Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson (novel)
John Lee Mahin (writer)

Release Date:

September 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A Good Woman! A Bad Woman - who needed the love of both!

Plot:

Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild when he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde.

Plot Keywords:

Prostitute | Physician | Battered Women | Fantastic | Role Reversal

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Aug. 25

2:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Ingrid Bergman	...	Ivy Peterson
Lana Turner	...	Beatrix Emery
Donald Crisp	...	Sir Charles Emery
Ian Hunter	...	Dr. John Lanyon
Barton MacLane	...	Sam Higgins
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Bishop Manners
Peter Godfrey	...	Poole, Jekyll's Butler
Sara Allgood	...	Mrs. Higgins
Frederick Worlock	...	Dr. Heath (as Frederic Worlock)
William Tannen	...	Intern Fenwick
Frances Robinson	...	Marcia
Denis Green	...	Freddie
Billy Bevan	...	Mr. Weller
Forrester Harvey	...	Old Prouty

Runtime:

113 min | Germany:90 min | Germany:108 min (VHS version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7341)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

When author W. Somerset Maugham visited the set during the filming, he supposedly watched a bit of Spencer Tracy's performance and asked sardonically, "Which one is he now, Jekyll or Hyde?"

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The movie begins with a preacher in a pulpit. The camera pulls back from a close-up, but it seems like the pulpit is also being pulled back close into a corner, surrounded by two stained glass windows. The second shot is a long view of the pulpit, now showing a huge pillar right behind it, which did not appear in the first shot; nor could it have possibly fit in the "space" indicated in the first shot.

Quotes:

Dr. Henry Jekyll: [as Hyde] When you went to see the good doctor, before you left you said... I almost thought, well what did you think? Maybe that you saw a little bit of ME, Hyde in him?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Sunday Lovers (1980)

Soundtrack:

See Me Dance the Polka

Ingrid & Lana Make This Film Easy On The Eyes

The best part of the film is ogling the two female leads. Ingrid Bergman, who uncharacteristically (in the movies) plays a tramp, is gorgeous and Lana Turner ain't bad. You get those two and Spencer Tracy, who's almost always interesting, and you have three good leads.

What's lacking are the special-effects which are needed in a horror story like this. With modern special-effects, better sounds and cameras, it would have made this - and other horror films - scarier.

Still, they did a decent job here in regard to Dr. Jekyll's transformation into Hyde, but the movie needs more suspense and horror, and a tighter script if it's going to be about two hours long.

Still, there's Bergman and Turner, both in their prime, looking about as good as they appeared and that's almost enough for me to continue watching this a few more times.