Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde x2 on DVD

Warner Home Entertainment has unleashed a terrific - or is it horrific? – double feature DVD with this two scoops of horror.

They’re very different takes on Robert Louis Stevenson’s strange case of a man whose inner self is unleashed through his chemicals (better living through chemistry?).

It kicks off with the 1932 version starring Frederick March, which many consider to be the definitive version. March won an Oscar for his portrayal of the protagonist/antagonist, in a theatrical performance that’s a lot of fun to watch.

His Jekyll is an honorable man of science, although he’s frustrated by Victorian mores that enforce celibacy before his wedding - like most teenaged boys from any age, we suppose. His Hyde is fearsome, with voracious appetites.

Director Rouben Mamoulian has a nice canvas with which to work in this pre-code version of what’s basically a morality tale, and the special effects transformations from Jekyll to Hyde are excellent for the time at which this movie was made.

March's Hyde a not only a hideous monster in the vein of such Hollywood peers as Frankenstein’s monster and the Mummy, but the sexuality is more explicit than even in the very sexual Dracula.

The video quality is fine considering that this is a 1932 movie. The black and white image is, obviously, presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. This means that owners of 16x9 TV’s will want to stretch and/or zoom the picture to prevent burning in on the tubes, but that’s the price one has to pay for the evolution of movies. The picture’s good, though, with good contrast.

Audio, not surprisingly, is unremarkable

Extras include a commentary track featuring author/film historian Greg Mank.

The 1941 version of Jekyll/Hyde that’s on the other side of the DVD is a classy production featuring more big name stars, yet it’s generally not considered to be as good a film.

It’s still worth seeing, though. Spencer Tracy stars as the two faced hero, and though he’s an excellent actor our first problem with him was that he didn’t use a British accent. His characterizations of the light and dark side of the hero/villain are very good, however.

His personalities are matched by his women: Lana Turner as the good woman Jekyll is supposed to marry, and Ingrid Bergman (in a terrific performance) as the lower class beer parlor wench who becomes his mistress, much to her chagrin.

The makeup's good as Tracy switches from facet to facet, but what’s most interesting about his transformation is the way director Victor Fleming portrays the women in his life, as Keckyll dreams of them as carriage horses whipped with abandon by the metamorphosing/hallucinating Jekyll.

While Bergman is outstanding as the “bad girl,” Turner unfortunately has little more to do than be decorative (which she does very well). Also along for the ride are Donald Crisp and C. Aubrey Smith.

Both versions are basically tragedies as the good hearted but misguided Jekyll loses control of his experiment and succumbs to “the dark side of the force.

Video quality is very good; audio is merely adequate.

We agree with the masses that the 1932 version is the better of the two, though we enjoyed both. And it’s great to see such a double feature made available on DVD.

Besides the commentary for the 1932 version, you also get the 1955 Bugs Bunny cartoon, "Hyde and Hare", in which the wascally wabbit meets both Jekyll & Hyde, with the usual Looney consequences.

You also get the theatrical trailer for the 1931 film.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, from Warner Home Entertainment
1932 version: 96 min. full frame (1.33:1, not 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital mono
Starring Frederic March, Marian Hopkins, Rose Hobart
Written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Percy Heath, Directed by Rouben Mamoulian

1941 verson: 113 min. full frame (1.33:1, not 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital mono
Starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp
Written by John Lee Mahin, Directed by Victor Fleming.

Tell us at TechnoFile what YOU think