Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
![Watch film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) Original Trailer [HD]](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/images/posters/0/30/dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-1941-IDt85.webp)
Short description
Dr. Henry Jekyll is a respected London physician convinced that every person contains both good and evil. He develops a potion meant to separate these two sides of human nature, and when he tests it on himself, a second self emerges: the brutal Mr. Hyde. As Hyde grows stronger and harder to control, Jekyll's life and those close to him are drawn into the consequences. The story comes from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, and the screenplay is credited to Samuel Hoffenstein, Percy Heath and John Lee Mahin.
Victor Fleming directed the film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with Victor Saville producing. It followed Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both released in 1939, and it was his eighth directorial feature in the chronological list of his films. Spencer Tracy plays the dual title role, with Ingrid Bergman as Ivy Peterson, Lana Turner as Beatrix Emery, Donald Crisp as Sir Charles Emery, Ian Hunter as Dr. John Lanyon and Barton MacLane as Sam Higgins. The credited cast runs to 72 names.
The film runs 113 minutes and mixes drama, horror and science fiction. On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 across roughly 11,000 votes, and on TMDB it has 6.5 out of 10 from about 195 votes. A critics' rating of 6.7 out of 10 from 24 reviews sits close to the audience scores, suggesting a broadly comparable reception on both sides.
What's left behind the scenes
- Patricia Morrison and Susan Hayward were also considered for the leading female roles.
- The studio's initial choice for the dual leading role was Robert Donat.
- Spencer Tracy was so eager to start filming that he turned down the lead role in the romantic comedy "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) (and was subsequently replaced by Cary Grant).
- Due to the infamous Hays Code in 1941, much of the film had to be significantly softened compared to the original 1931 film. For example, Ivy Peterson was changed from a prostitute to a barmaid.
- Spencer Tracy initially wanted to approach his character's story realistically, stripping it of its mystical elements. The actor was disappointed that the producers, having purchased the rights to a 1931 screenplay, insisted on the traditional version of the plot.
- The concept of two lovers of Jekyll/Hyde – the aristocratic Beatrix Emery and the commoner Ivy Peterson – first appeared in the play "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," adapted by playwright T.R. Sullivan for 19th-century stage actor Richard Mansfield. The original novella does not mention any romantic interests of Jekyll or Hyde.
- Spencer Tracy wanted one actress to play both characters—both Beatrice Emery and Ivy Peterson—and suggested Katharine Hepburn for the role. The actor believed that such a move would successfully reinforce the idea that good and evil live in every person.
- Ivy Peterson is absent from the original novella—this character was taken from the 1931 film.
- Initially, Ingrid Bergman was invited to play Beatrice Emery, and Lana Turner—to play Ivy Peterson. However, Ingrid Bergman found the role of Ivy more interesting for herself and convinced the producers to switch roles with Lana Turner.
- The film is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novella "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1886).
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