Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson July 17, 2021

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) was officially the third of Hammer Films' Jekyll and Hyde movies, following The Ugly Duckling (1959) and The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960). Hammer was grooming Ralph Bates to be a successor to Peter Cushing and this was the fourth of five films that the actor made at the studio. In 1880s London, Bates portrays Dr. Henry Jekyll, who's searching for the cures to as many known diseases as he can find. Jekyll's friend Professor Robertson (Gerald Sim) warns the doctor that he only has so many years to work on a cure and wouldn't have that much time to develop a serum. This gives Jekyll the idea that he could concoct an Elixir of Life that would grant him everlasting life. He tests his experiment on a fly, which not only extends the bug's life to three days, but also alters its sex! Jekyll enlists the employ of real-life grave robbers William Burke (Ivor Dean) and William Hare (Tony Calvin), who snatch fresh female corpses on his behalf. They're brought to the morgue where the necrophiliac attendant Byker (Philip Madoc) extracts the ladies' glands and hormones so Jekyll can mix them in his serum. But the local mob eventually catches up to Burke and Hare so they can't pilfer any longer. This compels Jekyll to begin killing women on his own. He frequents the foggy Whitechappel neighborhood after dark when he sneaks up on unsuspecting prostitutes who've left the bars. Jekyll drinks a green serum which causes him to have a spasmodic attack and transform into a woman. Jekyll becomes his sexy "sister" Hyde (Martine Beswick), who Howard (Lewis Fiander), the man living above Jekyll's flat, is very curious and smitten with. Susan Spencer (Susan Brodrick), Howard's sister, has a crush on Jekyll but the Howards have no clue that Hyde is Jekyll's alter ego. More appropriately, she could be called Jekyll's Freudian id since she uses her sexual energy to lure men to possible doom. Hyde is also cunning and domineering in her desire for complete control of Jekyll's personality. She ventures out to the streets of Whitechappel where she stealthily attacks other ladies. Police aren't really suspecting a woman as the killer so she feels that she can get away with it all. Will sweet Susan become Hyde's next victim?

A distorted mirror image of two personalities.

The London fog of Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde reminds me of the same milieu in Hitchcock's excellent silent film, The Lodger (1927). That isn't merely a coincidence since director Roy Ward Baker was an understudy to Hitch. He served as his second assistant director on The Lady Vanishes (1938). Jekyll is similar to Ivor Novello's titular character, The Lodger, in that he stalks his female prey along the very foggy streets. Baker and screenwriter Brian Clemens also derive inspiration from Jack the Ripper's story, who Jekyll uses as a model for his murderous mayhem.

Bates and Beswick are well-matched as an unofficial brother and sister with their black hair and small mole/beauty mark. The secondary characters aren't given as much depth and development, however. The audience doesn't learn that much about the professor beyond his investigatory role with Scotland Yard and as Jekyll's intellectual pal. Similarly, it also doesn't gain any background on the Howard siblings and their live-in mother. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is most effective in its atmosphere and its study of a dual personality crisis.

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory has released Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde on a BD-50 which employs the MPEG-4 AVC encode. The DI is sourced from the same print that was the basis for Studio Canal's DE and UK Blu-ray releases in 2017/18. The film appears in the aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Grain is well-balanced throughout the frame. Dirt and film artifacts (if present) are indistinguishable from the grain, which indicates that they aren't conspicuous. Colors give off a nice sheen on the stained-glass windows (see Screenshot #s 17 and 18). Hyde's dress shines almost like silk or satin (see capture #s 3 and 16). Scream encodes the feature at a mean video bitrate of 34300 kbps.

Scream provides twelve chapter selections for the 97-minute movie.

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1571 kbps, 24-bit). The monaural mix is thankfully free of any audible hiss, dropouts, or background noise. Spoken words are crisp and intelligible. Composer David Whitaker delivers a creepy score that fits the film's atmosphere well.

Optional English SDH accompany the feature and can be activated through the menu or on the fly.

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream Factory has recorded a recent audio commentary with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck and a new video interview with star Martine Beswick. It recycles an archival commentary track with three of the filmmakers and a Studio Canal featurette that was previously included on the German and British BD editions. Unfortunately, it doesn't contain any image galleries, hence dropping the poster and still galleries that were on Anchor Bay's SD release.

• NEW Audio Commentary with Author/Film Historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck - Hallenbeck is filled with historical anecdotes, informational gems, and trivia about the production of Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. I'd rank his commentary track second behind the one he recorded for Lust for a Vampire. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Co-Star Martine Beswick, Director Roy Ward Baker, and Writer Brian Clemens; Moderated by Hammer Film Historian Marcus Hearn - this rehashed feature-length commentary track first appeared on Anchor Bay's 2001 DVD as part of The Hammer Collection. Baker, Clemens, and Beswick each talk about their contributions to the film. Hearn keeps it chugging along at a steady pace with minimal gaps, although there are some. In English, not subtitled.

• Ladykiller: Inside DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE (19:56, 1080p) - this featurette was first included in Studio Canal's German box set, Hammer Film Edition, which contains Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde and six other titles. Interviewed are Jonathan Rigby (author of English Gothic), cultural historian John J. Johnston, Kevin Lyons (editor of eofftv.com), Alan Barnes (co-author of The Hammer Story), and actress Martine Beswick. The first four interviewees discuss the cinematic antecedents to Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (e.g., Hands of the Ripper), the origins of this '71 Hammer production, and Ralph Bates. Beswick is interviewed about her role. All participants speak in English, not subtitled.

• NEW Becoming Sister Hyde – An Interview with Actress Martine Beswick (17:08, 1080p) - in this recent interview, Beswick covers some of the same points that she covered in the vintage commentary track and the SC interview from '17. The interview is divided into six parts, each of which play continuously: "Getting the Part," "Roy Ward Baker," "Becoming Sister Hide," "Ralph Bates," "Susan Brockrick," and "Looking Back." In English, not subtitled.

• Radio Spots (1:08) - two radio spots for Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde produced by AIP that aired ca. April 1972 when the film had its theatrical run in the US.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:50, 1080p) - MGM-EMI's official UK trailer for Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde presented between 1.90:1 and 2.00:1 anamorphic widescreen. The sound begins a little scratchy but the background defect goes away.

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While I haven't seen many adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), I'd have to surmise that Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is probably one of the most atypical and unconventional amongst them. Kudos to Brian Clemens for thinking up the idea of Jekyll giving himself a sister to roam the foggy London streets. Scream Factory has used the same mint transfer as Studio Canal did for its European BD editions. Scream has gone an extra step up in the extras department, recording a very good commentary track with Bruce G. Hallenbeck and a recent interview with Martine Beswick. The only item absent here from prior video releases is a still gallery. A SOLID RECOMMENDATION for Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.