Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 film)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1941 horror film
starring Spencer Tracy
, Ingrid Bergman
and Lana Turner
. Rather than being a new film version of the novel, it is a direct remake
of the 1931 film of the same name
, which differs greatly from the novel. The movie was based on Robert Louis Stevenson
's 1886 novella
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and directed by Victor Fleming
, director of Gone with the Wind
and The Wizard of Oz
two years earlier. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(where Fleming was based) acquired the rights to the 1931 film, originally released by Paramount Pictures
, in order to keep the earlier film out of circulation.
The MGM version was produced by Victor Saville
and adapted by John Lee Mahin
from the screenplay of the earlier film by Percy Heath and Samuel Hoffenstein
. The music score was composed by Franz Waxman
with uncredited contributions by Daniele Amfitheatrof
and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
. The cinematographer was Joseph Ruttenberg
, the art director was Cedric Gibbons
, and the costume designers were Adrian
and Gile Steele
. Jack Dawn
created the make-up for the dissolute Mr. Hyde's appearance.
The film also features Donald Crisp
, Ian Hunter
, Barton MacLane
, C. Aubrey Smith
and Sara Allgood
.
) believes good and evil exist in everyone. Experiments reveal his evil side, named Mr. Hyde. Experience teaches him how evil Hyde can be: he kills Ivy (Ingrid Bergman
), who earlier expressed interest in Jekyll, and Sir Charles (Donald Crisp
), Dr. Jekyll's fiancee's father. At the end of the film, Dr. Jekyll's best friend Dr. Lanyon (Ian Hunter
) shoots and kills Mr. Hyde, causing Jekyll to die as well. Poole, Dr. Jekyll's butler, begins to say a prayer for his late master, ending the film.
-
- they met when they made Woman of the Year
(1942) - Spencer Tracy originally wanted Hepburn to play both Bergman's and Turner's roles as the 'bad' and 'good' woman, who would then turn out to be the same person (coincidentally Hepburn had hoped to get Tracy for the part that James Stewart
ultimately played in The Philadelphia Story (1940)).
Initial casting had Bergman playing the demure fiancée of Jekyll and Turner as 'bad girl' Ivy. However, Bergman, tired of playing saintly characters and fearing typecasting, requested that she and Turner switch roles, allowing her to play a darker role for the first time.
famously sent his friend Tracy an amusing telegram thanking him for his biggest career boost, as Tracy's performance was routinely savaged when compared with March's version. Tracy was considered too bland as Jekyll, and not frightening as Hyde.
cartoon Hare Remover
, when Elmer Fudd
is going through some bizarre side effects after drinking a potion he created, Bugs Bunny
turns to the audience and remarks, "I think Spencer Tracy did it much better!".
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
and Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
. Rather than being a new film version of the novel, it is a direct remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1931 film of the same name
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931 film)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Fredric March. The film is an adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , the Robert Louis Stevenson tale of a man who takes a potion which turns him from a mild-mannered man of...
, which differs greatly from the novel. The movie was based on Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's 1886 novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and directed by Victor Fleming
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
, director of Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
and The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
two years earlier. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
(where Fleming was based) acquired the rights to the 1931 film, originally released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, in order to keep the earlier film out of circulation.
The MGM version was produced by Victor Saville
Victor Saville
Victor Saville was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954...
and adapted by John Lee Mahin
John Lee Mahin
John Lee Mahin was a prolific screenwriter and producer. He was the son of John Lee Mahin, Sr. , a Chicago newspaper and advertising man, and Julia Graham Snitzler....
from the screenplay of the earlier film by Percy Heath and Samuel Hoffenstein
Samuel Hoffenstein
Samuel "Sam" Hoffenstein was a screenwriter and a musical composer. Born in Russia, he immigrated to the United States and began a career in New York City as a newspaper writer and in the entertainment business. In 1931 he moved to Los Angeles where he lived for the rest of his life where he wrote...
. The music score was composed by Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman was a German-American composer, known for his bravura Carmen Fantasie for violin and orchestra, based on musical themes from the Bizet opera Carmen, and for his musical scores for films....
with uncredited contributions by Daniele Amfitheatrof
Daniele Amfitheatrof
-Early life:Amfitheatrof was born in St. Petersburg, into a family that was distinguished in various areas of the arts and culture. His father, Aleksander Amfiteatrov, was a noted writer. His mother Illaria , an accomplished singer and pianist, had studied privately with Rimsky-Korsakov.The...
and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was an Italian composer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In 1939 he migrated to the United States and became a film composer for some 200 Hollywood movies for the next...
. The cinematographer was Joseph Ruttenberg
Joseph Ruttenberg
Joseph Ruttenberg, A.S.C. was a photojournalist and cinematographer.Ruttenberg was accomplished winning accolades. At MGM, Ruttenberg was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography ten times, winning four. In addition, he won the 1954 Golden Globe Award for his camera work on the...
, the art director was Cedric Gibbons
Cedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
, and the costume designers were Adrian
Adrian (costume designer)
Adrian Adolph Greenberg , most widely known as Adrian, was an American costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and other Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career, he designed costumes for over 250 films and his screen credits usually read as...
and Gile Steele
Gile Steele
Gile Steele, born in Ohio on 24 September 1908 and died in Culver City, California 16 January 1952, was a Hollywood costume designer. His career began at MGM in 1938 with one of his first assignments being the Norma Shearer film Marie Antoinette...
. Jack Dawn
Jack Dawn
Jack Dawn was an acclaimed American make-up artist whose career spanned thirty-seven years, during which he worked on more than two hundred films, many of them regarded as classics by historians and moviegoers alike....
created the make-up for the dissolute Mr. Hyde's appearance.
The film also features Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
, Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (actor)
Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
, Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his role as Gen...
, C. Aubrey Smith
Aubrey Smith
Sir Charles Aubrey Smith CBE , known to film-goers as C. Aubrey Smith, was an English cricketer and actor.-Early life:...
and Sara Allgood
Sara Allgood
-Biography:Allgood was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her sister was actress Maire O'Neill.Allgood began her acting career at the Abbey Theatre and was in the opening of the Irish National Theatre Society, appearing in many of their plays all over Britain...
.
Plot
Dr. Jekyll (Spencer TracySpencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
) believes good and evil exist in everyone. Experiments reveal his evil side, named Mr. Hyde. Experience teaches him how evil Hyde can be: he kills Ivy (Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
), who earlier expressed interest in Jekyll, and Sir Charles (Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
), Dr. Jekyll's fiancee's father. At the end of the film, Dr. Jekyll's best friend Dr. Lanyon (Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (actor)
Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) shoots and kills Mr. Hyde, causing Jekyll to die as well. Poole, Dr. Jekyll's butler, begins to say a prayer for his late master, ending the film.
Cast
- Spencer TracySpencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
as Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde - Ingrid BergmanIngrid BergmanIngrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
as Ivy Peterson - Lana TurnerLana TurnerLana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
as Bea Emery - Donald CrispDonald CrispDonald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
as Sir Charles Emery - Ian HunterIan Hunter (actor)Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
as John Lanyon - Barton MacLaneBarton MacLaneBarton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his role as Gen...
as Sam Higgins - C. Aubrey SmithAubrey SmithSir Charles Aubrey Smith CBE , known to film-goers as C. Aubrey Smith, was an English cricketer and actor.-Early life:...
as Bishop Manners - Peter Godfrey as Poole, Jekyll's butler
- Sara AllgoodSara Allgood-Biography:Allgood was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her sister was actress Maire O'Neill.Allgood began her acting career at the Abbey Theatre and was in the opening of the Irish National Theatre Society, appearing in many of their plays all over Britain...
as Mrs. Higgins - Frederic Worlock as Dr. Heath
- William Tannen as Intern Fenwick
- Frances Robinson as Marcia
- Denis Green as Freddie
-
- Billy BevanBilly BevanBilly Bevan was an Australian film actor. He appeared in 254 American films between 1916 and 1950....
as Mr. Weller - Forrester HarveyForrester HarveyForrester Harvey was an Irish-born film actor. He appeared in 117 films between 1922 and 1946, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in County Cork, Ireland and died in Laguna Beach, California....
as Old Prouty - Lumsden HareLumsden HareLumsden Hare was an Irish born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer....
as Colonel Weymouth - Lawrence GrantLawrence GrantPercy Reginald Lawrence-Grant was an English actor known for his supporting roles in films such as The Living Ghost, I'll Tell the World, The Mask of Fu Manchu, and Son of Frankenstein...
as Dr. Courtland - John BarclayJohn BarclayJohn Barclay may refer to:*John Barclay , Scottish satirist and Latin poet*John Barclay , Scottish theological writer*John Barclay , Canadian Church of Scotland clergyman...
as Constable at Church - Colin KennyColin Kenny (actor)Colin Kenny was an Irish film actor. He appeared in 167 films between 1918 and 1965. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and died in Los Angeles, California.- Selected filmography :* Tarzan of the Apes - Clayton...
as Constable (uncredited) - Lydia BilbrookLydia BilbrookLydia Bilbrook was an English actress whose stage and film career spanned four decades. It is claimed that she was an illegitimate daughter of the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree...
Lady Copewell (uncredited)
Casting
Despite having not yet met his later co-star Katharine HepburnKatharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
- they met when they made Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year is a romantic comedy film. The movie is about an emancipated woman, chosen "Woman of the Year", and her colleague-turned-husband and their efforts to negotiate a path to marital bliss....
(1942) - Spencer Tracy originally wanted Hepburn to play both Bergman's and Turner's roles as the 'bad' and 'good' woman, who would then turn out to be the same person (coincidentally Hepburn had hoped to get Tracy for the part that James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
ultimately played in The Philadelphia Story (1940)).
Initial casting had Bergman playing the demure fiancée of Jekyll and Turner as 'bad girl' Ivy. However, Bergman, tired of playing saintly characters and fearing typecasting, requested that she and Turner switch roles, allowing her to play a darker role for the first time.
Awards
The movie was nominated for three Oscars, for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), Best Film Editing & Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture.Critical reception
The film was not the critical and commercial success that the 1931 version had been. Fredric MarchFredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
famously sent his friend Tracy an amusing telegram thanking him for his biggest career boost, as Tracy's performance was routinely savaged when compared with March's version. Tracy was considered too bland as Jekyll, and not frightening as Hyde.
Other references
In the 1946 Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
cartoon Hare Remover
Hare Remover
Hare Remover is a 1945 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, released in 1946. The film was the last cartoon to be directed by Frank Tashlin at Warner Bros....
, when Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
is going through some bizarre side effects after drinking a potion he created, Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
turns to the audience and remarks, "I think Spencer Tracy did it much better!".