Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Book vs. Movie

 

In Stevenson’s 1889 novella, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a series of mysterious events occur in the late 1800’s of London, England. Back when medicine was advancing and experiments were strange, Dr. Jekyll grows a theory that man has two sides, good and evil, and develops an elixir to change a person from their good to evil persona, both physically and emotionally. Testing this elixir out on himself only draws the concern of his close friends as he shuts them out the deeper he gets into the experiment. However, in the 1941 movie adaptation, the events unfold in a different order with changes in characters and some cuts to the plot, merely to help the viewers who haven’t read the novella and to make the movie more appealing to the public.

For example, one of the first contrasts from the very beginning of both the book and movie is the opening scenes. In Stevenson’s novella, the book opens with Mr. Utterson and Enfield going for a late night Sunday stroll when they spot a mysterious man (later known as Mr. Hyde) in the midst of a rush as he tramples a little girl, and with not even the slightest notion of regret, remorse, or sympathy, he continues to plow on. Upon reviewing this scene once the police become involved, Utterson and Enfield, both respected men in their professions and community, describe the mysterious character of Mr. Hyde as one who made their skin crawl with a sense of evil surrounding him. In contrast, the thematic adaptation opens with a completely different scene. The setting of this opening is in a church, still in late 1800’s London, England, and during the sermon there is a man saying, then gradually shouting, evil slurs as the priest talks about the evil in the world. Once this man has disrupted the service, he is abruptly taken out and Dr. Jekyll does a quick check-up on him, only to have him admitted to a nearby hospital for this strange behavior. This difference, in my opinion, is effective as it lays a good foundation for the movie. Since it opens with the obvious evil, viewers can quickly grasp that evil will be a commonality in this adaptation. The movie’s opening is also effective because it’s more of an attention-grabber and is somewhat easier to understand than the novella’s abrupt opening. All things considered, both openings are effective, however the movie opening is strategically used to help viewers who haven’t read Stevenson’s book.

Along with contrasting openings, the events that spark Dr. Jekyll’s friends noticing his strange behavior differ slightly. In the movie, Dr. Jekyll schedules a dinner party with his girlfriend  Beatrice and friends, only to later have begun his experiments and start crafting his elixir. Having been wrapped up in all his work, Jekyll is late to dinner and Beatrice appears to be worried at his untimeliness. This is also when Jekyll let’s his thoughts about man having two different personas out, sparking more concern for him. However, in the movie Jekyll begins acting suspicious when he is having dinner with Utterson, Lanyon, and Enfield and raises their concern for his well-being. In the movie, the relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Beatrice adds for a thematic build-up, along with another appealing aspect for viewers. The use of Jekyll revealing his thoughts of evil at dinner is used as a foreshadowing as to what Jekyll’s experiment will lead to compared to Jekyll’s dinner with friends and his troubling thoughts during that dinner. Through sharing his thoughts in the movie, it informs the viewers of what is going on and where the movie will be going.

Finally in my review, the ways the worry and suspicion of Jekyll is presented is portrayed in different ways. For example, in the book Utterson’s worry only increases as Jekyll becomes more and more elusive, and his worries only grow when Poole, Jekyll’s butler, comes to him in a hasty, worried, terrified state and confides his fears about Jekyll. Poole’s worries, only confirm Utterson’s own theories and worries. Both convinced Dr. Jekyll has been murdered, Poole and Utterson bust down Jekyll’s laboratory door only to find it in disarray with a dead body laying on the ground. The culprit, they automatically assume, is evil Mr. Hyde. In the movie adaptation, however, Beatrice is the worried one and she informs Dr. Lanyon of her worries of her dear Dr. Jekyll and his sudden disappearance. Lanyon shortly replies with a letter stating he will promptly send for Jekyll in haste. This letter only slightly calms the worried woman’s nerves. Through this contrast, the suspense in the movie grows more than in the book, simply because in the movie, Beatrice plays the worrisome woman concerned about her lover instead a concerned friend and butler.

Overall, the movie was relatively successful in capturing Stevenson’s intent for the novella. However, in my opinion, certain aspects of the novella should have been preserved in the movie as well, but that is my only concern about the movie. I believe both the movie and the book were relatively good, although I’d refer the novella over the book to someone.