Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild after he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde.Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild after he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde.Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild after he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 wins & 3 nominations total
Frederick Worlock
- Dr. Heath
- (as Frederic Worlock)
Featured reviews
This version of the classic "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" story is more slow-moving and psychological than most. Rather than emphasizing the more horrific elements of the story, it relies on a good cast to bring out the ways that the characters and their relationships are affected by the doctor's weird experiment. It's not the version to watch if you are looking for excitement or horror, but as a more psychological approach it mostly works.
Spencer Tracy plays the dual leading role, and does pretty well at creating two distinct personalities - the transformation uses only minimal special effects, and relies on Tracy to make the characters convincing. Lana Turner and Ingrid Bergman work well as Beatrix and Ivy, and the rest of the cast members are also all very good. What the film lacks in excitement it makes up for in making Dr. Jekyll's world believable.
If you're already familiar with the story in its more horrific versions, this would be worth a look if you're interested in a different take on it. It's probably not the place to start, though, if you don't yet know the story.
Spencer Tracy plays the dual leading role, and does pretty well at creating two distinct personalities - the transformation uses only minimal special effects, and relies on Tracy to make the characters convincing. Lana Turner and Ingrid Bergman work well as Beatrix and Ivy, and the rest of the cast members are also all very good. What the film lacks in excitement it makes up for in making Dr. Jekyll's world believable.
If you're already familiar with the story in its more horrific versions, this would be worth a look if you're interested in a different take on it. It's probably not the place to start, though, if you don't yet know the story.
Spencer Tracy is magnificent in this, doing Mr Hyde basically with changes in behavior and agility rather than heavy make-up. He scared me to death when he vaulted over a railing and down a couple fo flights of stairs.
This is more of a thriller than a horror movie and done long before it became fashionable to throw tons of money and big-name performers at horror classics in order to produce blockbusters that were once just silly.
This supposedly cleaned-up version has Hyde asking Ingrid Bergman if she likes him because he's a little bit Jeckyll or Jeckyll because he's a little bit Hyde.
So many people are fussing that this movie turns the prostitute into a bar maid. Folks, in that part of London at that time, bar maids WERE prostitutes.
I find any moster more scary with no facial hair or deformities added. This Mr Hyde could well exist in real life. In fact, he DOES exist in real life. Once in a while we manage to prove it and put him in prison.
This is more of a thriller than a horror movie and done long before it became fashionable to throw tons of money and big-name performers at horror classics in order to produce blockbusters that were once just silly.
This supposedly cleaned-up version has Hyde asking Ingrid Bergman if she likes him because he's a little bit Jeckyll or Jeckyll because he's a little bit Hyde.
So many people are fussing that this movie turns the prostitute into a bar maid. Folks, in that part of London at that time, bar maids WERE prostitutes.
I find any moster more scary with no facial hair or deformities added. This Mr Hyde could well exist in real life. In fact, he DOES exist in real life. Once in a while we manage to prove it and put him in prison.
This is a thoughtful interpretation of the Stevenson story but is very rarely emotionally engaging. The theme seems to be sexual repression, with Hyde coming from Jekyll's repressed lust. As Hyde takes over we witness some extraordinary and very graphic Freudian imagery such as Bergman and Turner, naked, pulling a chariot containing Tracy and his whip, and Bergman being screwed out of a bottle by a corkscrew! Amazing. But the horror of the story is never realized and there is too much philosophical chat.
Tracy is terrific in the lead, but his make-up for Hyde is too subtle to be effective. The transformations require him to stand completely still which makes them a bit dull. The final transformation is quite an achievement however. Bergman could have been great but her attempt at a cockney accent seriously detracts from her fine emotional interpretation. Lana Turner is awful as Tracy's true love. But the rest of the cast is very strong - especially Donald Crisp.
The film also contains some fine Fleming touches, including his beautiful slow pans over magnificent sets and crowd scenes. The cinematography is excellent - make sure you don't watch the colorised version - and foggy Victorian London is recreated stunningly. This film never rises to the horror of the 1920 or the 1932 versions but still has much to offer.
Tracy is terrific in the lead, but his make-up for Hyde is too subtle to be effective. The transformations require him to stand completely still which makes them a bit dull. The final transformation is quite an achievement however. Bergman could have been great but her attempt at a cockney accent seriously detracts from her fine emotional interpretation. Lana Turner is awful as Tracy's true love. But the rest of the cast is very strong - especially Donald Crisp.
The film also contains some fine Fleming touches, including his beautiful slow pans over magnificent sets and crowd scenes. The cinematography is excellent - make sure you don't watch the colorised version - and foggy Victorian London is recreated stunningly. This film never rises to the horror of the 1920 or the 1932 versions but still has much to offer.
For years I knew that Fredric March had won one of his Oscars for DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE back in the '30s and always assumed that because of this his performance was superior to Spencer Tracy's.
But having just seen the Tracy-Bergman-Turner version, my opinion has changed. Whereas the make-up for March makes him look like a cheap monster in a Universal thriller and almost Simian, Tracy achieves a distinctly chilling effect simply through posture and facial expressions alone with a minimum of make-up. His first encounter with the barmaid Ivy (Ingrid Bergman) is beautifully done with both of them registering emotions as they play against each other--Tracy with a wicked gleam in his eye and Bergman trying to hide her fear. She creates a really sympathetic character, especially when she realizes the extent of her degradation. Her scenes with Tracy where he is sadistically taunting her remind one of the cat-and-mouse game she played with Charles Boyer in "Gaslight".
The B&W photography realistically captures Victorian London after dark with its swirling mists and street lamps. All of the performances are first rate except for an uncertain Lana Turner who has a pallid role and can do little with it.
The only flaws are the film's length--it takes too long to tell the tale with its long-winded speeches--and the leisurely pace under Victor Fleming's direction makes the horror more muted than it need be.
But having just seen the Tracy-Bergman-Turner version, my opinion has changed. Whereas the make-up for March makes him look like a cheap monster in a Universal thriller and almost Simian, Tracy achieves a distinctly chilling effect simply through posture and facial expressions alone with a minimum of make-up. His first encounter with the barmaid Ivy (Ingrid Bergman) is beautifully done with both of them registering emotions as they play against each other--Tracy with a wicked gleam in his eye and Bergman trying to hide her fear. She creates a really sympathetic character, especially when she realizes the extent of her degradation. Her scenes with Tracy where he is sadistically taunting her remind one of the cat-and-mouse game she played with Charles Boyer in "Gaslight".
The B&W photography realistically captures Victorian London after dark with its swirling mists and street lamps. All of the performances are first rate except for an uncertain Lana Turner who has a pallid role and can do little with it.
The only flaws are the film's length--it takes too long to tell the tale with its long-winded speeches--and the leisurely pace under Victor Fleming's direction makes the horror more muted than it need be.
I just saw this movie for the first time a few days ago and really enjoyed it. I must say I was a little surprised by the bits of "erotic" imagery. I wonder what people thought of that back in 1941. The performances by Ingrid Bergman and Spencer Tracy were very good. Ingrid is mesmerizing and beautifully effervescent. Her strange accent though is at first hard to comprehend. (Is she supposed to be Swedish, Irish, Cockney or what?) It's also fun to see how they managed the special effects - if you look closely at any one of the action scenes involving Mr. Hyde, there are many very obvious stunt doubles and other endearing "mistakes". I also thought it had just enough philosophical underpinnings to make it not just a old fluff "horror" movie.
Did you know
- TriviaDue to the Hays Code, much of the film had to be watered down from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). The character of Ivy Peterson had to be changed from a prostitute to a barmaid.
- GoofsAfter attacking Ivy in her room, Jekyll runs away from her house. As he approaches a carriage, his hat flies off and he keeps running around a corner. In the next shot, from the other end of the corner, his hat is securely on his head.
- Quotes
Mr. Edward Hyde: As you were leaving the room, you turned at the door, didn't you? And you said, "For a moment, I thought..." What did you think? What did you think? Did you think that Dr. Jekyll was falling in love with you? You, with your cheap little dreams? Or did you think, perhaps - that in him, you saw a bit of me, *Hyde*?
- Alternate versionsAlso available in a computer colorized version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in You Can't Fool a Camera (1941)
- SoundtracksSee Me Dance the Polka
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by George Grossmith
Additional Lyrics by John Lee Mahin
Sung by Alice Mock in the "Palace of Frivolties" show
Reprised by Ingrid Bergman
Whistled by Spencer Tracy (whistling dubbed by Robert Bradford)
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,924,000
- Gross worldwide
- $5,125,180
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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