Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) ...
by jklugman in jklugman Blog

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"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 ... " [More]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by jklugman in jklugman Blog

liked it.

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"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 lus ... " [More]

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