Radio review – “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” (1932) ***

George Edwards was known as the man of a thousand voices, so he was ideal casting to play the famous dual personality. He gives a strong performance, helped by his powerful voice – both characters are very distinctive. This is a robust version of the tale. It feels padded – 52 episodes of 12 minutes each, surely longer than the original story

It started out well – I really enjoyed the young Jekyll scenes with Jekyll going berko as a child and getting in trouble at uni. But during the middle- two thirds section it was particularly hard going, before recovering at the ending, with some strong scenes. I particularly liked where Jekyll and Hyde talk to each other, where the nurse character who falls for Jekyll sees him transform to hide and then is shoved off to the loony bin. Too much time with boring Mary, a childhood sweetheart who everyone pants over.