Written by John Lee Mahin And Percy Heath And Samuel Hoffenstein
Directed by Victor Fleming
Mr. Edward Hyde: "The world is yours, my darling, the moment is mine!"
I'm having a bit of a time trying to find a certain version of this movie but I did find one from 1941 but I did watch this one over the weekend. First time viewing and it's an interesting one.
In the role of both title characters, you've got Spencer Tracy. He certainly played both roles rather well, albeit maybe Hyde just that little bit better if I'm being perfectly honest.
We have Jekyll performing experiments to separate the good and bad in humans, only for himself to be the result of the experiment. Jekyll tried his damnedest to be a good man. Hyde on the other hand, revelled in the sheer chaos he brought unto others.
One person in particular who was the victim of Hyde's wore impulses was the unfortunate Ivy Pearson (Ingrid Bergman). She bore the brunt of Hyde's abuse and her attempts to get Jekyll to help her from Hyde only backfired on her. Hyde was his absolute worst with poor Ivy.
Then there's Beatrix Emery (Lana Turner). She was the love of Jekyll's life and their engagement was met with disapproval by her father, Sir Charles (Donald Crisp). It also didn't help that Hyde ended up bludgeoning her father to death as well. Needless to say that engagement didn't result in a marriage.
As for the rest of the movie, Jekyll and Hyde caused enough chaos for everyone and when Jekyll almost became himself again, the stress of the police brought back Hyde and then death. Of course this movie had to end with both title characters reaching their tragic conclusion.
- This movie was a mainstream hit and even managed three Academy Award nominations.
- The Hays Code changed Ivy from a prostitute to a barmaid for this movie.
- Standout music: Alice Mock's See Me Dance The Polka.
- Chronology: 1887 London.
I really liked Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. It's unsettling where it needed to be and while Spencer Tracy made for a better Hyde than Jekyll, he's still great in both roles.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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