The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

"The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" is a 1960 horror film by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll, and co-stars Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. It was written by Wolf Mankowitz, based on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

In contrast to other film versions, Jekyll was portrayed as a rather bland and faceless person, while Hyde was presented as suave and handsome. This reflects director Fisher's belief in what critics (such as biographer Wheeler Winston Dixon) called "the charm of evil" [Wheeler Winston Dixon. The Charm of Evil: The Films of Terence Fisher (with an introduction by John Carpenter).Metuchen N.J. and London: Scarecrow Press, 1991. 574 pages.] .

The film was released in North America under the titles House of Fright and Jekyll's Inferno.

Plot summary

A socially reclused Henry Jekyll, whose wife Kitty cheats on him with his gambling addicted friend Paul Allen (who hounds money from him) ignoring the warnings of his colleage and friend Dr. Ernst Littauer, concocts chemically a potion with which he hopes will make him learn the dephts of the human mind. Testing the potion on himself, he transforms into Mr. Hyde, a young and handsome, but also murderous and womanizing beast. Soon, Hyde becomes bored of conventional debauchery, and when his eyes catch Kitty, he decides to turn his delights on her. But when both seduction and bribery don't do the job -much because Kitty finds Hyde completely repulsive- Hyde does not only resort to rape and murder but also frames his other self for these crimes.

Cast

*Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
*Dawn Addams as Kitty Jekyll
*Christopher Lee as Paul Allen
*David Kossoff as Dr. Littauer
*Francis De Wolff as Inspector
*Norma Marla as Maria
*Magda Miller as Sphinx Girl
*Oliver Reed as Nightclub Bouncer
*William Kendall as Clubman
*Helen Gross as Nanny
*Pauline Shepherd as Prostitue
*Percy Cartwright as Coroner
*Joe Robinson as Corinthian
*Arthur Lovegrove as Cabby

Trivia

*A thug who picks a fight with Edward Hyde in one barroom scene was played by a pre-fame Oliver Reed.
*Christopher Lee, who played the role of Paul Allen in this film, would later go on and star in a different but more faithful to Stevenson's novel Hammer film, "I, Monster" as Dr. Charles Marlow and Mr. Edward Blake (the renamed characters of Jekyll and Hyde).

External links

*imdb title|id=0054416|title=The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll