Review of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) by Shannon M — 02 Jan 2010
I love Jekyll/Hyde movies, but this one is not as great as the 1931 version with Fredric March. However, considering how many times this story has been done, this is one of the better ones!! Spencer Tracy was surprisingly crazy as Hyde, but a little wooden as Jekyll.
The effects are subtle and credit must be given to Tracy for bringing Hyde to life. Ingrid Bergman is lovely as usual though a bit out of place (she should NOT have attempted any kind of accent!) in her role.
There are some rather shockingly "modern" dream sequences. Film legend goes that Tracy wanted Katharine Hepburn to play both female roles, which would have been ludicrously terrible. As it was, Tracy thought this film might have ended his career (it didn't).
This film is a classic example of how criticism of a film improves with time... once thought to be a real lemon, it's really rather watchable.
This review of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) was written by Shannon M on 02 Jan 2010.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has generally received positive reviews.
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