Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

US (1941): Horror

This version of Robert Louis Stevenson's tale about a scientist (Spencer Tracy) who develops a potion that separates man's good and evil natures accentuates the emotional characteristics of the Hyde figure, rather than the terror angle. Ingrid Bergman was originally cast as Jekyll's fiancée. She eventually played barmaid Ivy Peterson, with the fiancée role going to Lana Turner. Despite having not yet met Bergman, Tracy wanted the characters of Ivy and Beatrix to be played by the same actress, Katharine Hepburn, to reinforce the theme of the good and bad qualities in every individual. Victor Fleming directs this MGM release; supporting cast includes Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter, Barton MacLane, C. Aubrey Smith and Sara Allgood. Don't bother with the colorized version. (amctv.com)

 Use this link to view a TCM featurette with makeup artist Rick Baker discussing the Fredric March and Spencer Tracy versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on TCM.com.

3 nominations