Interesting that Hammer Studios never did a straight "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" remake, this one may sound like a silly idea but trust me they really did a great job. Handsome Ralph Bates, a rising star at Hammer, plays Jekyll, the beautiful Martine Beswick plays Sister Hyde. The similarity between the two is almost uncanny, they look like they could be real life brother and sister, this only helps the movie. In addition to being based on the famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel Jack the Ripper is thrown into the story (could he be Jekyll/Hyde?), plus real life Victorian grave robbers Burke and Hare. Burke and Hare were active some 60 years before the Ripper and they committed their crimes in Scotland, not London, however they bring some welcome dark humour to the story and are fun to watch. All of the performances are good, the sets are of the usual impressive Hammer standard and the fog shrouded streets and alley ways of Victorian London just ooze atmosphere. Martine Beswick, a former Bond Girl, refused to do any full frontal nude scenes, however she does appear both topless and naked from the rear. As Hyde she make a wonderful femme fatale, and when she goes out into the night murdering prostitutes it is real stalk 'n' slash, several years before the term Slasher Movie was coined. All prints are sadly cut, however there is plenty of bloody violence, one shocking scene has a woman stabbed in the neck with blood spurting out. The movie does have some humour but it is also a very effective shocker and will live on in the memory for some time after the end credits have rolled. There are those who will say that the quality of Hammer's output declined in the early 1970's, for me personally it was during this period that they made some of my favourite Hammer movies, this being a fine example. Highly recommended.
Review of Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde
(1971)
A fabulous tale of horror in Victorian London from Hammer Studios
17 October 2021