Entertaining variation of the Jekyll and Hyde where Ralph Bates’ Jekyll turns into a woman (Martine Beswicke). It’s an intriguing idea, not really exploited as much as it could have been – but then you could say that about a lot of 70s Hammer. But it’s definitely enough to keep you watching. Beswicke goes the pash with two different guys and wears sexy underwear, so there’s all sorts of things you could read into it. (They should put this on a double bill with the Brian de Palma Dressed to Kill.)
The decent script was written by Brian Clements, which throws a few things into the pot to keep things bubbling along: Burke and Hare make an appearance helping Jekyll collect bodies; Jekyll becomes Jack the Ripper; there’s a virgin girl who lives in the same room who gets a crush on Jekyll even though he’s weird (man drought even in 19th century London I guess) and her lecherous brother who gets a crush on Hyde. This is one of the few Hammer films where the investigating police are actually competent – they figure out Jekyll’s guilt pretty early, he just stumps them with the Hyde factor.
I really liked Ralph Bates in this one – he has the bigness and complexity needed to be a decent horror star. He’s also well teamed with Martine Beswicke, who although not as good an actor, has presence and looks as though Bates could transform into her. (I loved the scene where Beswicke checks out her breasts after the first transformation.) Clements’ writing has a nice line in sardonic humour and director Roy Ward Baker handles the transformation scenes with skill.
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