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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
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Phantom
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Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 67

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2020 5:53 pm    Post subject: A Tracy of Self Destruction Reply with quote

Tracy did not want to do this picture.

His most difficult characters were usually those outside his comfort zone, the all purpose American male. Pilon in Tortilla Flat and Manuel in Captains Courageous were great gambles for the apprehensive actor, even though he won an Oscar for the latter film.

Now he was being asked to portray an Englishman with a severe duel personality.

Tracy was a periodic alcoholic, alternately charming and brutal, according to sources. His idea was to play the Jekyll/Hyde split in pretty much the same way, using personal experience as a guide. He was dismayed when MGM purchased the Paramount script performed by Fredric March and basically shot a scene for scene remake.

He was savaged by the critics and he later proclaimed it to be the least favorite of his many films.

I saw the movie during a 1956 revival, intrigued by the trailer and not knowing anything about the plot. Got to admit, it scared the sno-caps out of me, and I loved every second of it.

Most of the sexual content washed over me (I was nine years old), but I never forgot Jekyll's initial transformation, his turning into Hyde in the park and that moment near the end when Lana Turner looks up expecting to see Jekyll only to find the leering face of Hyde.

The 1931 version finally became widely available in the 1970's and quickly became my favorite version, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Tracy remake and the terrors I felt in that cavernous old theatre all those years ago.
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 10:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Phantom, that is a magnificent review, extremely well written. I can't tell you how happy I am that you've returned to All Sci-Fi. Very Happy

As you know, you're a big part of why I created the first version of All Sci-Fi in 2006 after we shared those wonderful posts on the IMDB message boards. Cool

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