Watch The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll For Free

The Worst Film Ever

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I always perk up when I see Terence Fisher's name on the directing credits for a Hammer movie...I know the results may not be perfect, and may get a little bogged down here and there, but his movies are usually worth watching at least once. And that's the case here.As usual with a Hammer film, they try to go down a different track than a corresponding Universal film would take. Here they apparently decided to incorporate some of the themes from "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" and do more soap opera and emotional violence than actual physical horror.Jekyll's alter ego is actually a handsome, charismatic fellow (although still a sociopath), which is a lot of fun. And the plot lines get quite tangled as Hyde ends up becoming friends with the man who is cheating with his wife and even chasing his wife in his alternate personality.Although the copy I saw was muddy and sepia tinted, the "Two Faces" has the usual excellent sets, costumes, and acting, although the dialog gets a bit purple now and then and Fisher seems to think we'd rather watch a Can-Can dance sometimes than get on with the murders and rape at the climax of the movie.It was also fun to see Christopher Lee in this in a supporting role instead of either the monster or the protagonist. He's charming, sexy, and completely believable as the rake and philanderer who becomes Hyde's "best friend" and adds enough energy and variety to the movie to elevate it a couple of notches. So this is typical Hammer - way better than you'd ever expect from what might be a typical shock/exploitation approach, and yet somehow never more than just another genre horror piece. This ain't "ART"...but it's still darned good "Craft".

Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has provided inspiration for many a film-maker throughout the years, with various degrees of faithfulness shown to the source. Always eager to put their own Gothic spin on a popular tale, Hammer Films tackled the story in 1960, not only ensuring that debauchery levels were maximised, but changed a key aspect to the plot that makes the whole experience all the more delightfully wicked. Here, in Terence Fisher's film, Dr. Jekyll is dull and ugly, while Mr. Hyde is handsome and highly charismatic, as well as being an utter bastard.Believing the human mind to consist of two personalities from opposite sides of the spectrum - good and evil - outcast Dr. Jekyll (Paul Massie) sets out to separate the two in order to help mankind embrace the good. Living almost in solitude, he neglects his wife Kitty (Dawn Addams), a promiscuous, spoilt woman currently embarking on an affair with her husband's best friend, Paul Allen (Christopher Lee). Jekyll drinks his newly created potion and Hyde emerges, introducing himself at a social gathering with swagger and charm (and getting into a fight with a young Oliver Reed). There he meets Paul and Kitty, who don't recognise him, and begins to toy with the two of them, all the while indulging on the many seductive pleasures of London.Although it's difficult to believe that Jekyll's wife and best friend wouldn't recognise him without his ludicrous fake beard and mono- brow, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a enjoyable romp from start to finish. Massie is clearly having a ball in the dual role, and convinces as Hyde grows bored with money, gambling and women, and soon turns to darker alternatives, notably murder and manipulation. It doesn't pull it's punches either, portraying Hyde's journey into the further extremities of debauchery as intoxicating as Hyde clearly finds it, featuring the odd swear word and a scene of heavily implied rape. Special mention must also go to the recently departed Lee, who somehow finds a shred of sympathy for his cocky and pathetic rich boy character. One of Hammer's most effortlessly gratifying gems.

Hammer Studios were probably the king of producers for Gothic horror flicks. Well known for their creepy sets that produced movies starring monsters from classics (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman & Mummy) the studio churned out these movies every year usually with success. So why not a movie starring the famous mad scientist, Dr. Henry Jeckell from the Robert Louis Steveson classic story?However, like most Hammer films, they like to put on their own little spin to make the story a little less redundant. In The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, the character is regarded as a quiet nebbish type scientist who speaks in a soft voice. He is also already married--to a beautiful redhead wife, who unfortunately is only concerned about her selfish whims and presently carrying on an affair with his friend. The friend, Paul Allen--played by the immortal Hammer studio star, Christopher Lee is a scoundrel who gambles away his money, and like Henry Jekyll's cheating spouse--only concerned for his own pleasures. So of course, this leads to poor Dr. J's disastrous experiment, which he transforms into a handsome but the cruel evil rake, Mr Hyde. Like Clark Kent in Superman, no one usually recognizes or connects the two men together. But the evil Mr Hyde takes the tortured Dr Jekyll to London's pleasure houses and commits various cruel tricks on people. Mr Hyde also makes Dr. Jekell confront that his wife is a no good cheating woman. But as you may guess, Dr. Jekyll loses control of his alter ego, and that's when the serum literally hits the fan.This movie is well acted but it seems to lend sympathy to the character of Dr. Jekell. He seems to be so tortured by his wife infidelity but lacks the strength of character to confront the problem. But again, we have to agree as mad scientists go---it really is his own fault that these tragedies happen.Not a bad flick, if you like the Hammer Film genre--I'd say it's a good bet for a late night popcorn viewing

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.