The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1968 Canadian-American television film based on the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was directed by Charles Jarrott, produced by Dan Curtis, and written by Ian McLellan Hunter.
It was one of a series of adaptations of famous novels done by ABC.
Contents
Plot
The story follows respectable Dr. Henry Jekyll, who suggests to his colleagues that finding a means to separate the good and bad inherent in every human being, and eliminating the evil side, will help advance man's progress and survival. He has created a serum which he believes will accomplish this, but the very idea of it is rejected by his peers.
Angered by the response, Jekyll decides to self-experiment, taking the untested serum. The results are disastrous, it unleashes an immoral, depraved alter ego, Edward Hyde, whose existence eventually leads to moral decay and unchecked violence.
Hyde's presence becomes stronger and more frequent until Jekyll is trapped, realizing his hubris has created someone who may destroy him.
Cast
Jack Palance as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
Denholm Elliott as Mr. George Devlin
Tessie O'Shea as Tessie O'Toole
Torin Thatcher as Sir John Turnbull
Oskar Homolka as Stryker
Leo Genn as Dr. Hastie Lanyon
Billie Whitelaw as Gwyn Thomas
Rex Sevenoaks as Dr. Wright
Gillie Fenwick as Poole
Elizabeth Cole as Hattie
Duncan Lamont as Sergeant Grimes
Paul Harding as Constable Johnson
Donald Webster as Garvis
Geoffrey Alexander as Richard Enfield
Production
Dan Curtis originally engaged Rod Serling to write the script and Jason Robards to star, with filming to take place in London. Robards, however, was unhappy with the script, and filming in London proved difficult due to a technician's union strike. Filming was pushed back, and Robards decided to drop out. With a new script by Ian McLellan Hunter and a new leading man in Jack Palance, Curtis decided to film in Canada, where it would be cheaper to do so than in the US.
Filming took place in Toronto over seven weeks in 1967. Curtis had to pay $200,000 to build a replica of Washington Square in Toronto, and Palance was injured while filming a stunt. The budget was approximately $900,000, of which ABC paid approximately half. The show was nominated for four Emmy Awards: Outstanding Television Movie, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama (Tessie O'Shea), Best Graphic Design, and Best Makeup at the 20th Primetime Emmy Awards.