Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde

Rating:
Summary: Hammer didn't hit the nail on the head!
Review: An interesting premise that never actually takes off. Hammer Films has made a reputation on re-interpreting classic horror stories, and has occasionally done something spectacular, unfortunately, this isn't one of there successful efforts. Martine Beswick and Ralph Bates are perfectly cast, but neither gives a particularly stunning performance. As usual, the sets and costumes are brilliantly realized, but that just can't save this mediocre...sorry, bad film.

Rating:
Summary: Hammer's Intriguing Twist On The Jekyll & Hyde Story
Review: Considering their masterful adaptions of most of the great literary horror classics, it was surprising that England's Hammer Studios rarely tackled the famous story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in their film work. One attempt in the early 1960's "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll", was their sole effort up till when they mounted this elaborate and handsome production of "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde". This film provided the story with not only a unique gender twist but managed to mesh it with elements of the horrific Jack the Ripper case which occured around the same period this story is set. In my belief one of the better Hammer efforts from this period credit must go not only to Hammer's superbly atmospheric production but also to Ralph Bates in the central role of Dr. Jekyll who experiments with the essence of life to his own great personal cost. Talented actor Bates was perfect for these period dramas and had just the right combination of personal charisma and good looks to be ideal as the lead character. At this time he was being groomed as Hammer Studio's new star with the gradual phasing out of stalwarts Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

Making alterations to a great classic for film work is always a difficult task much open to criticism but here Hammer have successfully taken the great classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and transformed it into an intriguing horror story where the real villian of the piece is a female, the "Sister Hyde", of the title who gradually takes over the body and soul of Dr. Jekyll with terrifying results. As the story opens Dr. Jekyll a prosperous London doctor has been experimenting on finding cures for some of the rare diseases. Discovering that cures will take longer than the average life span he alters his research into finding an elixir of life that will prolong the lifespan of mankind. Experimenting first on insects he discovers that by injecting female hormones (obtained from fresh corpses from underground sources), he can extend their lifespan, however a disturbing element arises where it is noticed that the fly in question has also changed gender and taken on a female form. As the obssession to find the correct formula for extending life takes hold of him Dr. Jekyll begins to experiment on himself with tragic results as he transforms into a woman, the "Sister Hyde",( a stunning Martine Beswick), of the title who possesses a personality of pure evil and begins over time to fight with Dr. Jekyll for possession of not only his mind but also his body. To continue his research Dr. Jekyll continually needs fresh bodies and he begins a killing spree among the prostitutes of the White Chapel district of London. The brutal murders create panic among all the citizens as the bodies are all found to have been surgically dismembered which arouses the suspicions of Dr. Jekyll's collegue Prof. Robertson (Gerald Sim).He begins to suspect his collegue of these crimes as he knows of the dangerous life enhancing experiments the doctor is undertaking. Dr. Jekyll finds that the transformations only last a short while and he passes off "Sister Hyde", as his own sister. This causes him added complications in particular when he finds neighbour Susan (Susan Broderick) falling in love with him and the seductive Sister Hyde arousing the passion of both Susan's brother Howard and Professor Robertson. The police with the professor's help begin to close in on Dr Jekyll and continuing her murderous streak Sister Hyde then murders Professor Robertson and seeks out Susan as her next victim. In the thrilling climax as the police break into Dr. Jekyll's lab the doctor attempts to escape over the roofs of the neighbouring houses however he ends up falling and to the horror of onlookers his shattered body lying on the street transforms one final time into the murderous "Sister Hyde".

The work by Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick as Jekyll and female Hyde is exceptional and as has been noted by others the physical resemblance between the two makes this premise believable. Much controversy was raised at the time of the films release by the gender transformations and the "risque" element of a man turning into a woman. Those scenes are very well handled and it says much for the talents of Bates and Beswick that at no time are those scenes anything but the horrific episodes they were intended to be. Ralph Bates in particular gives one of his very best performances here. Totally at home as the affluent Victorian doctor he is superb in his scenes as the murderous man willing to go to any lengths to complete his research, even if it means sacrificing human life to do it. Hammer Studios which set so many of their features in Victorian times does a superb job here in recreating all the seedy elements of the White Chapel area of London in the late Nineteenth Century. The period clothing, mist shrouded streets, carriages and Gas Lamps are all authentically reproduced in this exciting and atmospheric production. Indeed I can see alot of the inspiration for the recent "From Hell" with Johnny Depp, in "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde", right down to Dr. Jekyll's sinister surgical instruments used in the murders.

Directed by Hammer regular Roy Ward Baker "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde", really represents the last flowering of the creative elements of Hammer Studios in the early 1970's. It manages to be not only a great horror tale with an original premise but also a rather tragic story with elements of romance included as well. Ralph Bates with Martine Bewick's assistance really carries the film and he was to appear in other interesting Hammer efforts around this time like the much maligned "Horror of Frankenstein", and "Fear in the Night", both really excellent vehicles for his talents. Enjoy a new slant on the old Robert Louis Stevenson classic in Hammer's exciting "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde".

Rating:
Summary: Underated flick from Hammer Films
Review: DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE is a very good movie. This is the bizaar tale of how one man-and one woman try to exist in the same body. RALPH BATES plays Dr. Jekyll, a man working on a potion that will change him forever. MARTINE BESWICK plays evil SISTER HYDE and goes on a killing rampage. The plot twists when she falls in love with another man, complicating Mr. Hyde's character. At times, this movie tries to be romantic, but in the end, it all ends up tragic! A very different horror movie from most Hammer films. I guess that's why I recommend it, because it is different. This version contains an additional 3 minutes of footage not seen in previous versions of the film! Order today!

Rating:
Summary: Fairly interesting twist
Review: Dr. Jekyll starts doing research on an elixar that will extend one's lifespan and discovers that female hormones are the key. He hires two thugs to get bodies for him so he may extract the hormones, but eventually Jekyll has to get the bodies his own way so that his research can continue. When he drinks the elixar he turns into the evil sister Hyde for a short period of time, but the periods get longer each time he swallows the elixar. Eventually the two halves are battling for control of the same body while the police are hot on the trail of the White Chapel killer. This film often times tilts between being interesting and awkward, but ultimately good performances by Bates and Beswick pull it over to the above average level. There are way too many foggy night scenes and if I were Jekyll, I would have offed the girl who sings first. The story manages to maintain one's interest and it moves along fairly well. The film does get bogged down by some cliches, but overall it is worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: With a sister like that, va va voom!
Review: Hammer does it again with a mix of violence and sex with an unusual twist on Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of mad science and man's lower nature. In this case it is a conflict between man and his female side, and this female is deadly. Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick are astonishingly close in appearance and the latter is truly beautiful. She bares sharp claws, however.

Rating:
Summary: High-grade B movie
Review: I enjoyed this movie. By modern standards, the gore is subdued, and the acting is first rate. It runs a tight one and a half hours, and the plot zips right along. As the movie extras reveal, the sets were borrowed from other, higher budget movies, so there is nothing cheap about the look of the film. I'm glad someone thought enough of this film to put it on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing more unattractive than a woman with the man hands...
Review: I knew there'd been quite a few versions and variations on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, both in film and on television, but I never realized how many until I did a little research. There are at least thirty listed on the internet movie database, many of which I hadn't even heard of, much less seen. Of the one's I'm familiar with, the versions with John Barrymore (1920), the Fredrich March (1931) and Spencer Tracy (1941), all three stick fairly close to the original source material. In Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), the story is carried one step further, which should be evident from the title (I will say I wasn't really surprised to learn this film came out at the time it did, as the late 60's/early 70's brought with it a time of challenging social mores and just generally sticking it to the establishment...this ain't your father's Jeykll and Hyde).

Directed by Roy Ward Baker, who did films for both Hammer Studios (Quatermass and the Pit, Scars of Dracula) and its' rival Amicus (Asylum, The Vault of Horror), the film stars Ralph Bates (Taste the Blood of Dracula, Lust for a Vampire), along with three time Bond girl Martine Beswick (Dr. No - actually, her part in this one was pretty minimal, but I'll still count it, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball). Also appearing is Gerald Sim (The Man Who Haunted Himself), Lewis Fiander (Dr. Phibes Rises Again, and Susan Broderick, who really has few credits, this film being her most notable role.

As the film begins, Dr. Jekyll (Bates) is working on a universal panacea, or, one serum to cure many different diseases (the film appears to be set in sometime in the early 19th century, so there was plenty of work to do in this area). His friend and colleague, and also a very naughty womanizer (guess where this leads to), Professor Robertson (Sim) worries that Jekyll is working too hard, and points out that Jekyll will probably never complete his experiment as the time required to develop a cure for each disease, much less combining them into one cure-all serum, would take longer than one man's life span. Jekyll concedes to this truth, and decides to instead develop a formula that will extend a person's life, the key being female hormones (the thinking is women tend not to age as poorly as men, what with their ability to keep their hair and suppleness of skin). His results seem promising, but, as we all know, the proof is in the pudding, so Jekyll tries the serum on himself, and presto chango (literally) he turns into a woman, whom he explains away to his nosy neighbors as his widowed sister, Mrs. Hyde (Beswick). The problems arise in that in order to produce the serum, Jekyll needs certain hormone producing organs, located within women, and the local coroner (who's a real freak, I might add), can no longer fill Jekyll's needs, so Jekyll resorts to dismembering live women, mainly prostitutes (sometimes you have to do bad to do good), but the local authorities, not caring for all the dead bodies piling up, are hot to find this serial killer, so Jekyll uses his alter ego, Sister Hyde, to perform the grisly task. Only problem now is Sister Hyde is beginning to exert her will, vying for dominance over Dr. Jekyll as to who will ultimately control the one body shared by two, separate personalities. So, who will win? (I'm rooting for Sister Hyde, as she's pretty hot...)

I had some trepidation about this film, as the advertising (mainly that for the U.S.) focused on the kinkier bits, but that was just one, small aspect of the movie as a whole. I really enjoyed this movie, one that many consider to be one of the last, great Hammer Studios outings before they, along with the entire British film industry went down the tubes. Ralph Bates is really good as Jekyll, presenting a man torn between not only if his criminal actions justifying the means, but also struggling against a seemingly superior will in that of Sister Hyde. Bates was being groomed by Hammer to be one of their next new, young stars, as their most notable stars, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were aging and commanded hefty fees now that their popularity was established. Bates might have assumed the mantle, had not the industry took a nosedive. Beswick is also very good, playing Jeykll's very sexy, evil female alter ego. The casting here was pretty inspired, along with the make up, as Bates and Beswick actually do share similarities, so the notion that they were one in the same was highly believable. Baker's direction works very well, evoking the style of the old, Universal horror films, while maintaining a contemporary attitude. I did enjoy the inter-cutting of like scenes, for example in the beginning when Jeykll is butchering a woman and we also see a butcher trimming a rabbit. The violence is mainly off screen, but there is a good amount of blood. I thought it kind of odd as the film had a particularly high body count and given the relatively small area where most all of the murders occurred, it served only to highlight the ineptness of the local authorities. The sets felt authentic, adding much to the film, but I think they were used in previous Hammer films as I could swear I recognized a few of them, specifically Jeykll's laboratory, from another film.

The widescreen print by Anchor Bay looks good, although, as another reviewer has already stated, the aspect ratio is such that a small part of the picture gets cropped out. Special features include a commentary track by star Martine Beswick, director Roy Ward Baker, and writer/co-producer Brian Clemens, moderated by historian Marcus Hearn, along with a theatrical trailer, radio spots, poster and still galleries, as well as some detailed talent bios.

Cookieman108


Rating:
Summary: The Best of Ralph Bates
Review: I was surprised, I did not think the movie was going to be as good as it is and I think it is the best film Ralph Bates has done. This film held my attention and the sets and mood of the film turn out to be very well done. I am glad this one is in my collection.

Rating:
Summary: High-grade B movie
Review: If you're a horror fan over the age of 35, you probably remember some of the old horror flicks from Hammer Studios. Some of them were creepy, some of them silly, and some of them downright awful. But a few of them were really good. `Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde' is one of the good ones that horror fans should rediscover.

Dr. Jekyll (Ralph Bates) sits in his laboratory, lamenting the fact that man will never live long enough to cure many of the diseases that afflict humanity. Jekyll discovers that by injecting female hormones into a male fly, he can greatly extend the life of the fly. He tries the experiment on himself. Then he notices that the fly is no longer male. Oops.

Jekyll's alter-ego, whom he explains away as his sister, Ms Hyde (Martine Beswick), quickly becomes responsible for all kinds of mayhem. The running dilemma in the movie becomes "Who will win the battle for control of Jekyll's body? Man or woman?"

I didn't really expect much from `Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde,' but I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, the film has plot holes everywhere, but director Roy Ward Baker focuses on the story and keeps it moving well with a few interesting (and humorous) romantic subplots. Yet the most remarkable element of the film is in its casting. Bates and Beswick bear an uncanny resemblance to one another, making the film's premise believable and enjoyable. So sit back, and enjoy a really fun horror film from the imaginative 70's. And tell yourself that those Hammer films weren't so bad after all.
97 minutes
Rated R for violence and brief nudity

Rating:
Summary: Don't Pass This One By!
Review: If you're a horror fan over the age of 35, you probably remember some of the old horror flicks from Hammer Studios. Some of them were creepy, some of them silly, and some of them downright awful. But a few of them were really good. 'Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde' is one of the good ones that horror fans should rediscover.

Dr. Jekyll (Ralph Bates) sits in his laboratory, lamenting the fact that man will never live long enough to cure many of the diseases that afflict humanity. Jekyll discovers that by injecting female hormones into a male fly, he can greatly extend the life of the fly. He tries the experiment on himself. Then he notices that the fly is no longer male. Oops.

Jekyll's alter-ego, whom he explains away as his sister, Ms Hyde (Martine Beswick), quickly becomes responsible for all kinds of mayhem. The running dilemma in the movie becomes "Who will win the battle for control of Jekyll's body? Man or woman?"

I didn't really expect much from 'Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde,' but I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, the film has plot holes everywhere, but director Roy Ward Baker focuses on the story and keeps it moving well with a few interesting (and humorous) romantic subplots. Yet the most remarkable element of the film is in its casting. Bates and Beswick bear an uncanny resemblance to one another, making the film's premise believable and enjoyable. So sit back, and enjoy a really fun horror film from the imaginative 70's. And tell yourself that those Hammer films weren't so bad after all.
97 minutes
Rated R for violence and brief nudity