Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde |
  • UK • 1971 • 97m •    • Directed by: Roy Ward Baker. • Starring: Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander, Dorothy Alison, Neil Wilson, Ivor Dean, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Philip Madoc, Tony Calvin, Susan Brodrick, Dan Meaden, Virginia Wetherell. • Music by: David Whitaker.      In Victorian London, Dr. Henry Jekyll attempts to create an elixir of life using female hormones stolen from fresh corpses. He reasons that these hormones will wipe out all common diseases and extend his life since women live much longer than men. However, once Dr. Jekyll drinks the serum himself, he transforms into a gorgeous but evil woman. He soon needs female hormones for his serum to maintain, so a number of London women meet bloody deaths.
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Review:
Going into this film, I had the expectation of a pulpy, psychedelic, freewheeling seventies take on the Dr. Jekyll story (the title and posters of the film do lend to this), and was pleasantly surprised when I got a well-written and somewhat classy re-imagining. What's perhaps most intriguing about the film is that it draws on a confluence of history and fiction, incorporating the Jack the Ripper and Burke & Hare murders as a sort of inspiration for the subplot that underpins the Jekyll story; thrown into the mix is the fact that Mr. Hyde in this case is actually a Mrs. Hyde. While this conglomeration might sound silly, it actually works rather well, without ever becoming too much of a novelty for novelty's sake.
For a PG film, it is also surprisingly brutal, featuring several fairly graphic knife slashings and impalements. Thematically, there is the psychological battle between Dr. and Sister, vying for their body, and the unique gender dynamic between the two gives both Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick plenty to play off of, and they do it remarkably well. Beswick in particular is a scene stealer as the seductive and dangerous Sister Hyde. There is fantastic cinematography capturing foggy Victorian era London, as well as some inventive imagery utilizing mirrors and stained glass to illustrate the shifting personae. It very much feels like a Hammer film in terms of the aesthetic, and that lends it additional charm.
Overall, I was very surprised by this film; I expected something zany and perhaps even LSD-esque, and it was anything but. . Jekyll and Sister Hyde" takes historical events, fiction, and gender dynamics, and blends them into an English Victorian world which sets the stage for an ensuing battle between siblings as well as a Gothic exhibition of streetwalker slashings. Great, fun performances from Bates and Beswick up the ante even more.
Review by Robert_Lovelace from the Internet Movie Database.
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