Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

Directed by Victor Fleming. Starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp, Barton MacLane, Peter Godfrey.

Umpteenth retelling of the famed Robert Louis Stevenson novella (more of a remake of the earlier 1931 production) is a misfire, wasting fine production values and a more mature and thoughtful tone to the usual Gothic horror trappings previous versions embraced. The script’s focus on psychological and emotional complexity falls short because of critical errors in conception, some beyond the control of the writers, some related to unsuccessful character and thematic edits. Ingrid Bergman is too beautiful and polished to convince as a Victorian London barmaid, but it’s the fatal miscasting of Spencer Tracy that does in this adaptation: as Dr. Jekyll, he’s too dignified to be mad in his convictions, and as Mr. Hyde, he’s more of a lecherous, troublemaking jerk than a savage, id-fueled brute. The uninspired makeup is so “subtle”, it’s too hard to swallow why other characters don’t immediately recognize the two halves of the split personality as the same person; in fact, the weak transformation/distinctions led to an oft-repeated bit of mockery from W. Somerset Maugham (“Which one is he playing now, Jekyll or Hyde?”). C. Aubrey Smith has a minor role.

46/100