Starring Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick
Written by Brian Clemens and directed by Roy Ward Baker
Hey, it's two Jack the Ripper Hammer movies back to back, and just like HANDS OF THE RIPPER, this one's not really about Jack the Ripper -- it's about Henry Jekyll! You might wonder what a guy hell bent on developing a cure for all human illness has to do with Jack the Ripper, but then again, maybe you don't -- after all, most Dr. Jekylls end up turning into Mr. Hyde, and, after all, maybe the answer to the Ripper mystery is that it was Hyde all along?
Told a cure for all human illness will take too long to develop, and Jekyll will be dead before his research is done, Jekyll becomes obsessed with developing an elixir to extend his life indefinitely, so he can complete his research. Now, I'm not scientist, but I feel like if you create an eternal life potion, you can set aside your attempts to cure all illnesses, right? I mean, doesn't one trump the other?
Ralph Bates stars as Jekyll and brings the same arrogant, smug energy to the role as he did with his one outing as Frankenstein -- and like that scientist, he needs bodies to experiment on. Enter a couple more macabre true life London legends, infamous grave robbers Burke and Hare. They should have called this movie DR. JEKYLL & JACK THE RIPPER MEET BURKE & HARE. Except that leaves out Sister Hyde.
That's right! This time out when Dr. Jekyll's elixir surprisingly transforms him into someone else, it's not Edward Hyde, but instead, Edwina Hyde. You see, Jekyll needed women's hormones for his work, because they live longer than men, so it only stands to reason blah blah, etc. Side effect: he transforms into a woman.
Martine Beswick plays his feminine side and I gotta say they did a pretty good job of pairing up a couple actors who could convincingly play two genders of the same person. They should remake this movie, though, and have one person play both parts. Now that would be something.
As is becoming common with this later-stage Hammer flicks, once the premise is exhausted, the movie slows down and staggers to an end instead of rushing to an exciting climax. So if you check out the first half and nod off for the second, you're not missing much, except a sexist ending.
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