Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) Director, Victor Fleming CAST Dr. Harry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Spencer Tracy Ivy Peterson Ingrid Bergman Beatrix Emory Lana Turner Sir Charles Emory Donald Crisp Dr. John Lanyon Ian Hunter Dr. Heath Frederic Worlock The Bishop C. Aubrey Smith Poole Peter Godfrey Sam Higgins Barton MacLane Mrs. Higgins Sara Allgood

ANALYSIS For each scene, make notes about the following (creating your own chart would be effective):

summary

setting and mood

characters and characterization

parallels and contrasts to novella

ideologies (Romanticism, Darwinism, Freudianism, Marxism, Victorianism) Scene 1 1:16-5:34 church & street outside Scene 2 5:35-7:45 hospital Scene 3 7:46-9:26 Jekyll’s home & laboratory Scene 4 9:27-14:05 dinner party Scene 5 14:06-18:28 Emory home Scene 6 18:29-27:25 street / Ivy’s apartment Scene 7 27:26-29:31 cab / Jekyll’s laboratory Scene 8 29:32-30:50 symphony hall / hospital Scene 9 30:51-32:10 street Scene 10 32:11-34:04 laboratory / Emory home Scene 11 34:05-34:47 montage Scene 12 34:48-42:44 Jekyll’s laboratory & home Scene 13 42:45-46:10 Jekyll’s laboratory Scene 14 46:11-46:37 montage Scene 15 46:38-57:44 Jekyll’s laboratory / music hall / cab Scene 16 57:45-59:28 Grande Hotel, Paris Scene 17 59:29-1:10:20 Ivy’s new apartment Scene 18 1:10:21-1:12:24 street & door to laboratory / Jekyll’s laboratory Scene 19 1:12:25-1:15:04 Ivy’s apartment Scene 20 1:15:05-1:16:25 museum Scene 21 1:16:26-1:23:34 Jekyll’s home Scene 22 1:23:35-1:26:25 street & park Scene 23 1:26:26-1:32:19 Ivy’s apartment Scene 24 1:32:20-1:34:19 street & door to laboratory / Jekyll’s home / street & stationery shop Scene 25 1:34:20-1:40:16 Emory home / Lanyon’s home / Jekyll’s laboratory /Lanyon’s home Scene 26 1:40:17-1:52:10 Emory home / park & street / Jekyll’s home & laboratory

Background: Robert Louis Stevenson published The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde in 1886, and in the novella he explored the intellectual ideas of his day, specifically those of psychologist Sigmund Freud, biologist Charles Darwin, and sociopolitical philosopher Karl Marx.

Freud posited that the human psyche is divided into three parts: the id (the unconscious part that is basically animalistic and operates by biological instincts, impulses, and drives), the ego (the conscious part that modifies behavior by controlling socially unacceptable impulses), and the superego (the social part that consists of externally imposed standards and rules, inhibiting the instinctual impulses that produce antisocial behavior).

Darwin’s work disturbed traditional religious beliefs of the day as it suggested that all organisms evolve in response to their environments and that evolutionary adaptations allowed the fittest to survive. Late Victorians like Stevenson began to consider that if humans evolve, they might also devolve.

Marx believed that social and economic class conflict is inherent in capitalist society that values private ownership and defines human value according to economic status. He hypothesized that the social unrest would continually escalate, culminating in social revolution.

Questions to Contemplate:

1. Why does the film begin with this scene? How is the setting of this scene significant? How does the opening scene of the film show the juxtaposition of the superego and the id of Freud’s concept of the psyche?

2. Which character serves as the central symbol of the superego (society’s rules and expectations for acceptable behavior) in the film? How? Provide some examples.

3. Describe the physical differences between Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. How do these differences reveal the influence of Darwinian and Freudian ideas?

4. How do Beatrix Emery and Ivy Peterson serve as parallels to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? How do the two women symbolize the ego and id and represent the conflict between social classes? Consider the differences between the women in terms of social class and physical features and the symbolic importance of their differences.

5. What socially unaccepted desires and impulses does Dr. Jekyll repress that surface when he becomes Mr. Hyde? How do they relate to the id and superego?