The Head of Janus (1920)

1h 47m
Running Time

August 26, 1920
Release Date

The Head of Janus (1920)

1h 47m
Running Time

August 26, 1920
Release Date

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Plot.

The film was an unauthorized adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but the source material went unrecognized by some of the German media due to changes in the characters' names. Released in 1920, this is one of Murnau's lost films. While the film itself does not survive, the scripts and related production notes do. Because the film is lost, its full length is unknown. Dr. Warren is the Dr. Jekyll character who changes into Mr. O'Connor, a parallel of Mr. Hyde. This transformation is brought about, not by experimentation with chemicals as in Stevenson's original, but through the supernatural agency of a bust of Janus (the Roman god of duality), which Warren purchases in the opening sequence as a gift for his sweetheart, Jane. When she refuses the gift, horrified, Warren is forced to keep the statuette himself.

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Details.

Release Date
August 26, 1920

Original Name
Der Januskopf

Status
Released

Running Time
1h 47m

Genres

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Wiki.

Der Januskopf (lit. 'The Head of Janus') is a 1920 German silent film directed by F. W. Murnau, and starring Conrad Veidt. The film was an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Little is known about the production; it was shot and previewed under the title Schrecken (lit. 'Terror') with production starting in either February or March 1920.

The film received great acclaim in Germany from trade publication and newspapers on its release, specifically noting the performance by Conrad Veidt. The film is a lost film and has been described by Bela Lugosi biographers Gary Rhodes and Bill Kaffenberger as being "among the most sought-after lost films" due to its initial critical acclaim and what Robert Louis Stevenson researcher Steve Joyce described as an "all-star" film team of cinematographer Karl Freund, director F. W. Murnau and actors Conrad Veidt and Bela Lugosi.

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