Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1941)

Directed By: Victor Fleming

Robert Louis Stevensons' classic novella 'The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'  has been adapted countless times (Some 120 times if we're just throwing out numbers). Today we look at probably one of the most well known incarnations.

The thoroughly American Spencer Tracy plays the thoroughly English Dr Jekyll in this adaptation. Taking place in a gorgeous looking, and largely matte painted London, the film continues the standard story that nearly all of the stage and film adaptations have done before and since. Dr Jekyll, looking to explore the 'soul' of a man, takes a potion that lets his uninhibited side live...and look a bit of a mess.

As a nitpick, there's never really been an explanation as to why Hyde appears so differently to Jekyll. Even in the original novella Hyde is described as looking younger than the Dr. Surely if both men were one and the same then their appearances shouldn't differ? Still in this version at least the transformation isn't all that drastic, and it's largely Tracy's layered performance that carries the idea of Hyde, more than the physical make up.

An idea discounted by Stevenson himself but again one that carries through all adaptations, is that the transformation is largely a sexually deviant one. It's not an uncommon thought though, and the Novella has been seen to be a comment on the Victorian Man's hidden Homosexuality at that time. Coincidentally, the Novella was written the same year that Parliament passed a law banning Homosexual sex, and many references are made to Hyde entering and exiting Jekyll's Lab through "The back entrance". Further to that, save for very minor characters there are also no Women in the story, instead the focus is largely on Mr Utterson, a friend of Jekyll's who is investigating the identity of the largely elusive Mr Hyde. Indeed, there are many allusions to eroticism in this adaptation, particularly the first time that Jekyll takes his 'potion' and has a fever dream. In that he's seen maniacally whipping Horses which transform into his fiancée and a somewhat 'loose' woman he met hours previously. Of course he continues whipping.

For 1941 the film really does explore the sexual aspects perceived to be in the Novella. Hyde develops a seemingly sado-masochistic relationship with Ingrid Bergman, the very heavy implication being that he beats her and regularly rapes her.

Though it came out largely in the midst of the Universal Horror series of films, this film really amps up the psychological aspect (Similar to the earlier The Invisible Man) as opposed to the easier 'Hyde runs around brutally killing' aspect that a lot of versions seem to follow. Tracy's Hyde is nothing more than a sadist and not a monster in the classic sense of the word.

There are one or two issues that remain, one is that Tracy is just slightly too old to be the spouse of the much much younger looking Lana Turner. Indeed as IMDB informs me, Ava Gardener and Lana Turner were initially cast in opposite roles, before Gardener thought they should swap. If they had retained their initial roles then the age difference wouldn't be such a problem, as it is now Jekyll comes across as something of a sexual deviant before taking his potion.

The other problem is Gardener's dubious accent. It switches multiple times, between her native accent and a hybrid of Irish/Scottish. Though I'm used to hearing bad accents, there's nothing more jarring than sitting through a dramatic scene and thinking the actress sounds Jamaican.

Still, the film proves to be enjoyable enough without losing it's way like last nights effort, and in reality anything that even partly takes place in a foggy London gets an automatic thumbs up from me. Furthermore it's a shame that Critics and even the stars of the film disowned it when it came out. Indeed, Tracy thought his acting career was over after it was released, he considered his performance that bad. I like to think he caught it on TV years later and looked back at it fondly because he really is that good.