The most exciting, horrific and cinematic adaptation of Stevenson's split-personality thriller ever put on film! Fredric March won an Academy Award for his performance as Dr. Henry Jekyll, a Victorian physician who concocts a potion that transforms him into the embodiment of the most primitive impulses in his psyche, the bestial Mr. Hyde! Director Mamoulian's conception of the story centers on the conflict between man's lofty aspirations and primitive impulses, rather than a struggle between good and evil. March's Hyde is not evil to begin with, but man's Neanderthal ancestor - the repressed animal, splendidly visualized in Wally Westmore's troglodytic makeup conception! As Hyde indulges his every impulse, he degenerates into the last word in bestiality! The film is highly stylized, with impressive use of subjective camera, split screen, sound montage and visual symbolism. Karl Struss' transformations, some of them done with red makeup and camera filters of contrasting colors, are still remarkable today! The film received Academy Award nominations for Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography, and won First Prize at the International Film Festival in Venice, Italy.
