with the public or exhibitors. In October 1939, a Fortune magazine survey of the nation's favorite movie actors listed Tracy in first place. Established star MGM capitalized on Tracy's popularity, casting him in four movies for 1940. I Take This Woman with Hedy Lamarr was a critical and commercial failure, but the historical drama Northwest Passage—Tracy's first film in Technicolor—proved popular. He then portrayed Thomas Edison in Edison, the Man. Howard Barnes of the New York Herald Tribune was not charmed by the story, but wrote that Tracy, "by sheer persuasion of his acting", made the film worthy. Boom Town was the third and final Gable-Tracy picture, also starring Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr, making it one of the most anticipated films of the year. The film opened to the biggest crowd since Gone With the Wind. Tracy signed a new contract with MGM in April 1941, which paid $5,000 a week and limited him to three pictures a year (Tracy had previously expressed a need to reduce his workload). The contract also stated for the first time that his billing was to be "that of a star". Contrary to popular belief, the contract did not include a clause that he receive top billing, but from this point onward, every film Tracy appeared in featured his name in pole position. Tracy returned to the role of Father Flanagan for the sequel Men of Boys Town (1941). It was followed by Tracy's only venture into the horror genre, an adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (also 1941), co-starring Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. Tracy was unhappy with the film, disliking the heavy make-up he needed to portray Hyde. Critical response to the film was mixed. Theodore Strauss of The New York Times wrote that "Mr. Tracy's portrait of Hyde is not so much evil incarnate as it is the ham rampant." The film was financially successful, however, taking in more than $2 million at the box office. Tracy was set to star in a film version of The Yearling for 1942, but several on-set difficulties and bad weather on location forced MGM to shelve the production. With the end of that project, he became available for the new Katharine Hepburn film, Woman of the Year (1942). Hepburn greatly admired Tracy, calling him "the best movie actor there was". She had wanted him for her comeback vehicle, The Philadelphia Story (1940).