This takes place in London of 1874. Doctor Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) is looking for a potion to turn good into evil and vice versa. Why he wants to do this is never really explained. He injects himself with a drug he thinks will work and turns into the evil My. Hyde (Massie again). The switch here is that Jekyll is unattractive, bearded and old--Hyde is handsome, clean shaven and young! The idea is a good one but it's badly handled here.
Simply put the script is dull! Most of it concentrates on Jekyll and his cheating wife (Dawn Addams) and none of that is very interesting. Christopher Lee as Jekyll's best friend Paul Adams interjects some life into the proceedings but not enough. To make matters worse Massie isn't that good. I'm not blaming him totally though--playing both roles must have been difficult. Addams is even worse as his wife. She was a very beautiful woman but had limited acting ability. Also look for a very young Oliver Reed. There's no blood or gore but there is a pretty erotic snake dance (with some incredibly blunt--for 1960--sexual symbolism), a flash of female nudity and some mild swearing. All of this was cut out of the TV print or voiced over ("hell" became "Hades" when I caught it on TV years ago). The 2008 DVD release is complete and uncut and in pristine condition. If you want to see it get that one but I seriously can't recommend this. I give it a 5.
Simply put the script is dull! Most of it concentrates on Jekyll and his cheating wife (Dawn Addams) and none of that is very interesting. Christopher Lee as Jekyll's best friend Paul Adams interjects some life into the proceedings but not enough. To make matters worse Massie isn't that good. I'm not blaming him totally though--playing both roles must have been difficult. Addams is even worse as his wife. She was a very beautiful woman but had limited acting ability. Also look for a very young Oliver Reed. There's no blood or gore but there is a pretty erotic snake dance (with some incredibly blunt--for 1960--sexual symbolism), a flash of female nudity and some mild swearing. All of this was cut out of the TV print or voiced over ("hell" became "Hades" when I caught it on TV years ago). The 2008 DVD release is complete and uncut and in pristine condition. If you want to see it get that one but I seriously can't recommend this. I give it a 5.