Dr. Jekyll et Mr. Hyde

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.

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.

Set in Victorian England in 1887, a wealthy doctor by the name of "Dr. Jekyll" (Spencer Tracy) has begun experimenting on animals to determine if it is possible to separate good qualities from those determined to be bad. When he discusses his research at a dinner party his ideas are met with a great deal of consternation, especially on the part of his fiancé's father, "Sir Charles Emery" (Donald Crisp). In fact, Sir Charles is so concerned that he decides to take his daughter, "Beatrix Emery" (Lana Turner) with him out of the country in order to separate the two and give him some time to think about whether the wedding should go forward or not. In the meantime, Dr. Jekyll has grown frustrated with the progress of his research and decides to administer his experimental concoction on himself. Suddenly he turns from a charming and considerate person into a malevolent being called "Mr. Hyde". To make matters worse, with Beatrix gone he sets his sadistic sights on a young barmaid named "Ivy Peterson" (Ingrid Bergman) to satisfy his brutal and abusive nature. Now, rather than detailing the entire plot I will just say that the director (Victor Fleming) does an excellent job of capturing the dark and gloomy ambiance that this movie depends upon. And while both Lana Turner and Ingrid Bergman turn in very good performances, it is Spencer Tracy who really makes this film so successful. Definitely recommended for fans of classic horror.

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.

This version of the Stevenson classic story doesn't hold a candle to the 1931 version but it has a lot to recommend on its own. The main complaint about it is that it doesn't feel like a horror film but more a psychological drama or thriller. Spencer Tracy's Hyde is less monsterish than Fredric March's. But this is more in keeping with the story they wanted to tell with this version, which is a focus on the psychological rather than the physical. Still, Tracy does a good job.

Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner were originally cast in the other's part but switched to offer Bergman a chance to play against type. This works to great effect, in my opinion. Turner is a sweet, lovely angel here. A far cry from the glamorous femme fatale we think of her as today. As for Bergman, her sexy performance as Ivy is the standout of the film. One of my favorite roles of hers. The movie's a bit slow and probably won't please monster fans but it's a good movie with fine performances and nice direction. It really only suffers by comparison. Judged on its own merits it's very entertaining.