Hammer Film Productions
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The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN!
After a series of scientific experiments directed towards freeing the inner man and controlling human personalities, the kindly, generous Dr Henry Jekyll succeeds in freeing his own alter ego, Edward Hyde, a sadistic, evil creature whose pleasure is murder.
- Original title
- The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
- Language
- EN
- Country
- GB,US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Nov 11, 2023 · via TMDB
Paul Massie is really only competent here as physician "Dr. Jekyll" who is becoming increasingly frustrated by the rather linear approach taken by modern science to the issue of the human psyche. Trapped in a loveless marriage with "Kitty" (Dawn Addams) who is much keener on his parasitical friend "Paul" (Christopher Lee), he devotes more of his time to his work and soon develops a serum that turns an unassuming monkey into a maniac! How might it work on a man? Well, we don't have to wait long to find out as his own self-experimentation leads him to discover some rather nasty character traits in himself, but also some facts about the behaviour of those around him. Can he rein in his new alter ego, the debonaire and manipulative ("Mr. Hyde") or will that more dominant, charismatic, character prevail and drive him to dastardly deeds? Christoper Lee is quite good as the rather odious sponger and the story progresses colourfully and without too many silly visual effects - but it's all a bit slow and wordy. It takes too long to get going and though it does deliver quite cleverly in the last twenty minutes or so, the rest of it is a little too procedural. Still, Terence Fisher does enough to keep this intriguing tale of man's inhumanity to himself running along well enough to engage for ninety minutes.
Wuchak
Sep 23, 2021 · via TMDB
_**Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Handsome Hedonist**_ In wild London of 1874, a reclusive scientist obsessively studies human nature (Paul Massie) while his alluring wife (Dawn Addams) is having a questionable relationship with a smooth gambler (Christopher Lee). The sudden appearance of suave Edward Hyde shakes everything up. Released in 1960-1961, "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll” (also known as “Jekyll's Inferno” and “House of Fright”) is the second of three Hammer films inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous story “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” It was preceded by the horror comedy “The Ugly Duckling” (1959) and followed by “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde” (1971). (Please notice I said they’re “inspired by” and not “based on” Stevenson’s novella). The twist in this one is reflected in director Terence Fisher’s belief that the charm of evil is more interesting than a brutish monster, at least to adults. Hence this is more of a psychological horror film as opposed to a creature feature. The theme of the movie, corresponding to Dr. Jekyll's theories (in this version anyway), is that a person's superior self is caged within the individual, shackled by the constraints of societal rules and conventions. He believed the caged person within is the more progressive. Thus Jekyll basically looks like a Neanderthal whereas Hyde looks and behaves like a progressive libertine. The question is: Is the freed hedonist really “progressive” if he/she is morally degenerate? Whilst the flick failed at the box office when released, I found its exploration of human nature fascinating. It helps that the film doesn’t forget to throw in numerous entertaining bits, like a snake-dance by the athletic Norma Marla, a long can-can sequence and Dawn Addams’ witty verbiage, as well as her jaw-dropping scenes in the last act. Interestingly, Marla has only appeared in two movies and they were both Hammer flicks inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's novella. LOOK OUT for a young Oliver Reed as a nightclub bouncer in the first act. The movie runs 1 hour, 28 minutes and was shot at Bray Studios, just west of London. GRADE: B
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Paul Massie
Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Dawn Addams
Kitty Jekyll
Christopher Lee
Paul Allen
David Kossoff
Dr. Littauer
Norma Marla
Maria
Francis de Wolff
Inspector
Joy Webster
Jenny
Magda Miller
Sphinx Girl (uncredited)
Oliver Reed
Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
Helen Goss
Nanny (uncredited)
Walter Gotell
Heverton - Second Gambler (uncredited)
John Bonney
Renfrew (uncredited)
Fred Stone
Cabinet Minister (uncredited)
Mackenzie Ward
Business Man (uncredited)
Rodney Burke
Young Blood (uncredited)
Terence Fisher
Director
Michael Carreras
Producer
Monty Norman
Original Music Composer
Robert Louis Stevenson
Novel
Wolf Mankowitz
Screenplay
Deadly Revisions
Psycho
Mashin Sentai Kiramager: Episode ZERO
Jaws
The Birds
The Fly
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
The Time Machine
Repulsion
Don't Torture a Duckling
The Transformers: The Movie
Dead Ringers
The Lost Boys
Fahrenheit 451
Frenzy
Red Dragon
Inland Empire
Breakdown
Ginger Snaps
Transformers
Cube
The Medusa Touch
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Devil's Rejects
Scanners
Stir of Echoes
Singapore Sling
28 Weeks Later
A Bay of Blood
Freeway
Piggy
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Annihilation
Next Door
THX 1138
The Wraith
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Ten Little Indians
The Hole
Gothika
The Corruption of Chris Miller
The Hills Have Eyes
The Amityville Horror
Lady in White
Burke & Hare
Sleepwalkers
House of Wax
The Anchor
We Are What We Are
Be Afraid
Evil Nanny
Flagged
Zardoz
Pyewacket
The Dunes
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Friday the 13th Part III
Disturbing Behavior
Spy Kids
Fantastic Four
Hatchet
Dream Demon
Urban Legend
Pathology
The Stepford Wives
Cube Zero
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Hulk
The Nameless
Runaway
Leprechaun
The Dentist
Bliss of Evil
The Roommate
Doctor Blood's Coffin
Beyond Plain Sight
Mercy
Welcome to Arrow Beach
Species III
The Pool
Hidden Mother
Primal
Murder Obsession
Uncle Sam
Urban Legends: Final Cut
Grimm Love
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Batman & Robin
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
Cheerleader Massacre
Anna's Eve
Sparrow
The Day It Came to Earth
Snuff
Big Top Evil
The Campground
Carnifex
Elliott Mallane's Murder
Stealing the Beauty's Corpse at Night
Les Femmes
Roe v. Blade
Andrew
The Lights: Test Run
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Dressed to Kill
Ginger Snaps
The Brood
The Howling
28 Weeks Later
The Girl with All the Gifts
Baghead
Books of Blood
Daybreakers
The Limehouse Golem
Dark Light
The Resurrected
Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde
Van Helsing: The London Assignment
Werewolf of London
Never Let Go
Crimes of the Future
The Void
Dracula A.D. 1972
Candyman
The Invitation
Hollow Man
Split Second
The Bay
The Evil
The Prowler
May 3, 1961
