Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson (novel)
Samuel Hoffenstein (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

31 December 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Drug | Violence | Alter Ego | London England | Dancehall Girl

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Fredric March	...	Dr. Henry L. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Miriam Hopkins	...	Ivy Pearson
Rose Hobart	...	Muriel Carew
Holmes Herbert	...	Dr. Lanyon
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Brig. Gen. Danvers Carew
Edgar Norton	...	Poole
Tempe Pigott	...	Mrs. Hawkins (Ivy's landlady)

Runtime:

98 min | 96 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:Passed | UK:A | UK:12 (video rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1932) | Finland:K-16 (1933)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The characters of Muriel Carew and her father do not appear in Robert Louis Stevenson's original story. They are based on similar characters created by playwright T.R. Sullivan for his 1887 stage adaptation of the story.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the beginning of the movie, when Jekyll is putting on his cape in the "mirror", the reflection of a crewmember can be seen flitting across his stomach in the glass.

Quotes:

Mr. Hyde: If you do one thing I don't approve of while I'm gone, the LEAST little thing, mind you... I'll show you what horror means!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Rupan sansei: Part II: The Two Faces of Lupin (#1.16)" (1978)

Soundtrack:

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

Mamoulian's Very Visual Ideas Are Terrific, March's Oscar Is Well-Deserved

This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson - the first sound version of the famous tale - gave me exactly what my movie palate always asks for. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is a film conceived and designed with only one thing in mind: to woo the viewer with one visual trick after the other. For around 90 minutes, director Mamoulian is determined to prove that movies are not about saying something, but about how you say something. It is an early talkie, but boy, this production refuses to accept the limitations the new sound technology imposed on many 1930s films. I have seen many movies from the late 1920s and early 1930s, and nothing I have seen looks or feels like this production. Even more than seven decades later, this movie still looks like a unique achievement. I loved those POV shots, the still incredible transformations and the sexual innuendoes. Yes, Fredric March's Hyde make-up is a little too much by today's standards, but he gives an extraordinarily convincing performance. Miriam Hopkins (as Ivy) almost walks away with the film, though. It's an interesting movie.