The 1931 Film Version Of Doctor Jekyll And Mr Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an English film which was classed as a horror when it was released. Now more of a comedy when you watch it, the special effects are nothing compared to the new effects of today. The film is about an English gentleman who wants to releases his inner desires and do all the things he longs to do, so he makes a potion and changes into another character (the evil side of himself - Hyde)

The plot is hard to understand and it's not very exciting either. It doesn't have the same effect on the audience now that it did 76 years ago, we laugh when it's meant to be scary because our expectations of films are much higher due to better SFX, plots and acting

The morals of Victorian England were developed and maintained around reputation and were much different to what they are now. Now England is more politically correct.

We no longer see women as weaker as or less able than men because we all treat each other the same. Women would have stayed at home doing the house work in the 19th century and should not have been seen a "sex" symbols as the character Hyde sees them. A modern audience would view this quite mixed. As a) many see that society should be fair and that women should work and b) although many women today are not seen as "sex" symbols people in the 19 century would see a bare table leg offensive let alone a woman's

The camera work is quite careless with random shots of people that could be portrayed much better with other shots this would make the audience get distracted and agitated. Close ups are used when a medium long shot could have been used. Although some shots are very effective like the focus on Muriel when Dr. Jekyll is saying how much he loves her, you see her face clearly. This makes the audience concentrate more on what's happening with the characters and not the scenery

Props are basic in this film.