Ep 246 Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde

It’s Hammer Time once again on WTH, and it’s the turn of 1971’s “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde”. A film in which we learn that two’s company, three’s a positive deviation; that Burke and Hare were time travellers; and that an alias inspired by a newspaper headline isn’t always the best idea (just ask Mrs Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster). A title that began as a joke has probably not helped the reputation of this late period Hammer movie, with many dismissing it as an unnecessary watch from a studio long past its prime. But this is a mistake, from the combo of stalwart director Roy Ward Baker and Avengers writer Brian Clemens comes an interesting and vibrant film, that feels more modern than a lot of its stablemates, with bags of atmosphere, a line of still effective gore, some lovely directorial flourishes, and a blackly comic streak in both its characters and dialogue. Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick are a brilliant paring as the two aspects of our protagonist, ably supported by a strong cast, notably Gerald Simm’s disreputable Professor and Philip Madoc’s lugubrious mortuary attendant. Whilst “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde” ultimately fails to adequately explore the concept at its heart, it is certainly the most entertaining of the studio’s few attempts to adapt Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic, and another example of the less well-known Hammer Films being surprising gems that deserve a much greater appreciation. Watch (or re-watch) to avoid spoilers and join us.