ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's a few interesting comments from All Sci-Fi member Phantom.


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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)




Nearly every spooky movie scared me as a kid, and they are some of the best remembered moments of my early life. Only two movies ever raised the hair on my head as an adult. The Exorcist, which I saw in early '74 and the 1931 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a revival house in NYC in the eighties.

The movie disappeared from catalogues in 1941 due to a contractual obligation fomented by MGM that had purchased the screenplay from Paramount in order to remake it as a (scene for scene) star vehicle for Spencer Tracy. The studio did not want the March film to show up as competition. As a result, the movie was virtually unseen for the next forty years, except in film museums and private showings.

Kids growing up as the post WWII generation were unacquainted with the film, unless they came across references to it in the pages of fan magazines like "Famous Monsters of Filmland" (which did a terrific article on the 1920, 1931 and 1941 versions).

Unfortunately, despite several tantalizing photos, the opportunity to catch any revivals was practically nil. The Tracy picture was re-released in 1956 (and scared the jujubes out of me), but showings of silent features on television in the fifties was less frequent than experiencing a heat wave in Fairbanks, Alaska.

As in the case of Warner Bros Mystery of the Wax Museum (a lost film for several decades), critics speculated on just how good the March movie really was, and if it could stand up to scrutiny by modern audiences. When it finally became available for general audiences around the late seventies, the consensus was that its reputation was solidly intact and even exceeded expectations (not the case, unfortunately, for Mystery of the Wax Museum, but that is for another thread).

Paramount, not usually associated with the horror genre, appeared to be trying to outdo Universal, which had had tremendous success with the release of Dracula and Frankenstein. Dr. Jekyll was released only a few months after the Karloff film and basically followed it into theatres, delivering a one-two punch to audiences who thought they had made it safely through Whale's Chamber of Horrors, only to discover R.L Stevenson's mad creation waiting to finish off the job with even more highly charged mayhem.

And highly charged is the correct description of the movie, directed with great flair by Rouben Mamoulian and acted with memorable panache by Fredric March. The late William K. Everson stated that March's separation of Hyde from Jekyll was so entirely distinct it was as if two different actors were playing the parts. March's make-up was disturbingly simian, so much so that in recent years charges of racism have been labeled against the movie, but it is more than likely that makeup artist Wally Westmore was simply attempting to depict Hyde as Neanderthal and not as a metaphor for any racial class.

In any case, the make-up was a terrible ordeal for the actor, particularly the final transformation at the end of the movie, which was so severe it could have seriously scared March's face forever. It was this final transformation that raised my temperature when I finally saw it in the late 1980's. The make-up is truly hideous.

Competing step for step with March is Miriam Hopkins as cabaret singer Ivy Pearson. Hopkins is an acquired taste for some film fans who find what is commonly called "over the top" acting annoying. I prefer to call it "larger than life" or simply "bravura" acting. When it is done right, it is far more thrilling and entertaining than most examples of "psychological" emoting. The actress infuses the role with an electric sexuality that is seriously toned down in Ingrid Bergman's performance in 1941.

And there is a great moment when Ivy first lays eyes on Hyde. Her startled reaction is almost worth the purchase price of the movie, itself.

Also along for the ride are several excellent character actors, including perennial butler Edgar Norton, Holmes Herbert, and the incredibly named Tempe Pigott (dammed it I know how to pronounce it!).
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)