Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
14K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Samuel Hoffenstein(screen play)
- Percy Heath(screen play)
- Robert Louis Stevenson(based on the novel by)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Samuel Hoffenstein(screen play)
- Percy Heath(screen play)
- Robert Louis Stevenson(based on the novel by)
- Stars
- Won 1 Oscar
- 6 wins & 3 nominations total
Harry Adams
- Pub Patronas Pub Patron
- (uncredited)
William Begg
- Party Guestas Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Rita Carlyle
- Jekylls Patientas Jekylls Patient
- (uncredited)
Bobbie Hale
- Pub Patronas Pub Patron
- (uncredited)
Sam Harris
- Party Guestas Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin
- Police Inspectoras Police Inspector
- (uncredited)
Tom London
- Undetermined Roleas Undetermined Role
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Samuel Hoffenstein(screen play)
- Percy Heath(screen play)
- Robert Louis Stevenson(based on the novel by)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first horror movie ever to win an Academy Award.
- GoofsImmediately after Hyde changes to Jekyll in front of Dr. Lanyon, he moves his head and briefly reveals the padded armature attached to the back of his chair, intended to hold his head in the same position while the makeup artists worked on various stages of his transformation.
- Quotes
Dr. Lanyon: Perhaps you're forgetting, you're engaged to Muriel.
Dr. Jekyll: Forgotten it? Can a man dying of thirst forget water? And do you know what would happen to that thirst if it were to be denied water?
Dr. Lanyon: If I understand you correctly, you sound almost indecent.
Dr. Jekyll: What names you give things!
- Alternate versionsOriginally 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Mondo Lugosi - A Vampire's Scrapbook (1987)
- SoundtracksToccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
(1708) (uncredited)
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Played by orchestra during opening credits and in some scenes by an anonymous organist dubbing Fredric March
Top review
Not Quite the Book BUT Mesmerizing Performance by March and Innovative Direction/Camera
For all the existing film versions of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1886), this 1931 Paramount offering starring the incomparable Frederic March is probably the best. None quite follow the original book, whose tale is actually told backwards in a way. The book does not follow a series of linear events that lead to the so-called "transformation". Instead, rumors of a strange man surface between two characters in the very opening. We learn about Hyde first before Jekyll, which is not the way any film adaptation has ever told the story.
Still, the present film has a lot going for it. At the forefront is Frederic March in the classic dual role of good and evil. When he first becomes Hyde, I thought another actor was playing the role, it's that good! Another distinctive aspect is the camera work which must have been extremely innovative for its time. The opening moments are shot with a first person perspective. The transformation is done relatively seamlessly considering CGI effects had yet to be invented. There are other moments of shadows and dark corridors. The atmospheric fog that permeates the entire film is worth the price of admission.
As stated by other reviewers, some of the dialog hearkens back to an earlier era of the Vaudeville Melodrama. Characters didn't just love each other, they loved each other for eternity! Still a fine film all things considered, dated perhaps in places, but still March's performance is unbeatable, and definitely deserved of the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Still, the present film has a lot going for it. At the forefront is Frederic March in the classic dual role of good and evil. When he first becomes Hyde, I thought another actor was playing the role, it's that good! Another distinctive aspect is the camera work which must have been extremely innovative for its time. The opening moments are shot with a first person perspective. The transformation is done relatively seamlessly considering CGI effects had yet to be invented. There are other moments of shadows and dark corridors. The atmospheric fog that permeates the entire film is worth the price of admission.
As stated by other reviewers, some of the dialog hearkens back to an earlier era of the Vaudeville Melodrama. Characters didn't just love each other, they loved each other for eternity! Still a fine film all things considered, dated perhaps in places, but still March's performance is unbeatable, and definitely deserved of the Academy Award for Best Actor.
helpful•430
- classicalsteve
- Nov 2, 2007
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $535,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $16,615
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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By what name was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) officially released in Canada in English?
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