Dr Jekyll et Mr Hyde

I remember the television broadcast and knew of Palance at that time, but I didn't have much to compare performances or know what to look for.

I just remember it was an outstanding production with full credit going to Palance in the lead role.

then last week eureka!! I found the DVD in a 2nd hand shop and snatched it up right away.

the devilishness and morphing from Jekyll to Hyde was incredible. it won a batch of Emmy's and its no wonder. Jack Palance was a very gifted actor and had a certain honesty about him, a dedication to his craft that goes beyond the adulation and wealth other hollywooden types seek.

and that thing about push ups at the Oscars will go down in the history of entertainment. very inspirational too, a man in his 80s doing 1 arm push ups on live TV !! thank you Mr Palance for many years of tremendous entertainment and this is certainly among them. if you have a chance to see this film do so.

I saw this movie when it first came out on TV and at least one other time on TV. Seems like it was made for TV by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, as I recall. I had read the book and had seen several movie versions and was delighted at the vigor and believability that Jack Palance brought to the title role(s). As someone else has said here, I think it was the closest rendition of the book as well. He was good as both the good doctor and as Hyde, but was remarkable in bringing Hyde to life without much makeup, rather with the strength of his acting. His physical vigor was a part of it too, dashing through the streets, doing violence with his sword-cane in the action scenes, and I think I remember him leaping across the furniture in a pub in one scene. I'm glad to read here that it is out on DVD and will look forward to seeing it again.

Of the versions personally seen, only one comes close and that's the Frederic March version. John Barrymore's one is also still very good and Burbank Films Australia's animated version surprisingly good too, didn't care all that much for the Spencer Tracy film but even that wasn't too bad. Before seeing this, I would have considered the March film the best version but now it'd be this one. So good in fact that aside from that it was shot in the video-tape way you forget that you're watching that it was made for TV because everything was so well and professionally done. While I would have preferred the camera work to be more expansive, the video-tape didn't really cheapen things at all. The whole adaptation looks great, the lighting has that atmospheric Gothic touch, the costumes are sumptuous and the sets and the way they look make you feel like you're there in Victorian London and with the characters, which is remarkable for a made for TV film to do. London looks so beautiful and evocatively creepy at the same time, and how the fog is done and used really stands out in terms of visuals and atmosphere. Adding a lot also is Robert Cobert's score, which is very haunting without ever being obvious, it's not as spooky as the score he did for 1973's Dracula(also directed by Dan Curtis and starring Jack Palance, which is also worth seeing but not quite as good) but is so in a different kind of way.

As an adaptation, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde may not be word for word, detail for detail to the Stevenson classic with a few changes and additions but actually all the major details are intact and so is the spirit of the story, and it does this more successfully than any of the other versions. The idea of Dr Jekyll being responsible for the crimes due to Hyde not being a whole person, as heard in Devlin's line "You don't understand, do you? Jekyll deserves to die - he's the one who's responsible, not you", was an interesting angle and came off very well, plus it was entirely plausible. The dialogue is very thoughtfully adapted and is well-written dialogue judging it on its own. The story is very suspenseful, the scariest parts actually being genuinely so, and entertaining at all times, especially with any scene with Mr. Hyde, it was good also that it got straight to the point instead of being bogged down by filler, even more remarkable is that it managed to be loyal to such a timeless and well-known story and make it feel fresh.

It is more violent than the other Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adaptations, but not in a gratuitous way. Curtis' direction is as solid as rocks, and the characters carry the narrative beautifully, the most interesting of course is Jekyll/Hyde but the other characters are hardly given short shrift, Devlin actually is just as much and has some of the adaptation's most memorable lines. The performances from all are terrific, the best in support being a sensual Billie Whitelaw and Denholm Elliot in one of his more sympathetic performances. But it is Jack Palance who walks away with the acting honours, as he rightfully should, managing to make Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde completely different from one another without making Jekyll too mannered or dull or Hyde too over-the-top or completely brutish, both of which is what makes this iconic dual role tricky. He does superbly as both Jekyll and Hyde, loved the refinement and nobility he brought to Jekyll, possibly Palance at his most restrained, but he is even better as Hyde, as well as being one of the most physical and brutal in the role he is also the one that comes off the most genuinely scary and passionate, he hams it up just a tad but actually in this case that was what made the performance fun to watch. Overall, a brilliantly done version of a classic and the best version seen so far. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Amid the long lists of accomplishments, for actor Jack Palance, is this truly remarkable film achievement. Robert Louis Stevenson created his memorable set of characters; humanitarian Jekyll and terrifying Mr. Hyde, never realizing how many thespians would attempt to personify his creations. On stage and later in Hollywood several actors tried. From the 1930s' to a modern interpretation involving Michael Caine, a dozen actors have attempted the duel parts. Many are consider excellent, but for my money, the very best is none other than Jack Palance as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde. I suppose its because, Jack Palance throughout his movie career, has established himself as a reputable heavy. No one, including myself, had ever seen him emulate a respectable, sophisticated and admired medical man of science. His performance in this role is nothing short of magical, nay, electrifying. For the first time in film history, has an actor stun the audience with such an incredible performance, as to leave them applauding him with praise and wonderful accolades. To his credit, his fellow actors believed that as well. They included Denholm Elliott as Mr. George Devlin, Leo Genn as Dr. Lanyon, Torin Thatcher as Sir John Turnbull and wonderful Oscar Homolka as Stryker. You may see other film adaptions of this horror tale, but in my opinion, few to equal this version. *****

Jack Palance gives a darn good performance and the atmosphere is outstanding. One of the best adaptations out there. I've always been a Palance fan, so I am a bit partial, but this is good, Gothic horror. Not bloody or gory, just atmospheric. Worth a Friday night viewing.

I love the old, classic horror movies. Frankenstein, Dracula, etc. etc., and this movie has that sort of feeling, with a dash of Hammer in there. The movie moves briskly and keeps your attention throughout. The story, of course, is about the duality of man and shows how we can all become nasty, selfish creatures when our conscience isn't functioning. Palance, as Jekyll, is almost too shy but as Hyde he shows all the passion of a man living his life solely for himself, without a care for any one else'e feelings or safety. He is brutal and brash and really shows us how we, as humans, on one hand can love and want to help others and, on the other, can become all that is evil and loathsome to our fellow creatures. This story is, perhaps, more relevant today than at any other time in man's history.