Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian (1931 Reissued 2008) US 1hr 37min Black & white
Cast: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
BFI REISSUE
Welcome BFI reissue of an archive classic. Made shortly before the enforcement of the Hays Code which ushered in stricter censorship, Mamoulian's adaptation is startlingly frank in its portrayal of Jekyll as a man tormented by sexual frustration. A brilliant young doctor, he shocks the scientific community by claiming that man's good self can be separated from his evil self, while his impatience to marry his fiancée - clearly motivated by sexual need - is condemned as 'positively indecent'. Fredric March won an Academy Award for his virtuoso performance. Steeped in the atmosphere of Victorian London, this remains a great psychological horror film.
