Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 film)
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a remake of the 1931 film of the same title. It is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel and stars Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman & Lana Turner. The movie was directed by Victor Fleming, who also directed Gone with the Wind & The Wizard of Oz
Plot
Dr. Jekyll (Tracy) believes good and evil exist in everyone. Experiments reveal his evil side, named Hyde. Experience teaches him how evil Hyde can be: he kills Ivy (Bergman), who earlier expressed interest in Jekyll, and Sir Charles (Donald Crisp), Jekyll's fiancee's father.Casting
Despite having not yet met his famous co-star, Spencer Tracy originally wanted Katharine Hepburn to play both Bergman's and Turner's roles as the "bad" woman and "good" woman, who would then turn out to be the same woman.Awards
The movie was nominated for 3 Oscars: For Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), Best Film Editing & Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture. It had several elements that the 1931 version did not have - more dialogue, a "slick", lush, typically MGM "look", and a rich musical score, while the 1931 version had no more than perhaps a minute of music in the entire film.Critical Reception
The film was not the critical success that the 1931 version had been. Although it is generally conceded that Ingrid Bergman, as Ivy, was at least as good as Miriam Hopkins had been in the same role in 1931, and that Donald Crisp was also excellent as Sir Charles, Spencer Tracy's performance in this film, out of all the performances he ever gave, was judged inadequate, and was one of his few critically roasted roles (Tracy was not considered frightening enough as Mr. Hyde, though he was quite good as Jekyll). Fredric March, who played the role in the 1931 film (a movie the studio tried to destroy to eliminate competition for the Tracy version and that was unseen for many decades), famously sent his friend Tracy an amusing telegram thanking him for his biggest career boost, as Tracy's performance was routinely savaged when compared with March's more monstrous version.
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