That was an excellent one.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Excellent but underrated film

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

In Victorian London, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Fredric March) investigates the duality of human being. He develops a drug and creates an alternate violent personality Edward Hyde inside himself.This is generally good as far old classic horror. The standout is the transformation of Jekyll into Hyde, and Fredric March's visceral performance as the unhinged Hyde. That grotesque face is a horror icon. The story does drag a little at times and meanders in its melodrama. It is heightened every time Hyde is on the screen. The movie is truly Jekyll and Hyde.

The only 'horror' film to take home a 'Best Actor' Oscar (for Fredric March's titular duel role), "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is one of the classic horror films to come out of the 1930's (a banner decade for the genre). March is outstanding as the sneering, hyperkinetic Hyde, managing to 'act around' the huge prosthetic semi-simian teeth he sports as the dark side of good Dr. Jekyll (who is, of course, a substantially less interesting (or entertaining) character). The movie is pre-code, so the sexual side of Jekyll's inner demon is not downplayed and Hyde's abuse of dance-hall girl Ivy Pearson (Miriam Hopkins) is quite rough. The famous transformation scenes still look great (admittedly they can't compare with modern prosthetics or CGI) and the moody, symbolic cinematography is excellent. Overall, the movie is one of the great classic horror films and is not to be missed by fans of the genre or anyone looking for a good movie to watch at midnight.

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" from 1931, is the undisputed version of the short story from Robert Louis Stevenson. Only the John Barrymore version comes close. For sheer storytelling, direction, acting, make-up techniques and suspense - the 1931 film is in a class of its own. In the main roles, Frederic March is one of the few actors to win an Oscar for Best Actor in a horror film. It is rather seldom for an actor to even be nominated, let alone win.There was a good deal of censorship with this film, which is why there was a delay in its release. For years, the only version available was the one that ran for 80 minutes. Some of the slightly sadistic scenes between Hyde and Ivy were either trimmed or censored altogether. Most of these have been restored. Also, scenes shot of a child being trampled underfoot by Hyde were removed (a damn good thing as well).On DVD, this masterpiece can be enjoyed at its full length of 91 minutes.

It's one of the most famous pieces of literature ever written, a genius piece of story telling from the trippy mind of Robert Louis Stevenson. That it has consistently been ripe for film and stage adaptations, and continues to be so since it first surfaced in written form in 1866, is testament to what a devilishly intelligent piece of work it is.This 1931 version, directed by Rouben Mamoulian and staring Fredric March, may not be 100% faithful to the source, but it's arguably the finest adaptation to screen, led by a superb performance from March and featuring technical guile by Mamoulian and his team. It's wonderfully stylish, and coming as it did before the Hayes Code, it's sexy and dangerous, awash with terrifying cruelty, with the subversive and Freudian psychological beats making for a Gothic horror classic.Split personality a go go, inhibitions cast asunder, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is priceless. 8/10