The Two Faces Of Dr. Jekyll

''The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll'' (released in the US as ''House of Fright'') is a 1960 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paul Massie, Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed. It was produced by Michael Carreras and Anthony Nelson-Keys for Hammer Film Productions. The screenplay was by Wolf Mankowitz, based on the 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. Bernard Robinson was Production Designer, Clifford Parkes was Production Manager, Roy Ashton did Makeup, and Don Mingaye was Art Director. John Peverall and Hugh Marlow were assistant directors. Janina Faye had a small role as Dr.Jekyll's adolescent neighbor Jane. The film had a working title of ''Jekyll's Inferno'' at one point. This was Oliver Reed's first film for Hammer, and Christopher Lee considered it one of his very best roles. This was also the first Hammer film to be distributed in the US by AIP. Filming went from Nov. 23, 1959 through Jan. 22, 1960, and it was trade shown on Aug. 20, 1960, and premiered at the Pavilion on Oct. 7, 1960.

In contrast to other film versions, Jekyll was portrayed as a rather bland and homely 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". Critics wondered why Jekyll's beard disappeared each time he turned into the younger-looking (smooth shaven) Mr. Hyde though.

''The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll'' was released to theaters in the UK by Columbia Pictures on October 24, 1960, and in the US by American International Pictures on May 3, 1961 under the title ''House of Fright''. It fared poorly in the US, which explains why AIP's next interaction with Hammer was in the early 1970's (with ''Lust for a Vampire'').

Plot

In London in 1874, Dr. Henry Jekyll's wife, Kitty, is secretly involved with his friend Paul Allen (who frequently borrows money from Jekyll). Ignoring the warnings of his colleague and friend Dr. Ernst Littauer, the middle-aged, mild-mannered 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 he sets his eyes on 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, which Hyde had locked in a room with him. 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 then kills Maria, an exotic dancer he had been having an affair with, in Jekyll's house.

The next day, Jekyll is horrified to learn of what Hyde has done. After speaking to his other half via a mirror, Jekyll turns uncontrollably into Hyde. Hyde then kills a man in Jekyll's laboratory by shooting him in the back and sets his body up at a desk in order to frame his other self for his crimes. Hyde then sets fire to the laboratory as the police arrive. Via a window, Hyde pretends that Jekyll is trying to kill him as the building burns. After escaping the building, Hyde claims Jekyll tried to kill Hyde and ended up shooting himself due to madness as the innocent man and Jekyll's laboratory burns.

Some time later, Hyde, Littauer and the police attend the coroner's court, where it is found that Jekyll was responsible for the deaths due to his dangerous experimentation with drugs, and that he then took his own life. Hyde tries to leave the building, but at the last minute Jekyll fights him from the inside and takes over again. As Dr Littauer recognises his old friend, Dr. Jekyll sits on a bench and is surrounded by astonished people. With tears in his eyes, he says that only he could stop Hyde, and that he has now destroyed him. The police move forward and arrest him for his alleged crimes.

Cast

* Paul Massie as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Edward 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 (uncredited)
*Oliver Reed as nightclub bouncer (uncredited)
* William Kendall as clubman (uncredited)
* Janine Faye as Jane
* Helen Goss as nanny (uncredited)
*Pauline Shepherd as prostitute (uncredited)
*Percy Cartwright as coroner (uncredited)
* Joe Robinson as Corinthian (uncredited)
* Arthur Lovegrove as cabby (uncredited)
* Felix Felton as first gambler (uncredited)

Production

The film was originally to star Louis Jourdan. Argentinian actress Isabel Sarli was offered a role in the film. Filming occurred at Bray Studios in Berkshire.

Dr. Jekyll has brown eyes and wears a full beard with rather long hair and bushy eyebrows, whereas Mr. Hyde is blue-eyed, clean shaven and has a shorter haircut. Beyond this, their physical appearance is nearly identical, making this portrayal different than the bulk of film adaptations of the novel. However, the story is presented as though Hyde looks different enough from Jekyll that even Mrs. Jekyll notices no resemblance.

Reception

''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' of the U.K. wrote that the film "may be forgiven for tampering with a classic, but not for doing so with such a depressing lack of either wit or competence ...Silliness, in fact, has got the better of the film to such an extent that even its most calculatedly vicious episodes appear only mildly grotesque. The production, which uses up colour film lavishly on such episodes as a cancan sequence, is otherwise hard-up for ideas."

'' Variety'' gave the film a good review, praising Paul Massie for an "interesting performance" and Jack Asher for "colorful and sure" camerawork.

Eugene Archer of ''The New York Times'' called the film "lurid", and Massie "frankly ridiculous."

''Harrison's Reports'' graded the film as "Fair", adding, "Horror fans will hardly be scared by this well-mounted British import... Paul Massie does the best he can in the poorly written twin role."

The film lost Hammer an estimated £30,000.Marcus Hearn, ''The Hammer Vault'', Titan Books 2011, p. 38

Potential Remake

In the mid-nineties, Denis Meikle wrote a potential remake under the suggestion of producer Michael Carreras. The script, titled ''Hyde: Monster of Desire,'' was briefly considered at 20th Century Fox before being revived at Dreamscape Pictures, with the idea of it being a $50 million picture with Sean Connery as Jekyll/Hyde. Ultimately, the critical and commercial flop of '' Mary Reilly'' (1996), TriStar Pictures' own ''Jekyll and Hyde'' film, and the dissolution of Dreamscape ended the project. The script is currently available on Meikle's website.

See also

'' The Face of Another'' (1966), another film about a man who has an affair with his estranged wife by changing his face.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Two Faces Of Dr. Jekyll, The
1960s English-language films
1960 horror films
1960 films
Hammer Film Productions horror films
Films shot at Associated British Studios
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films
Films based on horror novels
Films directed by Terence Fisher
Films with screenplays by Wolf Mankowitz
Films shot at Bray Studios
Films scored by Monty Norman
Romantic period films
1960s British films
English-language horror films