The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

Plot synopsis:
Dr. Henry Jekyll's wife, Kitty, cheats on him with his friend Paul Allen (who hounds money from Jekyll). Ignoring the warnings of his colleague and friend Dr. Ernst Littauer, Jekyll concocts a chemical potion which he hopes will help him learn the depths of the human mind.
By testing the potion on himself, he transforms into Mr. Edward Hyde, a young and handsome, but also murderous and lecherous man. Soon, Hyde becomes bored with conventional debauchery and when his eyes catch Kitty, he decides he must have her. When Kitty rejects him, Hyde rapes her and leaves her unconscious. When Kitty wakes up in the bed, she immediately notices that Hyde has scratched her neck in various places. Distressed, Kitty walks over to the table where she finds a note written to her. When Kitty goes into the other room looking for Paul, she looks in to find out that her lover has been bitten by a venomous snake. To Kitty's misfortune, Paul is dead. Kitty walks over to the patio, puts her leg over the balcony, covers her ears in response to the loud music playing from the party and allows herself to fall off the balcony and through the glass roof covering the party guests. Hyde frames his other self for these crimes.

Tags: revenge, satire, murder, gothic

Review:
This is probably the only version where Hyde is actually more handsome, social and sexy - even in a sort of school-boyish way to begin with - than Jekyll, who is a total wet blanket.
Terence Fisher's film "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" is one of the most original and underrated adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".
Since the three most well known movie versions of Jekyll & Hyde before this (1920 silent film with John Barrymore, 1931 classic with Frederic March and 1941 remake with Spencer Tracy) all repeated similar plot pattern, the Hammer Films wanted to give something different.
Like with Hammer's other adaptations of classic horror stories, the film only keeps the essential backbone of the original story and changes all else.
Unlike in the three previous movies where Jekyll was presented as a young handsome and likable man and Hyde as evil looking ugly monster, here Jekyll is middle-aged bearded and very cold and harsh towards others.
The role of Jekyll/Hyde was originally meant for Christopher Lee, but not wanting to be type casted as the monster, since he had already played Frankenstein's creature, Count Dracula and the Mummy, Lee was casted as Paul Allen instead.
Obviously glad to play different kind of part, Lee delivers one of his best Hammer performances as the suave and unreliable gambler.
Lee played Jekyll and Hyde later in a movie called "I, Monster" from 1971, which follows Stevenson's book more faithfully than this one.
But Massie is one of the few actors, along with Frederic March and Jack Palance, who managed to make both Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde interesting characters.
In the role of Jekyll's cheating wife Kitty, Dawn Addams is not just a candy to the eyes, she really fits the part perfectly and is one of the few Hammer leading ladies with some other talent than just their looks.
All in all, "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" is a forgotten gem, an enjoyable film from Hammer's highlight era, as long as you keep open mind and not expect gallons of blood..
It was quite impressive.Christopher Lee, ever-present in the Hammer films (did he ever have a day off?), plays friend Paul Allen.
It seems that the point is that good and evil doesn't always equate to beauty and ugliness.I thought Paul Massie did a decent job portraying both sides of the split personality, and a young Christopher Lee does well as Paul Allen, a scheming conniver having an affair with Jekyll's wife (Dawn Addams) who befriends Hyde, ultimately leading to his own downfall.
Dr. Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) has no life anymore, chained to his work and stuck in a loveless marriage to Kitty (Dawn Addams), he busy's himself working on a character altering potion.
Hyde spells danger for anyone who gets too close to him, particularly Kitty, Jekyll's morally bankrupt friend Paul Allen (Christopher Lee) and more worryingly, Jekyll himself.The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is by Hammer Film Productions.
It's directed by Terence Fisher and is adapted by Wolf Mankowitz from the famous story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has provided inspiration for many a film-maker throughout the years, with various degrees of faithfulness shown to the source.
Here, in Terence Fisher's film, Dr. Jekyll is dull and ugly, while Mr. Hyde is handsome and highly charismatic, as well as being an utter bastard.Believing the human mind to consist of two personalities from opposite sides of the spectrum - good and evil - outcast Dr. Jekyll (Paul Massie) sets out to separate the two in order to help mankind embrace the good.
Living almost in solitude, he neglects his wife Kitty (Dawn Addams), a promiscuous, spoilt woman currently embarking on an affair with her husband's best friend, Paul Allen (Christopher Lee).
There he meets Paul and Kitty, who don't recognise him, and begins to toy with the two of them, all the while indulging on the many seductive pleasures of London.Although it's difficult to believe that Jekyll's wife and best friend wouldn't recognise him without his ludicrous fake beard and mono- brow, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a enjoyable romp from start to finish.
They had Christopher Lee in the movie and although he was very good in the role (very sleazy as Dawn Adams' lover)....
If you've seen this offbeat entry in the stable of Hammer's early remakes of the classic horror's then you've either encountered this rarity on ebay or caught it on TV or the cinema ages ago.I was fortunate enough to copy a friend's video cassette that was offered briefly in the U.S. in the early nineties only on EP speed and mastered from a fading,reddish,16mm pan and scan T.V. version that had the word "Hell" bleeped out twice.Seeing as how the studio had done well with adult color versions of Dracula,Frankenstein and The Mummy it would seem like a natural for them to tackle The Robert Louis Stephenson story with their usual teaming of Lee and Cushing and with the appropriate amount of blood and thunder, Alas,they opted for an ambitious and riskier approach to go for more sexual innuendo ,Freudian subtext and underplayed classiness.All of these things are good when they work but unfortunately the pace is very leaden and the horror aspects of the story have been made extremely tame in order to get away with the psycho sexual aspects which must have been titillating for 1960 but not so much anymore.
The best part of The Movie is watching Christopher Lee make the most of a very juicy supporting role as a likable womanizer with a gambling problem who seduces Jekyll's neglected wife and constantly puts the touch on the Doc for money.
Lee wisely sets aside his Shakespearean tendencies and gives a a very believable non-hammy characterization.It would have been nice to have Cushing pop up as Jekyll's medical compatriate but sadly,no.Paul Massey has the far more difficult dual role but really can't pull it off opposite a pro like Lee and the film suffers for it.
As the bratty and somehwat naive Mr Hyde Massey is Handsome but vaguely sounds like Winnie The Pooh and is far to easily foiled in his attempts at evil until the final 20 minutes.The concept of Hyde using the transformation to finally allow Jekyll to get some action with wifey Dawn Adams and to revenge himself for the adultery of best friend Lee was novel but without the suspense or the colorful violence of the previous Hammer vehicles this one will disappoint many fans of the genre.
Doctor Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) is looking for a potion to turn good into evil and vice versa.
Christopher Lee as Jekyll's best friend Paul Adams interjects some life into the proceedings but not enough.
In a different take on the usual Jekyll/Hyde formula, here Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) is a homely doctor whose wife won't give him any tail.
Terence Fisher directed this Hammer studios version of the famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel that stars Paul Massie as both kindly(but bookish) scientist Henry Jekyll, and his wild(but evil) alternate Mr. Hyde.
Dawn Addams plays his disinterested wife Kitty, who is having an affair with his old friend Paul Allen(played by Christopher Lee) who introduces Hyde to the seamy side of London life, which will end in tragedy for all concerned...
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.
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.
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.
Before he can develop a drug that can take his mind to its higher state, he decides that he must first understand his baser nature, injecting himself with a serum that removes the shackles of decency, transforming himself into the degenerate Mr. Hyde (Paul Massie, without facial hair).The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll treads very familiar ground, but in the hands of seasoned Hammer director Terence Fisher, and with a sterling central performance from Massie, the film still proves a fascinating watch, one of the better movies to be based on Robert Louis Stevenson's much-filmed novella, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Lending excellent support are Hammer regular Christopher Lee as debauched philanderer Paul Allen, who shows Hyde the dubious delights to be experienced in Victorian London, and Dawn Addams as Jekyll's deceptive, adulterous wife Kitty.Fisher's bold use of colour ensures that the whole film is a visually arresting treat for the eyes, but his film is also surprisingly daring for the day in terms of content, not shying away from depicting the depths of depravity that man (and woman) can sink to, with adultery, violent robbery, prostitution, drunkenness, rape, addiction, gambling, and murder all present and incorrect, making for a far more entertaining watch (Lee stoned out of his gourd on opium is a rare treat).7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the risqué snake act and the lively can-can dance routine, both of which add extra gratuitous titillation to proceedings..
Having scored box office and critical hits with Horror reworking of old classics it did not take Hammer long to tackle the Jekyll and Hyde story.
Thankfully the Film can now be Seen with the Footage Restored and the Beautiful, but Gaudy Costumes and Sets can be Relished in Blazing Color in HD on Blu-ray.Christopher Lee wanted a Non-Monster Role and He Plays a Womanizing, Adulterous, Cad who is Addicted to Gambling, Abuses Alcohol and Drugs, and is a Nasty "Gentleman" to say the least.
He Plays the (Non-Monster?) Character with an Energy of Enthusiasm.Gracing the Screen alongside Jekyll and Hyde is Dawn Addams a Red-Headed Beauty that also Throws Herself into the Role of Dr. Jekyll's Wife and Lee's Mistress.
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was most famously adapted by Hammer in 1971 with the fantastic Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde; but they did that story in a more orthodox way over ten years earlier in 1960; and The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll is the result.
Meanwhile, Jekyll's wife is engaging in an adulterous affair with his best friend.The reason this film works so well is down to the way that the characters are set up.
While I wouldn't go as far to call The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll a miss as such it does disappoint, considering it's directed by Terrence Fisher(who directed some of Hammer's best films) and that it starred Christopher Lee.The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll is a better film than it is reputed to be.
There are some good performances with Christopher Lee coming out on top, it is an atypical role for him and he does smarmy, handsome charm and lecherous truly excellently.
For his adaptation, Wolf Mankowitz turns the tables around and introduces Dr. Jekyll as the uncanny figure (with grim voice and bearded face) whereas Mr. Hyde is the handsome and sociable ladies' man.
Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The (1960)** (out of 4) Dr. Jekyll (Paul Massie) is so tied up in his work that his wife (Dawn Addams) decides to get busy with various men including Jekyll's best friend (Christopher Lee).
On the other hand, he does a very good job with the Hyde character but sadly he spends more time as Jekyll.
Obsessive and reclusive weakling Dr. Jekyll (superbly played by Paul Massie) creates a formula that causes him to transform into his evil and impulsive id run amok alter ego Mr. Edward Hyde, who stirs up much trouble and eventually tries to take over Jekyll's meek personality altogether.
This film further benefits from splendid acting from a top-notch cast: Massie delivers an impressively anguished portrayal of a tormented split personality in the demanding lead role, Dawn Adams brings real class and poise as Jekyll's fed-up faithless wife Kitty, the always great Christopher Lee positively oozes smarm as Kitty's shameless ne'er-do-well gambler lover Paul Allen, ravishing brunette beauty Norma Marla burns up the screen as fiery, sultry dancer Maria (her introductory snake dance set piece is memorably sexy), and David Kossoff does well as Jekyll's wise, concerned colleague Dr. Ernest Littauer.
Having the wimpy and homely, but humane and pleasant Jekyll turn into the suave and handsome, yet foul and caddish Hyde is a very nice touch, thereby suggesting it's what's on the inside that makes a man either good or bad.
This is surprising, given how well known the story is, and how many film adaptations there have been over the years.Part I think is due to the screenplay, which depicts Dr. Jekyll as less benign and more of an egotist than he's usually shown.
One could say that Mr. Hyde is more truly the man Jekyll wishes he was.The other aspect is the convincing portrayal by actor Paul Massie of two completely different men.
Christopher Lee and Dawn Addams were excellent as Paul Allen and Kitty Jekyll.
It should be one of my favourite Hammer films and would have probably been in my top ten or even my top five if it weren't one thing: Paul Massie as Jekyll and Hyde.
I presume that Hammer considered its established, reliable actors like Peter Cushing and André Morell, both about 20 years Massie's senior, to be too old to play Jekyll and Hyde.
But Jekyll/Hyde really only wants to have sex with his wife, it seems.The real villain in this movie is Christopher Lee, as Jekyll's friend who is also having an affair with his wife, but is still tapping his friend for money.
Then Jekyll turns on everyone else, and you don't feel so much sympathy for him.You have the typical Hammer Reveal at the end of the film, but overall, it's not really great..
Or, perhaps the non-actor part of his personality took over once and for all.Overall, a very different take on the Jekyll and Hyde story.
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.
And the plot lines get quite tangled as Hyde ends up becoming friends with the man who is cheating with his wife and even chasing his wife in his alternate personality.Although the copy I saw was muddy and sepia tinted, the "Two Faces" has the usual excellent sets, costumes, and acting, although the dialog gets a bit purple now and then and Fisher seems to think we'd rather watch a Can-Can dance sometimes than get on with the murders and rape at the climax of the movie.It was also fun to see Christopher Lee in this in a supporting role instead of either the monster or the protagonist.
During the course of his experiments, the reclusive Dr Jekyll (Paul Massie), creates a personality changing drug which he tests on himself turning him into a much younger and handsome man called Edward Hyde who turns out to be his evil alter ego.
He visits the high class Sphinx club in London where he discovers Jekyll's friend, the parasitical Paul Allen (Christopher Lee), a compulsive gambler who scrounges money off him to pay his debts, is having an affair with his wife Kitty (Dawn Addams).
In any case, Hammer and Terence Fisher films are almost always worth watching.It is graced by fine acting all round with Lee offering one of his best performances as the parasitic, unscrupulous playboy Paul Allen.
We would have expected him to have played the Jekyll and Hyde part, but on his own admission he said that he wanted it but Hammer "shot that one down".
Then he adds "I can't destroy you without destroying myself" before urging him to "end the struggle (he) must lose." Dawn Addams also offers a strong performance as Jekyll's bored and neglected wife who has an affair with the unscrupulous Allen in search of a more exciting and fulfilling life.Terence Fisher's direction is as accomplished as ever displaying his talent as a storyteller and a strong feeling for character, place and period.
Compared to many other horror movies produced by hammer, "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" is somewhat obscure more than fifty years after it was first released, despite having Christopher Lee in a role.
An excellent and unfairly maligned Hammer film production, made during the period when Hammer were still updating the old horror movie classics with their own versions.
JEKYLL is an old-fashioned film for Hammer, in that it focuses more on characters and strong acting rather than the bloodshed and special effects that previous adaptations of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and Dracula included (not to demean them in any way).
Although a relative unknown - this was his only horror role - Massie really delivers a tragic performance of a man with two personalities trapped inside his own, and I loved the ending moments where both Jekyll and Hyde argue inside his body as each struggles with the other for control.
JEKYLL also boasts a strong supporting cast, with good performances from Dawn Addams as Jekyll's unfaithful wife, and in particular Christopher Lee who has a ball at portraying a completely ruthless and evil vice-ridden man.