Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Watch: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

12/31/19311h 36m

Premiere Release (US)

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

Overview:

Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men - a good and an evil side. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$535,000.00

Revenue:

$1,300,000.00

Key words:

london, england
double life
based on novel or book
transformation
alter ego
black and white
jekyll and hyde
pre-code
marriage engagement
torment
abused woman

Cast

Fredric March

~ as ~

Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde

Miriam Hopkins

~ as ~

Ivy Pearson

Rose Hobart

~ as ~

Muriel Carew

Holmes Herbert

~ as ~

Dr. John Lanyon

Halliwell Hobbes

~ as ~

Brig. Gen. Sir Danvers Carew

Edgar Norton

~ as ~

Poole

Tempe Pigott

~ as ~

Mrs. Hawkins

Leonard Carey

~ as ~

Briggs, Lanyon's Butler (uncredited)

Sam Harris

~ as ~

Party Guest (uncredited)

Boyd Irwin

~ as ~

Police Inspector (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 10 year(s) ago
8
I have no soul. I'm beyond the pale. I'm one of the living dead!

It's one of the most famous pieces of literature ever written, a genius piece of story telling from the trippy mind of Robert Louis Stevenson. That it has consistently been ripe for film and stage adaptations, and continues to be so since it first surfaced in written form in 1866, is testament to what a devilishly intelligent piece of work it is.

This 1931 version, directed by Rouben Mamoulian and staring Fredric March, may not be 100% faithful to the source, but it's arguably the finest adaptation to screen, led by a superb performance from March and featuring technical guile by Mamoulian and his team. It's wonderfully stylish, and coming as it did before the Hayes Code, it's sexy and dangerous, awash with terrifying cruelty, with the subversive and Freudian psychological beats making for a Gothic horror classic.

Split personality a go go, inhibitions cast asunder, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is priceless. 8/10