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This is another magnificent restoration from Warner Archive. Paramount's 1931 version of Robert Louis Stevenson's famous tale looks (and sounds) as if it was made last month instead of 90 years ago.
The sharpness and clarity of this disc brings out all sorts of detail, and makes one realize this film was a high-class production all the way--the budget was much higher than Universal's DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN. The makeup and camera effects used to transform Fredric March's polished Jekyll to an apish Hyde are still stunning.
Director Rouben Mamoulian and cinematographer Karl Struss provide all sorts of other visual tricks to the tale as well. Some of them may be considered self-indulgent, but they do give the story a kinetic energy that other classic horror movies made during the same period lack.
Of all the versions made of Jekyll & Hyde, this one is by far my favorite. MGM's 1941 adaptation starred two actors I highly admire (Spencer Tracy & Ingrid Bergman), but it has a stately, refined manner. The '31 version has a raw Pre-Code edginess to it, especially in the performance of Miriam Hopkins as the tragic Ivy, who attracts the attentions of both Jekyll and Hyde. Hopkins' Ivy goes from flirty vixen to fragile victim. The scene where Ivy seduces Jekyll during their first meeting is one of the sexiest in movie history, while her palpable fear and hysteria in her dealings with Hyde are genuinely haunting. Fredric March won a Best Actor Academy Award for his fine work, but unfortunately there wasn't a Best Supporting Actress category at the time to reward Hopkins--I believe her Ivy is one of the most memorable characters in classic horror film history.
Also deserving mention for being in this film are legendary supporting actors Holmes Herbert and Halliwell Hobbes--seemingly every other movie made in the 1930s featured at least one of these two men. And don't forget Edgar Norton as Jekyll's loyal butler.
This Warner Archives Blu-ray of the 1931 DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE presents the film in its original 1.19:1 aspect ratio, and it is the unedited 96 minute original cut. A brand new audio commentary is included, with Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr, which I haven't had a chance to listen to yet. The esteemed Greg Mank's commentary, which was prepared for the earlier DVD release of the film, is also here, along with the Bugs Bunny cartoon HYDE AND HARE and a 1950 radio adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde also starring Fredric March.
It would have been nice to have more new extras on this disc, but the major thing here is how fantastic the movie looks and sounds. The 1931 DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE has long been admired, but it doesn't seem to be placed on the same level as the 1931 DRACULA & FRANKENSTEIN. I think a main reason for that is for years it had been kept in the closet, so to speak, by MGM, who had bought the rights to it when they made their 1941 version. The '31 JEKYLL AND HYDE has also never been commercialized in the way that Universal has done with their classic horror catalog. This Blu-ray gives the movie the premier showcase it deserves.
I never saw this until a few years ago when it played for one night in a local theater. Very impressive film. I have to admit the makeup for Mr. Hyde made me think of Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor at first. But I got over that little stumbling block! You are so right about Miriam Hopkins. She was terrific. Have you ever seen her in another pre-code film called The Story of Temple Drake? She blew me away in that one.
ReplyDeleteI have seen "The Story of Temple Drake", she is great in that too. Apparently she was difficult to deal with, that's probably why she didn't become a major star.
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