"Perhaps you prefer a gentleman...Those panting hypocrites who like your legs but talk about your garters."

You couldn't ask for a more perfect Friday the 13th.  I mean, two, TWO, movies in one evening!  That never happens with the SO.  So to pull this off means she either was loopy from something (possibly from the concoction she tried to pass off as mac & cheese - she made up for it with NoBake Oreo Dessert...mmm!) or because she couldn't go to sleep before 11, so she had to pass the time somehow.  Either way, it helped empty the DVR just a little more, and that's always a good thing (especially when it helps create room for more movies!).

So the second of two horror movies Friday night was the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  That's right, the version from 1931.  An oldie but a goodie, as I like to call them.  You all know the tale...Doc believes their are two sides to each human, a good altruistic side and an animalistic bad side.  And he believes that he can create some chemical solution that can bring the bad side out.  With the use of only four beakers (but plenty of action going on behind those beakers with all kinds of glassware with other solutions not even remotely used) he mixes stuff together with a pipe in his mouth (how cool is that) and stirs out what has to be "dry ice."  Dry ice makes anything look cool.

Well, the explosion is cool, doesn't mean the people associated with it can count.  But I digress...

When the Doc takes the stuff, he turns into his animalistic side, Mr. Hyde.  I guess your bad side means you get hairy all over, your eyes sink into their sockets, and your teeth turn British.  Remind me NOT to have what he's having.  Anywho, the Hyde side can do anything Jekyll can't do because Jekyll must be on his best behavior at all times.  But when his bride-to-be leaves for a month, he must use Hyde to have a good time (meaning he can sleep around with the... you know, a woman who receives money so a guy can... you know... okay, a prostitute, Hyde gets a prostitute!)  but soon Jekyll learns that Hyde can come out at any time, whether or not the potion was consumed.

One thing leads to another, Hyde kills the prostitute, and Jekyll is screwed because eventually he will get caught.  As much as he may repent, in the end, Hyde is in control and that leads to the untimely death of the Doc (I guess Hyde, too, unless someone makes a cheesy horror sequel where Hyde magically escaped Jekyll's body and inserted himself into another unsuspecting fool... If you're reading this, Hollywood, just forget I even mentioned it!)

Because I already read the book, I really wanted to study the filmography of this classic.  What I got out of this were two things.  The camera angles are amazing.  Starting out with the camera as Jekyll's view is really amazing, especially when in front of a mirror!  I'm not sure you could do that anymore with films.  I think it's a lost art.

And two, the symbolism oozes out of every corner.  The boiling pot in Jekyll's laboratory seems to bubble and boil more as the story progresses until the solution boils out, just like Hyde.  Even with some of the less-than-stellar acting, the film stands the test of time and really makes you wish you could make a movie half as good as it.

The movie has potential for purchase, based on its filming creativity.  But I would say that it would be on a waiting list, just like those waiting on an organ transplant list.  It'll be a long time before I find an extra twenty lying around to buy the DVD.  But I do hope that I stumble upon it again in the future, so I can intensely study each detail of the movie, because one viewing is not enough.  Hopefully you can stumble on it, too.  If you appreciate the classics, or if you like creative filming techniques, you've got to watch this movie.

So that was Friday night, but the movie viewing didn't end there.  I've still got to go through the comedies I watched (well, they are comedies even if the SO doesn't think so - I think it has to do with her only watching HALF of the movie) and also what I ended up doing on VDay.  So in review, don't drink anything that might let the bad side out, because we all know what can happen if you do...

I'm talking to you, Steven.  Don't let George spike your punch again!

Later!