Not to be confused with "Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde" ('95) or "Daughter of Dr. Jekyll ('57), "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde" ('71) is a wonderful entertainment that was written and coproduced by Brian Clemens. Clemens, perhaps best known for his work on TV's cult series "The Avengers," as well as for writing and directing "Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter" (his only other film for Hammer Studios, in '74), also wrote a song for "DJASH"; needless to say, he is a man of many talents. In this film, he not only conflates the Whitechapel murders of Jack the Ripper in 1888, the notorious body snatcher/serial killers Burke and Hare (who both died many years before that, but no matter), and R.L. Stevenson's oft-told Jekyll and Hyde story, but gives it all a novel spin by having Jekyll transform into a woman. Also interesting is the fact that Jekyll, well played by Ralph Bates, is almost as monstrous as the Hyde creaturette that he becomes: Jekyll is willing to murder street trollops in order to obtain the female hormones needed for his experiments. Martine Beswick, it must be said, is perfect as Bates' "feminine side." She really does look like his female counterpart, and manages to appear both beautiful and scary looking at the same time. The film is very nice to look at, too; almost like an episode of "Masterpiece Theatre," but with more blood and mayhem. All in all, this is still another winner from the House of Hammer...with loads of fine extras on this DVD, too!
Review of Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde
