MovieChat Forums > The Nutty Professor (1963) Discussion > Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Rip-off

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Rip-off

posted 10 years ago by Polly_Sigh
9 replies | jump to latest

While not a remake in name, TNP (and thereby the horrendous 1996 version as well) is a rip-off of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

[–] MystMoonstruck 10 years ago

It can't be a "rip off" if you have the writer/director, Jerry Lewis, saying that it was his fascination with Robert Louis Stevenson and this novel in particular that inspired him to write a modern-day version of the tale. In an interview aired on TCM, he said that he worked on the story for, as I recall, more than 10 years before going back to the original script he had written.

"Rip off" would be if there is no acknowledgement of the original material.

(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC

[–] dannieboy20906 10 years ago

You're absolutely right, MystMoonstruck. Good colleges teach that the difference between plagiarism and research is attribution. Citing the source makes it an homage, comedic remake, or parody, not a "rip off."

[–] MystMoonstruck 10 years ago

I do find the frequent use of "rip off" very tiring and often exasperating. Plagiarism does occur, and we see things so similar that one would expect some acknowledgement; but, it really doesn't happen all that often. I see the accusing finger pointed at remakes; if the people would do something as simple as checking "Connections" here at IMDb, they would know what came before AND after.

(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC

[–] tmaj48 10 years ago

In 1963, people were more familiar with literary classics, and they would instantly recognize this movie as an obvious homage to the Jekyll and Hyde story and Lewis wouldn't even have to mention it in the credits or elsewhere. Nowadays,
it's probably not safe to assume that many people would recognize classic stories,
and someone making this would have to insert proper credits into the film. (Psst--
Roxanne is actually a re-worked version of Cyrano de Bergerac and
West Side Story has a plot similar to Romeo and Juliet--please don't tell anyone!)

I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!

Hewwo.

[–] joekiddlouischama 10 years ago

It's more of a shrewd variation than a ripoff. Indeed, Professor Julius Kelp is certainly not your typical Dr. Jekyll, and Buddy Love is not your typical Mr. Hyde. Thus I give kudos to Lewis for his creative reinterpretation of a classic tale.

[–] bob-larrance 9 years ago

Hardly a rip off...there is no way Stevenson could have imagined this classic gem. Maybe a homage? This version is one of those enduring things that ages quite well and as it grows older becomes a record of the times when it was made.

[–] coldnaps 8 years ago

2 years later -- Polly, not to be mean, honest, but even if it was a rip-off (which it wasn't), do you honestly think you were the first person to realize the connection and feel a need to tell the world?

[–] PeterBlues 8 years ago

in some countries the translated title even is dr jekyll and mr hyde! with a bit of twist on the name only. in the dvd bonus material lewis also mentions dr jekyll and mr hyde.

nothings like it used to be,
trying to convince us,
while we know its messed up,
like space aliens setting the new norm,
like a generation brought up on pot,
remember me as i leave,
before i get brainwashed into this modern day reality.

[–] IMDB_Vits 8 years ago

No, it's a parody.