Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1908 film)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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Directed byOtis Turner (unconfirmed)
Written byGeorge F. Fish
Luella Forepaugh
Based onStrange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1886 novella
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Produced byWilliam N. Selig
StarringHobart Bosworth
Betty Harte
CinematographyKarl Struss
Edited byWilliam Shea
Distributed bySelig Polyscope Company
Release date
  • March 7, 1908 (1908-03-07)
Running time
16 mins. (one reel)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent movie

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1908 silent horror film starring Hobart Bosworth, and Betty Harte in her film debut. Directed by Otis Turner and produced by William N. Selig, this was the first film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The screenplay was actually adapted by George F. Fish and Luella Forepaugh from their own 1897 four act stage play derived from the novel, causing a number of plot differences with the original source. Despite Stevenson's protests, this film became the model which influenced all the later film adaptations that were to come.

Roy Kinnard states it is also considered to be the first American horror film. There are no known extant copies of the film.