Dr. Stanislaus Pyckle successfully separates the good and evil of man's nature with the use of a powerful drug -- "Dr. Pyckle's 58th Variety", a spoof of "
Heinz's 57". Transforming into the personality of Mr. Pryde, he terrorizes the town with unspeakable acts. His crime including stealing a boy's ice cream, cheating at
marbles, and popping a bag behind a lady pedestrian. While the townspeople track down the criminal, Mr. Pride locks himself in the laboratory and transforms back to Dr. Pyckle. The doctor assures the townspeople that he hasn't seen the "fiend" they were after. While he talks, the drug used for the transformation spills in the plate of food of the doctor's dog. Dr. Pyckle confronts the fiendish dog when he locks the door and the townspeople leave. Once again, Mr. Pride emerges and brings havoc to the town. He is again chased down by the townspeople. He enters the lab and transforms back into Pyckle, and again assures the townspeople he has not seen the fiend. His assistant begs the doctor to open and comfort him, but he transforms back into Mr. Pride. He opens the door to the assistant and locks it again. She sees Pride and screams. She unsuccessfully tries to knock him out. The townspeople hurry back. Existing versions of the film end abruptly at this point without a resolution.
Note The appearance of the fiendish Mr. Pride is an obvious
spoof on the
make-up designed for
John Barrymore as Mr. Hyde. Also spoofed are the sudden and strange movements Barrymore's Jekyll makes during the transformation, as well as Hyde's confrontation with Millicent, Jekyll's fiancée, when Hyde lets her inside the lab. Other scenes show obvious parodies of other Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films (e.g.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912) and
the Haydon film from 1920). ==Cast==