Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde's Recent Activity - Spout

Film:Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:10:02 GMT

Title: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Year: 1931
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Plot: This first sound version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic morality tale starred Fredric March as the kindly, philanthropic Dr. Jekyll, who makes the fatal mistake of delving into secrets that Man Should Never Know. Fascinated with the notion that within each man lurk impulses for both Good and Evil, Jekyll develops a drug to release the wickedness in himself. The result: the lecherous, lycanthropic Mr. Hyde (one has to keep reminding oneself that the handsome, soft-spoken March plays both roles; small wonder that he won the Academy Award). Jekyll is the honorable suitor of the virtuous Muriel Carew (Rose Hobart), while Hyde is the brutish pursuer of the sluttish "Champagne Ivy" Pearson (Miriam Hopkins, as sexy as she'd ever be in films). It isn't long before the kindly Jekyll is unable to control the wicked Hyde, with tragic results. Director Rouben Mamoulian could often seem like the Brian De Palma of his time, showing off like a first-year film student instead of telling a story. But Mamoulian's excesses work beautifully in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, notably the dizzying first transformation scene (that heartbeat you hear on the soundtrack belongs to Mamoulian himself). Withdrawn from circulation when MGM refilmed the Stevenson novel in 1941, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde resurfaced in the early 1970s, albeit only in the heavily censored version prepared for the 1938 reissue. The current video version restores most of the missing scenes--including the famous opening reel, photographed from Jekyll's point of view with a subjective camera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 2
Number of Lists: 8
Number of blog posts: 2
Number of discussion threads: 3
SpoutRating: 2

Spout Post: Re:Classic Horror

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:05:04 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 9/15/2008 2:05:04 PM
Body: [quote user="Dr_Gor"]Haxan (Witchcraft Through The Ages) ; Is a work of fiction presented as a documentary. [/quote] Oh this is fiction? This one is on my list to see very soon. I hadn't read too much about it, but my impression is that it was real. I wonder if I would have watched it and never realized it was fake. Or is it faily clear that it's not real when you are watching it? [quote user="Dr_Gor"]Island of Lost Souls ; This was the first, and best, version of the classic H. G. Wells' story to hit the big screen. Charles Laughton's performance as Dr. Moreau is the best I have ever seen. Yes, he even out-did Marlon Brando and Burt Lancaster! [/quote] I heard the Marlon Brando version was pretty crappy. What say you? [quote user="Dr_Gor"]Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ; This is the best version of this story ever filmed just for the extraordinary acting of Fredric March. With the help of some amazing make-up effects you would swear you were watching two different actors in that role! Recomended![/quote] Thanks! I feel like this is a classic tale but for some reason have never heard this movie mentioned in discussions here before. I wondered if maybe it wasn't up to the calibur of some of the other classics, but maybe it's just been looked over in coversations. [quote user="Dr_Gor"]Mad Love ; This is the first movie version of "The Hands of Orlac" which would be redone several times. A very good movie but my favorite version of this story is The Hands Of Orlac (not listed on SPOUT) starring Mel Ferrar and Christopher Lee from 1960. [/quote] They do have the 1960 version in Spout. I'm not sure why the title is listed in French though. [quote user="Dr_Gor"]If you are a fan of Fay Wray you should also check out Doctor X and The Vampire Bat and Mystery of the Wax Museum ... not to mention King Kong ![/quote] I have seen Mystery of the Wax Museum, as well as the 1953 House of Wax. And they are both very good! I almost mentioned The Vampire Bat in my little list up top there too, and then I remembered that you or someone had recommended it at another time. [quote user="Dr_Gor"]Dead of Night ; Was one of the original English horror anthology movies and was considered by most people to be the best. I think this movie was a major inspiration for the notorious EC Comics of the late 50's - early 60's which in turn were the inspiration for some of the great English anthology movies of the 60's and 70's! My personal favorites were Tales From The Crypt and Asylum ... [/quote] Thanks, I'll check those out too! [quote user="Dr_Gor"]Rizzo (and others), I hope all of this has been of some help to you. I do try.[/quote] Indeed, I appreciate it very much. I love hearing your comments on these.

Spout Post: Re:Classic Horror

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:55:39 GMT

Post By: Dr_Gor
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 9/13/2008 9:55:39 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] Thanks for all of these suggestions Gor. Here's a list of films from the early days that I have run across that have horror elements. I'm wondering which of them you've seen and can recommend. Körkarlen (The Phantom Carriage) Häxan Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Waxworks Island of Lost Souls Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Mad Love The Most Dangerous Game Mystery of Edwin Drood Dead of Night [/quote] Ok, Rizzo, here are the ones I have seen from your list... Haxan (Witchcraft Through The Ages) ; Is a work of fiction presented as a documentary. It is a most interesting work if you are a student of witchcraft and demonology (like me). It is all here, everything you have heard of, Black Sabbath's, human sacrifice (young, virginal children), babies boiled alive, body parts from human corpses used in potions, orgies and sexuall perversions (including some nudity!) that include priests and nuns having sex and witches swearing their allegiance to Satan by kissing his anus! There are even witches flying around on broomsticks! I thought the most interesting parts were the descriptions and demonstrations of the torture devices used by the 'witch-hunters' and the Inquisition. Needless to say, this movie was (and is) highly controversial and disturbing! I would recomend it! Island of Lost Souls ; This was the first, and best, version of the classic H. G. Wells' story to hit the big screen. Charles Laughton's performance as Dr. Moreau is the best I have ever seen. Yes, he even out-did Marlon Brando and Burt Lancaster! Bela Lugosi was at his best as the leader of the 'animal-men' and this movie was genuinely creepy and frightening in a way that the remakes couldn't match. Highly recomended! Also, if you are a fan of the works of Charles Laughton you MUST check out the 1939 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame ! I can not recomend this one enough! Quite simply one of the best movies ever made! Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ; This is the best version of this story ever filmed just for the extraordinary acting of Fredric March. With the help of some amazing make-up effects you would swear you were watching two different actors in that role! Recomended! Mad Love ; This is the first movie version of "The Hands of Orlac" which would be redone several times. A very good movie but my favorite version of this story is The Hands Of Orlac (not listed on SPOUT) starring Mel Ferrar and Christopher Lee from 1960. The Most Dangerous Game ; This is one of my favorite movies. Made by the same production company that brought us King Kong , this movie was filmed on the same sets and with many of the same actors. This is the classic story that has been remade several times of an insane big-game hunter who has grown bored with hunting helpless animals and has chosen to spend his time hunting 'the most dangerous game'... human beings! Using a phony lighthouse, Count Zaroff lures passing ships into the dangerous reefs surrounding his island. When the survivors wash up on shore they are fed and clothed and prepared for 'the game' ... Fay Wray is one of these survivors who is doomed to be hunted by Zaroff. She has never looked lovelier running through the jungle getting her clothes ripped off bit by bit. If you are a fan of Fay Wray you should also check out Doctor X and The Vampire Bat and Mystery of the Wax Museum ... not to mention King Kong ! Dead of Night ; Was one of the original English horror anthology movies and was considered by most people to be the best. I think this movie was a major inspiration for the notorious EC Comics of the late 50's - early 60's which in turn were the inspiration for some of the great English anthology movies of the 60's and 70's! My personal favorites were Tales From The Crypt and Asylum ... Rizzo (and others), I hope all of this has been of some help to you. I do try. < GOR >

Spout Post: Re:Classic Horror

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:00:06 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 9/9/2008 2:00:06 PM
Body: Thanks for all of these suggestions Gor. Here's a list of films from the early days that I have run across that have horror elements. I'm wondering which of them you've seen and can recommend. Körkarlen (The Phantom Carriage) Häxan Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Waxworks Island of Lost Souls Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Mad Love The Most Dangerous Game Mystery of Edwin Drood Dead of Night

Spout Post: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) - unnecessary remake

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:37:00 GMT

Post By: jklugman
Post To: jklugman Blog
Post Date: 6/19/2007 2:37:00 AM
Body: It is hard to evaluate this film without comparing it to the superior 1931 version (directed by Rouben Mamoulian). To me the 1941 version feels pedantic and stodgy, largely because of Spencer Tracy's performance. Tracy plays Jekyll like a sitcom Dad and consequently there is zero chemistry between him and Lana Turner and him and Ingrid Bergman. Fredric March, who played Jekyll in the 1931 version, actually made you believe his Jekyll was capable of great deeds but also evil deeds. There is no such depth to Tracy's Jekyll performance. When he pontificates about good and eivl the film feels very leaden and talky, because the film is actually taking this nonsense seriously (in the 1931 version, March used these scenes to highlight how grandiose the Jekyll character is). Ingrid Bergman is pretty good in the thankless role of Ivy Peterson (when she realizes her predicament, her depseration is visceral), but to be honest, Miriam Hopkins, who played Ivy in the 1931 version gives a better portrayal of a working-class British woman living in the Victorian era. Come to think of it, Hopkins made the 1931 version much more racier than this one. Which raises the obvious question, why on earth did MGM feel the need to remake this film? It uses the exact same story structure as the 1931 version (both the 1931 and 1941 versions are more directly related to Thomas Russell Sullivan's 1887 stage adaptation than the actual Robert Louis Stevenson novella) and it really doesn't add anything unique that the 1931 version did not have. I originally thought that Mamoulian's use of subjective photography was ostentatious, but after seeing this version, I have come to appreciate Mamoulian's experimental techniques. His diagonal split screens are very memorable (especially the one where Jekyll-as-Hyde runs off into the park while his fiancee is stood up at her party) but the camera work here feels more workmanship than anything else.

Spout Post: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 06:24:00 GMT

Post By: jklugman
Post To: jklugman Blog
Post Date: 6/14/2007 2:24:00 AM
Body: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an emotionally charged film. Fredric March plays Henry Jekyll, a physician who has it all: he's born into wealth; engaged to the beautiful Muriel Carew (Rose Hobart); he tends to the poor, and is beloved by his patients. But you know the story: Jekyll is overconfident that he understands human nature, develops a concoction to separate and distill the good and evil natures in each person, but the concoction leads him to be consumed by his Hyde persona. March is convincing as Jekyll who is at turns kind, impetuous, arrogant, and penitent. But he is really fun to watch as the cackling, sneering, brutal Hyde. The actresses who play the "good Jekyll woman" (Hobart as Carew) and the "bad Hyde woman" (Miriam Hopkins as a working-class prostitute) really make the film work though, because it is how Jekyll/Hyde inflict pain on the women he loves that really drives home the tragedy of the film. I felt touched by Hopkins' performance--her character lusts after the good Jekyll but she is brutalized by Hyde and she realizes too late that rescue by Jekyll is not possible. The film is marred by occassional scenes that come off a bit corny and florid to a 21st century audience. I also thought that Mamoulian's extensive use of subjective photography, especially in the opening scene--verged on being gimmicky and ostentatious. A couple of other things noteworthy about the film: It was pretty racy for its time. Namely, the scene where Hopkins lays in bed with Jekyll in her apartment and it is strongly implied she striped naked to seduce him. One of the most powerful scenes I thought was where Jekyll goes to his fiancee to "set her free", as he does so, the enormity of what he's done dawns on him. This is a man starring into the abyss.

Spout Tag:Classic

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:54:36 GMT

Classic
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Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:22:02 GMT

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Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:13:42 GMT

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Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:42:51 GMT

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Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:14:11 GMT

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Spout Tag:Best-Actor

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:35:20 GMT

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Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:03:11 GMT

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Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:48:50 GMT

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Spout Tag:dr-jekyll

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:05:40 GMT

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Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:05:40 GMT

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