Tonight's Movie: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1941) is available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive.This version of the classic story, starring Spencer Tracy, was released by the Warner Archive this spring. Just in time for Halloween, it will be joined in October by the Warner Archive's Blu-ray release of the 1931 version starring Fredric March.
Longtime readers know that horror isn't really my thing and I can also take or leave Spencer Tracy, but I was enticed to give this film a try by the presence of actors like Lana Turner, Ingrid Bergman, and Ian Hunter; I also like to "stretch myself" from time to time and try viewing something outside my comfort zone. And what better way to see the movie for the first time than via a beautiful Warner Archive Blu-ray?
The story, of course, based on the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, is about Dr. Harry Jekyll (Tracy), who is conducting dangerous experiments regarding the good and evil inside each man.
This MGM production, written by John Lee Mahin, is sumptuously produced, directed by Victor Fleming and filmed in black and white by Joseph Ruttenberg. The score was by Franz Waxman. Tracy's makeup as Mr. Hyde was by Jack Dawn.
It's a well-done film with marvelous production values and tremendous atmosphere, but although I gave it my best shot, it wasn't my personal cup of tea as the best way to spend 103 minutes. The story is incredibly dark, and although Dawn's makeup mercifully wasn't as bad as it could have been, I still don't enjoy watching ugly visuals. I find viewing a film like this more stressful than enjoyable.
Bergman is as good as one might expect, but with her storyline being so tragic it was harder for me to fully appreciate her performance as the terrorized Ivy.
After Turner I best liked Hunter, for whom I've come to have quite an appreciation over the years, from his King Richard in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) to his numerous appearances in Kay Francis movies. Here he's a reassuring presence who helps keep the dark atmosphere from being overbearing; it's always a relief when his Dr. Lanyon shows up!
The lone extra on the Blu-ray disc is the trailer.
This Warner Archive Blu-ray is exquisitely beautiful, with excellent sound. Any hesitations about the film itself are related more to my personal viewing preferences than the quality of the movie. This is another fine release by the Warner Archive, and and I have no hesitation recommending it highly for fans of the story or horror.
Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or from any online retailers where Blu-rays are sold.
posted by Laura @ 5:55 PM
3 Comments:
I share your views on gratuitous horror, violence and gore. This film, however is a master class in how to do it right. It is relatively tame as compared with post WWII horror.
I like Spencer Tracy, overall, more than you do, apparently. Most of the time he's excellent. But not always. And I consider his Jekyll and Hyde probably his 2nd worst screen performance. And I'm not the only one. The famous story is that author Somerset Maugham visited the set of Jekyll and Hyde. Watching Tracy perform a scene, Maugham supposedly said, "Which one is he now?"
Ralph Bellamy, in his memoir WHEN THE SMOKE HITS THE FAN, tells a couple of stories with Tracy's J&H the butt of the jokes. The most memorable story was this, as Bellamy wrote:
“One night after I’d gone to bed, the doorbell rang. I threw on something and ran downstairs. I put on the hall light and outside front lights and opened the door. It was Spencer Tracy, who said, ‘Put out the lights! Let me in!’
I obeyed and there he stood with a beaten, wild-eyed, frightened look. ‘What’s the matter?’ I asked.
‘I’m through in pictures!’ he blurted out as I moved him into the living room.
‘What do you mean? What’s happened?’
‘I just saw a preview of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. I’m through in pictures,’ he repeated.
Granted there was some merit to his reaction to the picture…”
Unlike you, Laura, I am a huge horror fan, was led into the greater world of classic cinema via the Frankenstein and Dracula door. Among horror fans, Tracy's DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, both performance and movie as a whole, are not highly regarded. Not at all. Most horror fans (myself included) much prefer Fredric March. A few prefer John Barrymore. I've never heard of a single fan who preferred the Tracy or, indeed, who had anything good at all to say about it.
The ladies are the best element of what we got, but in this story they are peripheral. If you don't have a strong lead, you don't have a movie. And this is not much of a movie.
Philly Rich, Glenn, and Rick, thank you all very much for your comments!
Philly Rich, a movie like this is about as scary as I can go -- I liked the fact it felt classy.
Glen, thank you so much, I did recently enjoy hearing from you and will be contacting you soon, though it's possible it won't be until after this weekend's three-day Disney D23 Expo, which I'm getting ready to attend. I'll look forward to it. On the film, I was very interested in your feelings on post Code MGM -- post Code MGM was my main gateway into classic filmdom so my response to this version might also be different from yours. What's very dark for me might not be for true horror fans LOL. As you will see reading on, Rick really dislikes this version, so I'd be quite interested to hear where you land. I'd say it's at least worth checking it out to compare.
Rick, it's so interesting to me that horror was your gateway into classic films -- as I just mentioned above, for me it was '40s and '50s MGM that was the main entry point. So that's quite interesting to thus compare our varied takes on this version -- my admiring if not enjoying it, while you don't like it much at all.
Thanks so much to you all for sharing in the discussion of this thought-provoking film.
Best wishes,
Laura
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