O Monstro de Duas Caras

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. Firstly testing it on primates, Jekyll ignores the warnings from his friend Dr. Ernst Littauer (David Kossoff) and experiments on himself. The result brings out Jekyll's alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde, a debonair gentlemen who holds within a sadistic dangerous streak. 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. Tho very much a middle tier offering from the house of Hammer, this version of the often told tale puts a different slant on things to make it unique and always interesting. Jekyll here is a bland and reclusive person, the people closest to him cheat on him and he is powerless to stop it. Contrast with Hyde, handsome and charming and able to take what he wants either by cunning or brute force. This was a deliberate shift from the normal by Fisher and Mankowitz, they didn't want Hyde as some furry half man beast frothing at the mouth, they sided with evil lurking behind a charming facade. It's also notable for its ending too. Where they had the courage of their convictions to stay with a differing formula.

The problems come if one is searching for a horror film in the Hammer tradition. For although Hammer traits such as a smouldering sexiness hang over proceedings, the film is in truth lacking in terror. Something which is sure to annoy the horror purists. But if you can accept this as a more restrained psychological horror piece, one that deals in the duality of man, the pursuit of something more and the often treacherous nature of the human being, the rewards are there to be enjoyed. The cast are fine, Massie is competent without the ham, and Lee is elegantly vile to fit seamlessly into character. But the bonus is with a flame headed Dawn Addams who comes up with something more than the usual heaving bosom Hammer leading lady. The cast also features an early appearance from none other than Oliver Reed, suitably playing a night club pimp type bit of muscle. Shot in Megascope and Technicolor the film thankfully looks gorgeous and has transfered excellently on to DVD. With the sultry red lipped Addams and Jekyll's garden particularly benefiting from the pinging colours.

A dam good story with wit and cautionary observations of the human condition, this isn't one for the blood and gore brigade. But it has many other qualities just waiting to be discovered by the more literary minded horror fan. 7/10

Very nice and quite original adaptation of this often (ab)used material. 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. There is indeed one of the sexiest performances by Christopher Lee in the film. I'm very happy he isn't in the lead role - I suggest he would have been directed to be his usual grim and menacing self again. Instead of that we get a smiling, easy-going Lee, dripping with wicked charm and sexuality. There aren't many available films to see him still under 40, so if you are a fan of his, I suggest you check this one out. Sure, it tends to be a bit melodramatic, but fortunately everyone around the poor, misunderstood Jekyll is so delightfully evil - his double-crossing wife, and double double-crossing friend - that the dramatic outbursts are nicely suppressed. Also, you get a very intimate close up at the holiest of holies of a scantily dressed snake charmer, and we get the "b"-word loud and clear - rather nice for 1960. Nice sets, nice Victorian frolics, very good looking cast, and generally a more fun version of the book than we usually get. I only have a strange looking pan and scan bootleg version of this film, which obviously was shot in widescreen. Typical vibrant colours of the period, good score and expert direction plus mostly proper British accent from everyone in the cast. I'm very glad I stumbled upon this film, and should I ever see a legitimate widescreen version released, I'd snatch it without a second thought. I'm rich, you see.

Ostracized by the scientific community, Dr. Jekyll is doing some rather pointless sounding experiments while his wife is cheating on him with his gambler friend. Unhappy with their relationship, he turns his experiments on himself and becomes the suave Mr. Hyde.

Another take on the Jekyll and Hyde story, this one has some interesting ideas, but it never does much with them. Ultimately, the film is quite dull. Too much focus is placed on Jekyll's poor marriage and the affair his wife is having. It might not have been so bad if his wife were actually desirable, but she's an annoying shrew. Jekyll should just rid himself of her and consider his life all the better for it. Christopher Lee plays the friend with whom she's having the affair. He's playing against type here and is actually sort of the protagonist, but it's hard feeling sympathy for a philanderer. Paul Massie plays Jekyll and Hyde. He's actually not that great as either. His line delivery just sounds unnatural, especially when he's playing Jekyll.

There are some interesting twists towards the end, but it's too little, too late. This isn't one of the better films from Hammer.

Having long been a serious Hammer fan, this film somehow escaped me for years. I recently viewed it for the first time, and was very impressed. Christopher Lee rarely had such a delicious part, as the pompous and sleazy Paul Allen. Director Terence Fisher and composer Monty Norman are in top form as well. Of course, the story itself is familiar but thoroughly engaging.

One thing troubles me, the tape I saw had a few obvious dialog cuts. If you've never seen The Two Faces of Dr. Jeckyll, AND you like the horror cinema of this period, I strongly urge you to see this one.

Like many Hammer Films that were pooh-poohed at the time of their release as exploitational, THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL is much better than its reputation would have you think, and it's surprisingly frank in its depictions of adultery and sexuality. It's well-directed by Terence Fisher, and the sets, costumes, set decorations and cinematography are excellent, making very good use of color (particularly in the Can-Can sequence). Performances are also excellent, particularly Paul Massie in the title roles, though he may seem a bit over-the-top at times. He does an excellent job of differentiating between Jekyll and Hyde, even vocally (though he sounds oddly post-synched in both roles). No, this isn't the foggy, gas-lit London of previous versions of J&H - color more or less ruled that out - but its nevertheless effective in its own way and deserves re-examination.