“Believe me. Your husband is here.”
The tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a well known one. Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, it’s the story of a man who struggles with his own internal demons which are let out when the evil Mr. Hyde surfaces. With no worries about consequences, Hyde lives a life of debauchery. Ultimately Dr. Jekyll has to decide on whether or not to stop the savage side of his personality. Much of the same holds true for this story, 1960’s The Two Faces Of Dr. Jekyll, where we find Dr. Jekyll, a meek and gentle man, longing to be with his cheating wife, Kitty. When he drinks the formula that turns him into Mr. Hyde, all of his inhibitions are erased and he goes to extremes to quench his thirst for excess.
Hyde’s primary adversary is a man who lives much the same life that he does, only with more reservations. That man, Paul Allen, is Dr. Jekyll’s best friend and Kitty’s secret lover. Paul constantly borrows money from Jekyll to cover his many debts that he has accrued through binge drinking, buying prostitutes, and gambling. He becomes fast friends with Mr. Hyde, but the two men eventually square off for the affections of Kitty. Also in the picture is Maria, a seductive dancer and high end prostitute whom Hyde is attracted to and pursues. Without giving away too much, Hyde refuses to allow Jekyll to take full control and the result is murder, scandal, and debauchery.
It’s been so long since I’ve read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that I don’t really know how much of this film follows the book. If I’m remembering correctly, there are very few similarities between the two tales. The biggest difference is that Hyde is presented as a dashing, handsome young man instead of a violent and beastly character. The film tanked at the box office but I really enjoyed watching this film.
Jekyll/Hyde is portrayed by Paul Massie. While he plays Jekyll a tad heavy handed, he really seems to enjoy playing Hyde and, to be honest, who wouldn’t prefer to play that character? He smirks and charms his way through most of the situations that he gets into and resorts to brilliantly sadistic violence when things go south. He seemed to love telling a young Oliver Reed to “go to Hell and take that trollop with you.” Hyde was a brilliant character and Massie was great in the role. Another wonderful standout was Christopher Lee as Paul Allen. Lee chewed up the scenery and was delightfully unpleasant. As much of a scoundrel as he was, you wanted to cheer for the guy in the movie.
Massie and Lee’s performances overshadowed the rest of the cast, but Dawn Addams portrayal of Kitty Jekyll and Norma Maria as the seductive Maria should not be overlooked. Both of them were amazing in their roles, especially Addams. When Kitty saw herself dressed as a prostitute, something that Dr. Jekyll viewed her as to a point, her whole image changed. She went from being an unlikable and unloving adulterer to a woman who just realized all that she gave up for nothing. She became a character somewhat deserving of our sympathy.
While the critics and contemporary audiences might not have appreciated this film, I quite enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorite Hammer pictures to date. Take a look at it for yourself. The cast seemed to be enjoying themselves and it comes through in the film.
Thanks for checking out my latest post. See you again real soon!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 