work. I just wish they had also included MUD AND SAND...but this one is worth the price of the double disc set, all by itself.

This is an entertaining parody feature in itself, and it is also of interest as one of Stan Laurel's more substantial earlier roles. Although it would probably work all right as a spoof of the basic story, it is particularly designed as a parody of the John Barrymore version of "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde", so if you see or have seen that particular version, there are many more amusing details and parallels that you can spot.

Laurel's character, like the original Dr. Jekyll, has an alter ego, but here it is merely a mischievous one. It's funny to see the light-hearted parallels to the much more serious scenes in the original story, and while the movie is rather unrefined overall, most of it is amusing.

Laurel's approach to the role reflects not so much his own style as a deliberate exaggeration of Barrymore's vigorous performance. Since Laurel also gets to play both the upright doctor and the disreputable alter ego, the role gives him quite a bit to work with. Laurel did a solid job in this kind of parody feature, and it's interesting to watch him perform with an approach that's different from the style that's so familiar from all the great Laurel & Hardy features.