# Cases Where the Movie Version Has Taken Over **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 17, 2024, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711 "2024-05-17T18:16:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/121 "2024-05-20T16:57:23Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fred Peirce’s makeup for Boris Karloff in the original 1931 **Frankenstein** (actually probably based on sketches by anonymous studio artists\*) has definitely become iconic. I’d say that the larger take-over was the introduction of electricity as the modus of life giving. The book, effectively, gives zero details on how Frankenstein was made past being sowed together. It could have been chemical, electrical, or by drawing a pentagram on the floor and offering up a prayer to Cthulhu. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/122 "2024-05-20T17:18:29Z")
One early movie adaptation showed Dr. Frankenstein mixing potions together to make the creature; a theme surprisingly resurrected in as unlikely a venue as the cartoon _Milton the Monster_. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/123 "2024-05-20T19:14:03Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Of course, in every movie version made Mister Hyde is made to look as hideous as possible. Not in the BBC Jekyll series. Hyde, as portrayed by James Nesbit, had a definite charisma and swagger. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/124 "2024-05-20T19:19:50Z")
I saw that and his performance was amazing, in how he portrayed Hyde effectively without a makeup job. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/125 "2024-05-20T19:25:00Z")
Beth Harmon is a photogenic redhead in the Netflix series **The Queen’s Gambit** , but she’s described as a plain-looking brunette in the novel it’s based on. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/126 "2024-05-20T19:26:04Z")
He was like two completely different people. One with confidence, one without. Almost bipolar. And the rest of the cast was great too. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/127 "2024-05-20T19:37:45Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Not in the BBC Jekyll series. Hyde, as portrayed by James Nesbit, had a definite charisma and swagger. There was also another BBC adaptation from 1980 where Hyde was the more attractive one. But they’re both notable because the movies have taught us to expect otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/128 "2024-05-20T19:49:58Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Milton the Monster … brought to you by… . ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/129 "2024-05-20T20:07:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Hardcore fans of the books (like my son) bitterly bemoan the exclusion of characters like Tom Bombadil. I suppose I’m not a hardcore fan (especially compared to some here) but I never had a problem cutting Bombadil. He never really fits into the world for one. And as for adapting, Fellowship starts very herky-jerky, with the Party, then 17 years of elided living for Frodo, then the slow move to sell Bag End and move, and then finally it starts to ramp up with one of the Nine nearby. And in that is also a dinner with the Cottons, a dinner with some elves, and finally the rescue from the barrows by Bombadil. Which brings the whole narrative to a stop again. Now, all these things are fine on the page, but when the writer and director have three hours to get through all of Fellowship, that really slow start and interludes like Bombadil are the obvious things to cut. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/130 "2024-05-20T20:32:27Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > There was also another BBC adaptation from 1980 where Hyde was the more attractive one. But they’re both notable because the movies have taught us to expect otherwise. I recall a play within a movie, where the actor on stage playing Jekyll transformed into Hyde by somehow contorting his face as he emitted a prototypical evil laugh, for over a minute. The audience was suitably horrified. Cannot recall the film’s name tho for the life of me (one of those caught the scene while cable surfing thangs). ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/131 "2024-05-20T20:44:16Z")
A weirder example of something overtaking the film version, but I’ve seen people legitimately think online Oddjob in Goldfinger (1964) was a short but stout guy, when in reality he was about 6 feet tall (he was a professional wrestler prior to his film role). This entire misunderstanding in current pop culture resides entirely on people who played GoldenEye 007 on N64 (1998) where Oddjob is indeed portrayed as a short guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/132 "2024-05-20T21:20:50Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I recall a play within a movie, where the actor on stage playing Jekyll transformed into Hyde by somehow contorting his face as he emitted a prototypical evil laugh, for over a minute. The audience was suitably horrified. Cannot recall the film’s name tho for the life of me (one of those caught the scene while cable surfing thangs). I think that was a movie about the Jack the Ripper case, where the investigator thought the actor was a possible suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/133 "2024-05-20T21:45:06Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > the first Shrek movie is based on a kids picture book … This topic probably includea a _lot_ of kid’s books that have been turned into popular movies. _How to Train Your Dragon_, for instance. > **[Monday Book Battle How to Train Your Dragon- The Book vs. the Movie.](https://elementaryschoollibrarian.wordpress.com/2015/11/16/monday-book-battle-how-to-train-your-dragon-the-book-vs-the-movie/)** > > Happy Monday! Today, I thought I’d do something a little different. Instead of comparing two different books like usual, today I’m going to take a look at How to Train Your Dragon, the … I could rant extensively about how little _Home_ resembles _The True Meaning of Smeckday_, but I think (deservedly) _Home_ sank with barely a ripple and doesn’t much count as “remembered”… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/134 "2024-05-20T22:00:37Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Hardcore fans of the books (like my son) bitterly bemoan the exclusion of characters like Tom Bombadil. I am hardcore reader, and sure- Bombadil would have been nice, but geez- Jackson had to cut _something_, and the Scouring and Tom are some of the best parts to cut. Maybe the two sequels(?) might cover Bombadil. > [@Miller](#): > > Speaking of _Clash of the Titans_, it deserves another call out in this thread for making a generation of children think the kraken was from Greek myth, There is _Scylla._ > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > This topic probably includea a _lot_ of kid’s books that have been turned into popular movies. True, but the film _Holes_ is just about as true to the award winning book as a film could be. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/135 "2024-05-20T22:07:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > There is _Scylla._ Yeah, but Scylla doesn’t show up in the movie. The kraken does. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/136 "2024-05-21T17:50:42Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Of course, in every movie version made Mister Hyde is made to look as hideous as possible. In the Reuben Mamoulian version, starring Fredric March (to my mind, by far the best version), I swear that Mr. Hyde looks like a slightly hairier version of Jeff Goldblum. > **[FREDRIC MARCH and MIRIAM HOPKINS in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, 1931, directed...](https://www.album-online.com/detail/en/Y2M2M2M4MA/fredric-march-miriam-hopkins-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-1931-alb244107)** > > Download this stock image (alb244107) from album-online.com - FREDRIC MARCH and MIRIAM HOPKINS in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, 1931, directed by ROUBEN MAMOULIAN. Copyright PARAMOUNT PICTURES. > **[The Enduring Power of Oscar-Winning Horror Classic ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’...](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3702604/the-enduring-power-of-oscar-winning-horror-classic-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-gods-and-monsters/)** > > 1931 is the foundational year for the horror film. It is the year in which all the strands and experiments of the silent era crystalized into the genre we now know. Even the term “horror movie” was not in wide use before 1931. Four films in... ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/137 "2024-05-21T17:57:32Z")
There’s also a tendency (maybe influenced by the Hulk) to make Hyde bigger and physically stronger than Jekyll, sometimes even superhumanly strong. Stevenson specifically said that Hyde was _smaller_ than Jekyll, and there’s nothing in the novella to indicate that he’s any stronger than a normal man. When he beats Sir Danvers Carew to death, for example, he uses a cane, not his fists. Alan Moore, in _The League of Extraordinary Gentelmen_ comic, even gave him super senses, allowing him to see the Invisible Man. There’s no precedent in Stevenson for anything like that. He’s mean, conniving, and savage, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/138 "2024-05-21T17:59:29Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’d say that the larger take-over was the introduction of electricity as the modus of life giving. > > The book, effectively, gives zero details on how Frankenstein was made past being sowed together. It could have been chemical, electrical, or by drawing a pentagram on the floor and offering up a prayer to Cthulhu. A very excellent point, and one I frequently make. Granted, Shelley herself sort of got the ball rolling by mentioning electricity in the foreword, and you’d have to be uneducated not to think of Galvani’s experiments. But the novel proper gives no idea how the animation was achieved, and virtually everybody has used electricity in some form, since it’s so damned photogenic. Kenneth Strickfaden gets some of the blame for his showy electrical devices \*which he was showing off long before the Frankenstein movie. The bio of Strickfaden is subtitled “Frankenstein’s Electrician”) Even the Braunagh version uses electricity, albeit in the form of electric eelse(!) I’d add that another addition of the movies was the idea that the monster was stitched together from pieces of corpses. Shelley never even hints at this. Frankenstein got his raw material from cemeteries and butcher’s (even using animal parts), but since reading her book I’ve viewed this as rendering down those biological materials to their essentials and creating practically from scratch, nit from using corpse bodies. I mean, if you’re going to do that, why not just get one good body and re-animate _that_? I’ll add that, if my idea is right, there was never a Good Brain/Bad Brain issue. The monster’s brain would be created _de novo_, the way Dr. Pretorius makes the Bride’s brain. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/139 "2024-05-21T18:02:27Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Alan Moore, in _The League of Extraordinary Gentelmen_ comic, even gave him super senses, allowing him to see the Invisible Man. There’s no precedent in Stevenson for anything like that. He’s mean, conniving, and savage, but that’s it. Alan Moore is the one who started this one, with his larger-than-life Hyde. He knew what he was doing, too, re-creating Hyde as a sort of Victorian-era Hulk. He explains himself in the two first volumes of _League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_. But the idea got wings first from the movie adaptation of _League_, and then from the movie **Van Helsing** , which blatantly ripped off the idea from Moore. What can we say? An oversized Hyde is much more dramatic and photogenic than the dwarf Stevenson describes. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/140 "2024-05-21T18:07:38Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Alan Moore, in _The League of Extraordinary Gentelmen_ comic, even gave him super senses, allowing him to see the Invisible Man. There’s no precedent in Stevenson for anything like that. He’s mean, conniving, and savage, but that’s it. Moore explicitly acknowledges and justifies the discrepencies between his Hyde and the original - his Hyde remarks at one point that he used to be shorter than Jekyll (as he was in the book) but continued abuse of the drug that caused the split made Hyde bigger and stronger each time he took it, until he’s basically a Victorian Incredible Hulk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711.md?page=8)