The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

The Two Faces of Dr.Jekyll is a 1960 Hammer horror movie directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paul Massie, Dawn Addams and Christopher Lee.

The story begins in London in 1874. A man called Dr. Henry Jekyll(Massie) is performing experiments. He thinks that everyone has two personalities and he talks to his friend about it. He is married to Kitty(Addams) but their marriage is not a happy one. He has become a hermit and he is obsessed with his work. He has created a serum that can change the personality of a person or creature. Henry has a friend called Paul(Lee) who asks him for money on a regular basis. Paul is also having an affair with Henry's wife. Henry injects himself with his special serum and he begins to change. He turns into another person called Edward Hyde. Hyde is everything that Henry isn't. Hyde finds Kitty with Paul. He chats to a prostitute but then he brushes her off. He is confronted by the bouncer(played by a young Oliver Reed) and Hyde almost kills him in a fit of rage. Paul stops him.

Hyde and Paul become pals and they hang around together at a club. Hyde meets a dancer and gets involved with her. Hyde changes back to Jekyll. It doesn't last long , though and Hyde is soon back. He offers to clear Paul's debts and to lend him money. He tells Paul that he wants him to give him Kitty. Paul is horrified. Hyde starts hanging around with lowlifes and smoking opium. Kitty decides to leave Henry. Henry realises that Hyde is getting out on control. He wants to get rid of him once and for all. It is harder than he thinks. Hyde makes arrangements to meet Kitty and Paul at the club. He pretends that Henry will be there. When Paul arrives, Hyde leads him into a room and locks him inside with a poisonous snake. He calls Kitty in next.

Hyde attacks her and rapes her. She wakes up alone and finds Paul dead. She ends up falling thorough a glass window and dying. Hyde also disposes of his dancing lover. Henry comes back and he tries to talk to Hyde. Hyde wants Henry gone. He wants to be the only one. The cops are investigating the case. Hyde kills the handyman and he sets the place on fire and when the cops turn up, he makes it look as if Henry is holding a gun on him. He gets out of the burning house and he tells the police that Henry shot himself. The inquest concludes that Jekyll shot himself after he murdered the dancer. Hyde changes in front of the police and his friend. He becomes Henry again. Henry says that he has destroyed Hyde once and for all. He is arrested for murder.

This was a fun movie. There are some good moments in it. The cast were good. Lee was great as the sleazy Paul and Massie was good in the lead role. He played both characters well. I didn't realise that Oliver Reed has a very small role in this and it is interesting to see how young he is in this. He plays a bouncer so look out for that! Overall, this is an enjoyable Hammer movie which I really liked. There is not much in the way or blood or scares, but it is entertaining all the same. I will give it a 6/10.