A History of Horror 4: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Now we enter the talkie-era with another movie based on a successful novel, this time The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. 

(Not a trailer, just a scene to show Mr. Hyde's douchebaggery)

Plot: Dr. Henry Jekyll (Frederic March) is convinced that it is possible to split the human personality into two halves: a "good" half and an "evil" half. His colleagues in the scientific community scoff at the idea, deriding it as nonsense. Dr. Jekyll, however, is determined to prove them wrong and succeeds in bringing out the evil side of him, dubbed Mr. Hyde. Unfortunately, Hyde becomes uncontrollable and wreaks havoc in the city. Can Dr. Jekyll rein in his other half or will Mr. Hyde become his significant other? You'll have to watch the film to find out.

My thoughts: This is a good film. It caused a sensation at the time because of its depiction of violence and domestic abuse, topics that were very much taboo. Even by today's standards, this film is not tame. Frederic March's performance is fantastic, so good in fact that he won the Oscar for Best Male Actor, one of the few times a horror film has been honoured by the Academy. The transformation sequence is amazing, especially considering they didn't have computers or animatronics like they do these days (and they look crap but that's another story), it was all done with different coloured make-up and camera filters. In terms of influence on later horror movies, this film established three elements that were not present in Stevenson's novel. Firstly, the simian/grotesque appearance of Mr. Hyde and secondly, a love interest, in this case a separate one for both Jekyll and Hyde. Finally, this film established the pronunciation of Jekyll as "Jeckel". Stevenson, however, said that it should be pronounced as "Jeekle" but because of this film, everyone pronounces it wrong.10 years later, the movie was remade scene by scene with Spencer Tracy in the title role. I have not seen it, but my research suggests that it was drastically inferior in every way. Hmmm...a direct remake of a classic horror movie that was deemed unnecessary, why does that sound familiar? *Cough*Psycho*Cough*

Next time, we will look at a true classic: Dracula!

See also:
More horror

Back to the Lab

Now that you have extracted your fossils from the rocks and transported it back to the lab, they need to be further cleaned and prepared. And of course there's the fun part of cataloging everything. All the information is derived from Orbis (1993).

(Echioceras, (Bayle, 1878), an Ammonite from England)

After the fossil has been brought back to the lab and the various layers of plaster and packaging have been removed, the first thing to do is to fill out a condition report. This details any damaged or missing parts the fossil may have accumulated over time. This is important because knowing what is damage and what is actually part of the fossil is useful when it comes to describing the specimen.

(Darwinius (Franzen et al., 2009), a primate from Germany)

The next stage is to remove the surrounding layer of rock and dirt, called the matrix. Scientists do this by using a microscope and a pneumatic pen (basically a hand-held jackhammer). This has to be done very carefully to avoid further damaging the fossil.

(Tyrannosaurus (Osborn, 1905))

Unfortunately, breakages do happen. In order to fix any damage and to prevent further deterioration of the fossil, palaeontologists inject a special quick-drying glue. This will cause the bone to harden and fill any gaps that might cause structural weakness.

(Icaronycteris (Jespsen, 1966), a bat from Wyoming)

Sometimes, the matrix is too hard to remove with a pneumatic pen. In situations like this, an acid bath is used to strip away layers of rock. The acid used is quite weak and shouldn't damage the bone.

(Mene rhombea (Volta, 1796), a prehistoric fish from Italy)

Sometimes, the bones can be very dirty or dusty. Palaeontologists get around this problem by using an assortment of brushes. Water and mild detergents may be used but it has to be very delicately done.

(Meganeura (Brongniart, 1885), a prehistoric dragonfly-like insect from France)

Another tool palaeontologists use to remove dirt and dust is an air abrasive tool. This acts as a mini-sandblaster, blowing debris and matrix off of the fossil. Again, care must be taken to avoid damaging the fossil.

(Aeger elegans (Muenster, 1839), a prehistoric prawn from Germany)

Finally, just like the start of the lab process, another report needs to be filed, this time detailing what cleaning methods were used and what condition the fossil is in at the end.

Congratulations! You have now cleaned your fossils and they are now ready to be studied. The next step is to recreate the organism that your fossil is from. But that will be later. Next time, we will take a look at the life of another eminent palaeontologist: Edward Drinker Cope.

See also:
More dinosaurs
Discovering a dinosaur

References

Bayle, E. (1878) Fossiles principaux des terraines. Service de la Carte géologique détaillée. Explication de la Carte Geologique de la France 4, part 1 (atlas), Paris: Imprimerie Nationale

Brongniart, C. (1885) 'Les insectes fossiles des terrains primaires, coup d'oeil rapide sur la faune entomologique des terrains paleozoiques', Bulletin de la Société des Amis des Sciences naturelles de Rouen, 1885 (1), pp. 50-68

Franzen, J., Gingerich, P., Habersetzer, J., Hurum, J., Von Koenigswald, W. and Smith, B. (2009) 'Complete primate skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: morphology and paleobiology', PLoS One, 4 (5), e5723

Jepsen, G. (1966) 'Early Eocene Bat from Wyoming', Science, 154 (3754), pp. 1333-1339

Muenster, G. von (1839) 'Decapoda Macroura. Abbilding und Beschreibung der fossilen langschwänzigen Krebse in den Kalkschiefern von Bayern', Beiträge zur Petrefaktenkunde, 2, pp. 1-88

Orbis (2013) Dinosaurs! Discover the Giants of the Prehistoric World, 3, pp. 64-67

Osborn, H. (1905) 'Tyrannosaurus and other Cretaceous carnivorous dinosaurs', Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 21 (14), pp. 259-265

Volta, G. (1796) Ichthyolithologia Veronese