HTF REVIEW: Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1932 & 1941) - (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). - Page 2

Great disc! Hadnt seen the 32 version in ages. I would have bought it for the 32 version alone but the Tracy version and extras (especially the BB cartoon) make this a no brainer! Jim

I haven't gotten my copy of the Anobile book back yet, but just to clarify:

There are two frameshots in the book of the scene of Ivy getting into bed. BOTH of these frames are also in the "restored" scene on the DVD.

Okay, so the Anobile book doesn't have any frame grabs (in this sequence, at least) that are not on the DVD.

The way it was originally phrased ("I used to have the book...and I can definitely confirm that the shot of Ivy getting into bed nude was in the book.") made it sound as if there was, in the book, a shot of Miriam Hopkins in the nude before she got into bed; not nude (or at least topless) in bed, holding the covers up to her chest (as is seen on the DVD).

Anyway, this is starting to make me sound like a perv, and I promise I'm just interested in knowing whether there were still missing shots...! (he,he :b)

Urban legends drive me crazy, and if their truth (or falsehood) can be established, I like to try.

No, it was a shot of her getting into bed, but you could see more of her body. The scene as it appears in the film seems to start slightly after the frame blowup in the book, with Ivy already covered.

But I haven't actually seen the book since the early eighties, so maybe I'm just not remembering correctly. Though I always thought that this image would be seared into my memory for all time.

Nice review! I think we should thank WB for putting out the double feature. Perhaps, this will encourage them to put out some other double features. Example: "Boys Town" and "Men of Boys Town". Well, maybe that's not such a good example as "Men of Boys Town" is an inferior sequel not a remake.
Bill

I don't have the Anobile book, but these are the shots I found on the DVD with the most exposed skin (purely for research purposes, of course ). Not sure if these are the shots in question, though.

Nothing too risqué here, I don't think. Busby Berkeley showed a lot more in some of his pre-code dance numbers at Warner Brothers.

Ivy Getting Into Bed

Ivy and Jekyll 1

Ivy and Jekyll 2

I'm a new member, and just found this thread. I have the Anobile book. The revealing photos from the book that are the source of the "nude scene" rumors are the same as Seymour's screen captures. So you all can rest assured that there is nothing in the book that is not also in the dvd.

In case anyone still wants to see the actual photos from the book, I made some scans and posted them on the web. But because I am a new member, I can't give the URLs here until I've made 15 posts. If you want to see the pics, email me and I'll send you the links.

Joel

Another example as to why Warner is fast becoming my favorite studio.




Crawdaddy

I started watching my 1931 version and it shows very little shadow detail. I compared it to my LD and it's like watching a different movie.

The opening scene when the camera is Dr. Jykell and he turns and faces the mirror and starts to fix his tie, the LD clearly shows the a film crew member scooting under the camera lens(reflected in the mirror), whereas the DVD being so dark, barely shows this person. If you didn't know about it you'd miss it.

The DVD used a different source because the LD had no burn prints, jumps and jittering of the film.

It's nice to have two sources of the film, one to show the beginning and one that is the most complete version and of course shaper.

By the way, if you freeze frame when she gets into the bed you can see that she's wearing a pair of panties but not a bra. The gray scale shows a line around her waist but nothing around her right underarm.

"...like watching a different movie"? Don't you think this is something of an exaggeration?

Not to dis' you or anything, this did get the blessing of our resident PQ guru around these here parts (Robert Harris), which for a lot of us (me included) carries quite a bit of weight:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ll+And+Mr+Hyde

Care to post some screen shots?

Bill, since you mentioned Boys Town, this movie would be a certain pick for me, alaong with Fury, Captain Courageous, Mannequin, Boys Town and Tortilla Flat, all great efforts for Spencer Tracy.

Yes, I forgot Boom Town with Gable, Tarcy, Colbert and Lamarr.

...like watching a different movie"? Don't you think this is something of an exaggeration?

No, buy a laser disc player and the LD and compare yourself.

I have the Laserdisc and the DVD. Concurring with other reviewers who have mentioned the earlier incarnations, the DVD is heads-and-tails better looking than the laserdisc.

The new DVD is much clearer, sharper, better defined (not to mention with added footage restored).

This echoes the comments made by Robert Harris.

Many friends of mine have both LD and DVD on this title as well, and found the improvements equally impressive.

I have a Mitsubishi 65711(2003 top of the line RPTV-professionally ISFed-calibrated)), with a Panasonic RP-82(top of the line with a 91 score in the DVD shoot-out)with M-500 Monster cables for all connections and a Pioneer DVL-700 for the LD's and I'm telling you(IMHO) that you can see more detail on the LD than the DVD!

I grant you that the DVD is cleaner, sharper and nicer looking but maybe you're watching the DVD and LD on a 27 incher...then everything looks good.

I'm not blind and I know what I see.

Like I said, I'm glad I have both versions, one for the most complete and one that shows more detail!!!

So do others, so let's agree to disagree on this issue.




Crawdaddy

I'm glad someone mentioned "burn marks," because I spotted those, too.

I just recieved this from amazon (along with Captain Marvel from Artisan) and I'm highly pleased.

So far, I only watched a few bits of the 1932 version to see how the quality is... excellent! Sure, there is some light print damage, but the photographic quality is WONDERFUL. It was kind of weird, though, to see the Paramount logo on a Warner DVD...

About the shadow detail...

It's possible that the LD had the wrong amount of brightness and contrast. The DVD looks like it has the right grayscale values (at least compared to some B&W transfers I've seen with way too low contrast).

Warner is really putting out a lot of great classics this year... I hope 2004 matches the quality of their 2003 schedule or outshines it.

On the LD at the beginning of the film when one of the film crew crouches while going under the camera and it's reflected onto the mirror, he looks like he's part of the film he's so clear.

On the DVD, if you blinked you missed it. You would have to look really close and probably restep it a few times to see it.

But then again, you could be right. The LD could have been mastered in the wrong contrast and brightness and it's showing you something that you shouldn't have seen.

Is anyone familiar with the production history of the 1941 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Has the movie been cut between its theatrical run and the home video release? I do own the British PAL double feature on DVD. Here the movie has a run time of 108:12 min.

Yesterday I taped the German version of the movie from the German tv-station ARD, a public broadcaster without commercials. The run time of my recording is 115:38 min., in PAL of course.

There are also, at least 2, threads at the imdb that the movie has been censored and that there are several scenes missing: here and here.

 

I haven't had time to do a detailed comparison between my recording and the DVD yet but it's on my agenda for the weekend.

Interesting.  I've never heard of any cuts to this film, but I have always been partial to the Mamoulian version and haven't watched this version for quite a few years.  I certainly hope that we'll get a complete uncut version on Blu-Ray.

The AFI catalog lists a running time of 127 minutes for the Tracy version, as do a number of other sources. The review that started this thread lists a running time of 113 minutes.

I started to compare both versions and finished the first 25 minutes. The version I recorded on German television definitely features scenes not present on the DVD versions, e.g. when Tracy is taking home Bergman, he opens the front door and the scene continues with Tracy and Bergman standing before Bergman's room.

In my German TV version, they open the front door and one can see Tracy carrying Bergman up the stairs and there's also a short dialogue. There are also several extended scene transitions in the German TV version, e.g. after the church scene, Lana Turner is driving in a carriage with her "father". At the end of the scene she starts to giggle and the DVD fades to the following scene in Jekyll's medical practice, whereas the German TV version features a close-up of Lana's face and she continues to giggle and laugh for 3-4 seconds longer.

On the other side, there are also tiny bits and pieces missing in the German TV version.

 

I'll continue with my report and will put it online when it's finished like I did a comparison between both The Big Sleep versions.

 

Is that one line of dialogue from the trailer in the German cut too?  It's where Jekyll/Hyde makes a reference to Hades (I assumed it was removed for production code reasons)
 

 

I looked into the trailer but couldn't find the scene you mentioned. I finished my comparison - it's not online yet - but there's a total of 40 differences between both versions. In the German cut, both transformation scenes are longer and there are also two long monologues by Jekyll/Hyde featured that are missing from the DVD version. The German Version is approx. 463 seconds longer than the DVD version - both in PAL.

My comparison is online - only in German, though. http://www.schnittberichte.com/schnittbericht.php?ID=897474