Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

Samuel Hoffenstein (screen play), Percy Heath (screen play)

Stars:

Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fredric March	...	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
Miriam Hopkins	...	Ivy Pearson
Rose Hobart	...	Muriel Carew
Holmes Herbert	...	Dr. John Lanyon
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Brig. Gen. Danvers Carew
Edgar Norton	...	Poole
Tempe Pigott	...	Mrs. Hawkins

Storyline

Based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men - a good and an evil side. He believes that by separating the two man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug it is already too late...

---

Plot Keywords:

victorian era | experiment | scientist | fiance fiancee relationship | prostitute | 

---

Taglines:

Put yourself in her place! The dreaded night when her lover became a madman!

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is based on the 1886 gothic novella "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, who is best known for his 1883 adventure novel Treasure Island.

---

Goofs

During the first two transformations Mr. Hyde has kinky hair. Afterwards his hair is smooth.

---

Quotes

Mr. Hyde: I'll give you a lover now. His name is Death!
Ivy Pearson: No, no! He ain't! It ain't so!
Mr. Hyde: Oh, ain't it so, my little bird, my little starling! Why, you lying wench!

---

Alternate Versions

Originally released at 97 minutes. Later reissues are taken from a shortened 82-minutes print. Deletions include:

• A 3.5 minute segment immediately following the opening credits. This is filmed in first person, and shows Jekyll playing the organ and getting ready for his lecture.
• Jekyll helping a young girl to learn to walk in the free ward. This 1 minute scene precedes the scene with the sick woman in bed.
• After his first transformation, Jekyll does not go immediately to the pub as in the cut version. Instead, Poole comes to the laboratory, and Jekyll takes the antidote and then lets him in. Jekyll then visits Muriel and learns that she is going away on a trip. Jekyll is preoccupied with her absence. When he learns she will be away another month, Poole suggests he go out. Jekyll knows a man of his position cannot be seen in the establishments of the lower classes, so he decides to take the potion again. Another on screen transformation occurs, this time while he is seated in a chair. He then leaves for the pub at which Ivy is singing. This sequence lasts 6.5 minutes.
• Just before Jekyll's transformation in the park, the restored scene reveals the reason for his transformation without taking the potion. He sees a bird being killed by a cat up in a tree. The traces of the drug in him, combined with the witnessing of this violent act, is enough to trigger the transformation, which he now has no control over. This restored cut lasts 45 seconds.
• The last restored scene is when Jekyll visits Muriel to "set her free". This adds additional details as to the torment Jekyll is going through, and confusion of Muriel as to what is troubling Jekyll.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mad Monster Party? (1967)

---

Soundtracks

Il Bacio
(uncredited)
Composed by Luigi Arditi
[Played by the orchestra during the party dancing scene, and then again in the background in another scene]

User Reviews

"I'll show you what horror means!"

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is Paramount doing Universal better than Universal did themselves. While this was a cash-in on the genre success of the smaller studio, if all bandwagons were this well made then cinema would be a much richer experience.

Oh, it's dated of course. A form of stiff melodrama where women still said things like "Darling... I wish this moment would last forever" and men replied "Oh, I love you... be near me always." And I love how the camera coyly veers away during the kissing scene. An odd dialogue gem is Dr.Jekyll (Frederic March) proclaiming: "We'll be so gloriously happy that even the French will be jealous of us." Look out too for Edgar Norton as Poole, offering advice to Jekyll when told his fiancée will be away for a month. "I beg your pardon, sir," he says, "but may I suggest that you ought to amuse yourself?" Yes, the dialogue is overblown, but in a wonderful, glorious way. Like a great stream-of-consciousness from the pen of a man who sees screen realism as just a petty distraction.

But what really works is the innovation of the film, almost dripping off the celluloid. I don't know if those wipes from scene to scene, the fades and the first-person perspective were originated here, but they're used superbly nonetheless. Often the frame hesitates between wipes, carving the illusion that so much is going on simultaneously that one screen cannot house it all. And the single take transformation (As Hyde says, "What you are about to see is a secret you are sworn not to reveal" – it's tinted lens effects were kept hidden for many years) is absolutely magnificent, even 70 years on.

Every single shot is worked out with a mind to an unusual angle, or a unique way of framing things, but never so that it's showy. Often the main action will be taken via longshot, the camera choosing to focus on a sole candelabrum in the foreground while the scene plays out. It's subtexts of bare backs; cleavages, thighs and garter belts are also quite racy for the time. Look how even when Jekyll has left Ivy behind, her seductively rocking leg is merged with the next scene for nearly half a minute to indicate temptation is lingering in his mind. Outstanding.

The sets, too, are unparalleled, street settings often running to several levels and making a mockery of the rival studio's sub-realist fare. The outdoor segments set to rain are exquisite, and look out for an amusing scene – the first between Miriam Hopkins and Hyde – where they engage in an accidental spitting competition. As he says the phrase "pig sty" an unintentional (?) spray of saliva coats his co-star, while a large globule of phlegm hits him in return as she says "Buckingham Palace."

Weirdly, the Doctor's name is pronounced "Gee-kul", not the commonly held "Jek-ull". I've always thought Jekyll seemed a creepier name than the passive-sounding Hyde. Maybe that's the point, and the duality of such a concept is passed forward by many shots of Hyde seeing his face via a mirror. March is not without the wit to add humour to his other persona (who resembles more Dick Emery's comedy Vicar than anything truly horrific), and is in equal terms expert in both pathos and menace. His physicality in the role also cannot be overlooked. Not only that, but you get the real feeling that you're joining March on a discovery; with each new turn of plot as much a surprise to him as it is to us. This is a real loving performance, a far cry from the "take the money and run" sensibilities of The Wolf Man.

Hyde has his violent moments, threatening to glass a man with a broken bottle – "His face was made for it" – and intimating rape. It's a showstopping performance and there's even one scene where Hyde appears to break the fourth wall – yet he's looking through the camera and into the next room. Mere technicalities are beneath the thoroughly insane Hyde. "I shall go only as far as the door, and the sight of your tears will bring me back" he hisses to a terrified Hopkins with double-meaning menace.

With it's literary script that encompasses both Bach and Shakespeare, it's a lovably fluid, fast-paced piece. Sometimes it's not always subtle – take the scene where Hopkins tells Jekyll he's got "the kindest heart in the world" and asks him for a bottle of poison "so I can kill myself, sir." But look at the anguish on March's face as the guilt of his alter ego's actions bleed through. If only all films could be made with such care and love in their craft. Absolutely Tremendous. 9/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Filming Locations:

Busch Gardens - S. Grove Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$535,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,615

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 96 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1