Tracy Finds His Dark Side...

29 August 2015

MGM spared no expense for this lavish production of the oft-told Jekyll & Hyde story (it had been filmed with the excellent Frederic March in the lead role(s) in 1931) with Spencer Tracy (uncharacteristically) taking the honors of portraying the memorable scientist experimenting with the notion of separating good and evil so that man could be free from the ill effects of the latter. Instead, the experiment, when reduced to a liquid form in a flask unleashes the scientist's dark side, and as each night continues, as does Hyde's control over Jekyll. Soon Jekyll's life begins to unravel, while Hyde remains an increasingly powerful nuisance, out and about in London to be a rotter, a malcontent, and a fiend. Was it truly worth it?

The sets are a feast for the eyes if you love seeing 1887 London brought to life as only Hollywood could do in the 40s. Tracy is a curious casting choice for such a character, but it lead to Marsh achieving the Oscar, something that wouldn't happen again for a horror film until Hopkins rightfully won the golden man statue for Demme's Silence of the Lambs.

Lana Turner is absolutely gorgeous as Tracy's fiancé while Ingrid Bergman (ridiculously) is "glammed down" for the part of a street-wise "lady of the night", a free-spirit who takes an immediate shine to Jekyll, although he views their flirting and near-cavorting as an experiment to test his wild side. His experience with Bergman's Ivy motivates Jekyll to not abandon his research, even though Beatrix's (Turner) stern father (Donald Crisp) demands it. Soon Jekyll is takes a swig of the experimental fluid and Hyde rears his ugly face and foul presence.

Bergman is too lovely and movie star goddessy for the part of Ivy, and from her first scene on, it is hard to suspend disbelief when we see her, no matter how she tries to use slang and present herself as poverty row. Turner is cast because she is such a beauty, and the role really only requires her to be the concerned beloved of the doomed scientist. However, the performances of Tracy and Bergman are first rate. Why Jekyll/Hyde is such a plum part is it is just right for an actor's actor due to the duality of personalities duking it out for supremacy.

You get a chance to portray two distinctive characters: one virtuous while the other is hideous. Victor Fleming (Gone with the Wind; Wizard of Oz) being attached to a horror film is rather a big deal. I think, though, critically this film version of Jekyll/Hyde will be looked at (and perhaps the 31 version, too) as a literary melodrama and less like a horror film. Tracy even wanted to not physically transform (in a way, removing the less respected "tacky B-movie horror" trappings many highly regarded thespian and Big-Time Movie Star types considered beneath them), but I think there's an importance in showing the wretchedness that Hyde represents manifest itself internally into an external monster. Even if he didn't want the makeup and disheveled hair/eyebrows, the work does add gravitas to Tracy's performance. He gravels his voice, too, when talking in the form of Hyde, and his appearances, much to Bergman's horror, really pop on screen. You can just imagine the dread that Ivy must feel, and Bergman, the pro that she is, truly conveys the fear, increasing psychological deterioration, and wearying stress her character endures thanks to Hyde's hold over her. She's as damned as Jekyll is thanks to his meddlesome scientific curiosity and drive to succeed in the separation of good and evil. As in other adaptations of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, Hyde becomes too strong while Jekyll eventually succumbs to him. The final scene is a humdinger as Jekyll tries one final time to keep Hyde from emerging, failing miserably.

What a great period for "costume dramas" and Gothic horror benefited from studios dedicating money and intrigue to the evocation of period London on many an occasion. One great set piece has Jekyll out walking London streets/sidewalks as the ever thickening fog threatens to suffocate him, while street lights just keep the shadows from enveloping him is a sublime Gothic work of art. Soon becoming Hyde, seeing him move about at night, Victor Fleming brings an energy to his direction; in particular, the sequence where Hyde harms Ivy and flees her flat, using his cane to ward off those trying to stop him, while flying about with only survival on the mind. This film spends a great deal of time with Hyde while Jekyll pines for the return of Bea when her ill father has whisked her away to parts of Europe. The use of dissolves for the transformations are decent enough. Discussions on what Jekyll believes and is dedicated to are met with criticism, but it doesn't stop him.

I think this will be of interest to Tracy fans just because it is atypical of what he normally starred in. Same for Bergman and Turner. Of course, a film that allowed Bergman to sink her teeth into "tormented victimized women" parts and prove the caliber of actress she always was. Like Gaslight and Notorious, this is the kind of film that gave her a part with some meat on the bones even though the kind of street character it represented was maybe a stretch. She rises to the occasion, though.