Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) 6.8
Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild when he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde. Director:Victor Fleming |
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) 6.8
Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild when he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde. Director:Victor Fleming |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Spencer Tracy | ... | ||
| Ingrid Bergman | ... | ||
| Lana Turner | ... | ||
| Donald Crisp | ... |
Sir Charles Emery
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Ian Hunter | ... | |
| Barton MacLane | ... |
Sam Higgins
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| C. Aubrey Smith | ... |
Bishop Manners
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Peter Godfrey | ... | |
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Sara Allgood | ... |
Mrs. Higgins
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Frederick Worlock | ... |
Dr. Heath
(as Frederic Worlock)
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William Tannen | ... |
Intern Fenwick
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Frances Robinson | ... |
Marcia
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Denis Green | ... |
Freddie
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| Billy Bevan | ... |
Mr. Weller
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Forrester Harvey | ... |
Old Prouty
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Dr. Jekyll believes good and evil exist in everyone. Experiments reveal his evil side, named Hyde. Experience teaches him how evil Hyde can be: he kills Ivy who earlier expressed interest in Jekyll and Sir Charles, Jekyll's faincee's father. Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
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.