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 the doorway), which Warren / O'Connor purchases in the opening sequence as a gift for his sweetheart, Jane. When she refuses the gift, horrified, Warren / O'Connor is forced to keep the statuette himself...
Credits
The Head of Janus Cast
The Head of Janus Crew
| Name |
Department |
|
Erich Pommer as Producer. He was 31 (76) years old when He died
|
Production |
|
Hans Janowitz as Screenplay. He was 30 (64) years old when He died
|
Writing |
|
Carl Hoffmann as Director of Photography. He was 35 (61) years old when He died
|
Camera |
|
Robert Louis Stevenson as Novel. He was 69 (44) years old when He died
|
Writing |
|
Carl Weiss as Director of Photography. He was 13 (28) years old when He died
|
Camera |
|
Heinrich Richter as Set Designer. He was 36 (96) years old when He died
|
Art |
|
Karl Freund as Director of Photography. He was 30 (79) years old when He died
|
Camera |
|
F.W. Murnau as Director. He was 31 (42) years old when He died
|
Directing |
