The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1961)

As Good As It Gets

A Masterpiece!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Hammer Studios put a unique spin on this classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson: Professor Henry Jekyll (Canadian born Paul Massie) is a homely schmuck working on proving that old theory about the duality of humankind. When he tests some experimental serum on himself, he transforms into the much more handsome and suave Edward Hyde. Unfortunately, he can't really control these transformations, and Hyde becomes the dominant personality more and more, and Hyde shows himself to be an effectively conniving and nasty individual.Sir Christopher Lee is great fun in a supporting role, playing Paul Allen, Jekylls' friend and a compulsive gambler. Paul has also been carrying on with Jekylls' wife Kitty (Dawn Addams) for quite some time. It's rare that Sir Christopher got a chance to be this funny, or to be so loose in a performance. Likable Massie is quite good in the two vastly different primary roles. He's so charming as Hyde that you can't help but like Hyde to some degree, until his ruthlessness comes out. It's similarly refreshing that the wife is not that loyal, or understanding, and the lovely Addams does a capable job. David Kossoff (as Jekylls' colleague Ernst), and Norma Marla (as the alluring exotic dancer Maria) offer excellent support. The physically imposing Francis De Wolff only comes in towards the end, not given much to do as a police inspector who picks up Hydes' trail. And keep an eye out for a very young Oliver Reed as a tough talking pimp!Hammer mainstay director Terence Fisher is in fine form, and the production design by Bernard Robinson is sumptuous, as you would expect after seeing his work on other Hammer horror films. The color photography just pops, and it's a treat that Hammer decided to shoot this in Megascope (a 2.35:1 aspect ratio). Screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz crafts an adaptation that is entertaining if ultimately light on horror elements. For one thing, we never seen an on screen transformation from Jekyll to Hyde, or vice versa. It's Massies' performance that sells those moments.Overall, not bad. Worth a look for Hammer fans.Seven out of 10.

The acting is fine, the costumes are fine and the dialogue is fine... This is one of those films that's not so bad that it becomes good again, and it's not good enough to be a classic. It's just a middling film from early 1960's Hammer horror.On one hand, the film was trying to switch things up. Mr. Hyde has so often been depicted as an ugly monster in other films (see the 1920, 1931 and 1941 adaptions for good examples). Instead, this film portrays Hyde as a seemingly suave gentleman with an evil heart; a wolf in sheep's clothing, essentially.The premise falls short because the film does not truly emphasize how terribly Hyde has behaved. He drinks and carouses, but the vast majority is off screen. When Jekyll laments there is no depth of depravity that will satisfy Jekyll, it's hard to believe because he doesn't seen to have yet pushed the boundaries very far. It's not until late in the movie when Hyde does truly horrible things.The best moments of the film are when Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde struggle against one another while in the same body, even if Jekyll's facial hair looks painfully fake from the movie's first shot.

Hammer Studios were probably the king of producers for Gothic horror flicks. Well known for their creepy sets that produced movies starring monsters from classics (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman & Mummy) the studio churned out these movies every year usually with success. So why not a movie starring the famous mad scientist, Dr. Henry Jeckell from the Robert Louis Steveson classic story?However, like most Hammer films, they like to put on their own little spin to make the story a little less redundant. In The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, the character is regarded as a quiet nebbish type scientist who speaks in a soft voice. He is also already married--to a beautiful redhead wife, who unfortunately is only concerned about her selfish whims and presently carrying on an affair with his friend. The friend, Paul Allen--played by the immortal Hammer studio star, Christopher Lee is a scoundrel who gambles away his money, and like Henry Jekyll's cheating spouse--only concerned for his own pleasures. So of course, this leads to poor Dr. J's disastrous experiment, which he transforms into a handsome but the cruel evil rake, Mr Hyde. Like Clark Kent in Superman, no one usually recognizes or connects the two men together. But the evil Mr Hyde takes the tortured Dr Jekyll to London's pleasure houses and commits various cruel tricks on people. Mr Hyde also makes Dr. Jekell confront that his wife is a no good cheating woman. But as you may guess, Dr. Jekyll loses control of his alter ego, and that's when the serum literally hits the fan.This movie is well acted but it seems to lend sympathy to the character of Dr. Jekell. He seems to be so tortured by his wife infidelity but lacks the strength of character to confront the problem. But again, we have to agree as mad scientists go---it really is his own fault that these tragedies happen.Not a bad flick, if you like the Hammer Film genre--I'd say it's a good bet for a late night popcorn viewing

Ostracized by the scientific community, Dr. Jekyll is doing some rather pointless sounding experiments while his wife is cheating on him with his gambler friend. Unhappy with their relationship, he turns his experiments on himself and becomes the suave Mr. Hyde.Another take on the Jekyll and Hyde story, this one has some interesting ideas, but it never does much with them. Ultimately, the film is quite dull. Too much focus is placed on Jekyll's poor marriage and the affair his wife is having. It might not have been so bad if his wife were actually desirable, but she's an annoying shrew. Jekyll should just rid himself of her and consider his life all the better for it. Christopher Lee plays the friend with whom she's having the affair. He's playing against type here and is actually sort of the protagonist, but it's hard feeling sympathy for a philanderer. Paul Massie plays Jekyll and Hyde. He's actually not that great as either. His line delivery just sounds unnatural, especially when he's playing Jekyll.There are some interesting twists towards the end, but it's too little, too late. This isn't one of the better films from Hammer.