Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roy Ward Baker directs. Norman Warwick behind the camera. David Whitaker scores. James Needs cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 155 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 2Directed by Roy Ward Baker, shot by Norman Warwick. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by David Whitaker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor James Needs shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick and Gerald Sim carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "PARENTS: Be sure your children are sufficiently mature to witness the intimate details of this frank and revealing film.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0068502 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Norman Warwick

Original score

David Whitaker

Editing

James Needs

Production design

Robert Jones

Costume design

Rosemary Burrows

Makeup / hair

John Wilcox

Runtime

97 min · 1h 37m

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) ↗

Also by

Roy Ward Baker

• 
  The Valiant

  1962 · ★ 8.3
• 
  The Human Jungle

  1963 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Danger UXB

  1979 · ★ 8.0
• 
  The Avengers

  1961 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Jason King

  1971 · ★ 7.8
• 
  A Night to Remember

  1958 · ★ 7.7

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde (1971) - Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Joe Dante on DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE

  Featurette

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2013-11-04
  ★ 8/10

  Hammer’s Gender Bending of the Robert Louis Stevenson Story Is Deliciously Entertaining. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by Brian Clemens. It stars Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander, Susan Brodrick and Dorothy Alison. Music is by David Whitaker and cinematography by Norman Warwick. Dr. Henry Shekel (Bates) is working on an elixir that he hopes will be the answer to longevity of life. The answer he believes is to be found in female hormones taken from cadavers sent his way by Burke and Hare. Unfortunately, when the doctor resorts to trying the potion himself, he is transformed into a ravishing but dangerous woman. With London in the grip of Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror, could it be that Jekyll and Sister Hyde are linked to the Jolly jack killings? Burke by name, Berk by nature! It’s an awful title, it really is, I know for a fact people have avoided the film purely because they thought it sounded like some lame British horror parody piece. Which is a shame because it’s a devilishly fun picture that breathes new life into a formula that has never been short of on screen treatments. Not only does Clemens’ intelligent screenplay have the transformed “creature” be a smouldering sex bomb in the shapely form of Martine Beswick, he also reshapes horrible history by having Jack the Ripper and Burke and Hare tied into the plotting. Hell there’s even a nifty aside to Sweeney Todd in there as well. Murder, horrible grizzly murder! Baker directs with some style, never letting the picture drift aimlessly, while he along with Norman Warwick and the set designers create a classic Gaslight Gothic look, the perfect backdrop to such devious doings and berserker gender bending. The transformation sequences are deftly handled, the duality of beings and mirrors a narrative strength, while the film isn’t afraid to add humour over the top of the gruesome Technicolor murders. In fact sometimes the in jokes are so subtle it’s not hard to see why many film observers of the time didn’t get the joke when it was released, the crafty wink-winkery to the audience wasted on the unaware. With Bates and Beswick leading from the front with strong and assured performances, and looking credible as brother and sister into the bargain, the film is never less than enjoyable. It overcomes the gimmick idea to play out a story that stands unique in its freshness. Oh for sure there’s some weaknesses in the production, but really this is a Hammer film that deserves its cult fan base because it repays the good will consistently on repeat viewings. 8/10

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2022-05-12
  ★ 6/10

  What if Dr. Jekyll morphed into an alluring woman rather than a monster? In the late 1880s, murders of prostitutes start piling up in the Whitechapel district of east London where a professor (Gerald Sim) starts to suspect a colleague (Ralph Bates), who’s working on a curious elixir of life that needs female hormones taken from fresh cadavers. Martine Beswick plays Jekyll’s “sister.” "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde” (1971) was the third Hammer film inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's famous story from 1886. The other two were "The Ugly Duckling" (1959), a horror comedy, and “The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" (1960). “Two Faces” is the best one, but “Sister Hyde” is interesting and has some highlights. For instance, it mixes in two historical serial murder accounts: The Jack the Ripper slayings, which occurred from 1888-1891, and the Burke and Hare murders, which took place in 1828 Edinburgh. Since Stevenson based his 1881 yarn “The Body snatcher” on the Burke and Hare case, scriptwriter Brian Clemens felt it would be a fitting addition. In any case, I like the way Jekyll justifies his diabolical doings for the (supposed) greater good of humanity. The key deviation of the story is helped by the fact that Bates and Beswick have a similar look. As with most Hammer flicks there are a few notable beauties, whether costarring or in the periphery. Besides Martine, there’s Susan Brodrick as the winsome Susan, plus a couple others. The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, just northwest of London. GRADE: B-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Hammer Film Productions

  GB

Key crew

• SoundBill Rowe
• Makeup ArtistJohn Wilcox
• Wardrobe SupervisorRosemary Burrows
• CastingJames Liggat
• EditorJames Needs
• HairstylistBernadette Ibbetson
• NovelRobert Louis Stevenson
• Production SupervisorRoy Skeggs
• Makeup ArtistTrevor Crole-Rees
• ProducerAlbert Fennell
• ProducerBrian Clemens
• Production ManagerDon Weeks
• Costume DesignRosemary Burrows
• Production DesignRobert Jones
• Music SupervisorPhilip Martell
• Camera OperatorGodfrey A. Godar
• Sound EditorCharles Crafford
• Special EffectsMichael Collins

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• mad scientist
• sex change
• victorian england
• murder
• jekyll and hyde
• evil woman
• victorian era

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1972-03-31PG

Also known as

International titles

• Skräckens grändSE
• Doktor JekyllTR
• Doctor Jekyll and Sister HydeGB
• Doctor Jekyll & Sister HydeGB
• Dr. Jekyll & Sister HydeGB
• Dr. Jekyll and Sister HydeGB
• Dr. Jekyll and Sister HydeUS
• A Bela e o MonstroPT