Together Again

Anthony Perkins continues his weird ways, now as those most famous split-level guys, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Now shooting in Budapest, directed by Frenchman Gerard Kikoine, the $8-million film marks the 41st screen adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale (penned in 1886) about the respectable Victorian physician whose experiments turns him into . . . well, you know.

Perkins’ tendency to play “intense” began with his 1957 portrayal of mentally ill baseball player Jimmy Piersall in “Fear Strikes Out.” Then came “Psycho,” followed by other psycho-types. “I think I get so many roles like that because I’m not really intense at all,” figures Perkins.

Talk about being typecast: Perkins related that after one very long day of shooting, he wandered into a Budapest bar without bothering to take off his none-too-friendly looking Mr. Hyde makeup. Enter two Austrian tourists who, without mentioning his horrific look, told Perkins how much they’d liked him in “Psycho”!

As for Jekyll/Hyde: Recall that John Barrymore, Fredric March and Spencer Tracy took turns at the roles.

And for less memorable interpretations: Oliver Reed in “Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype” (1970), Jerry Lewis in “The Nutty Professor” (1963), “Mouse Jekyll Meets Hyde Cats” (Mighty Mouse starred, 1944) and Stan Laurel in “Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride” (1925).