Of all fogs in all the films that Hammer made, few were foggier than the one which wound its way through the streets of Elstree's Whitechapel in 'Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde'. We are talking thick thick fog. Possibly fifty smoke machines and seven or eight tons of dry ice... Maybe a few stage hands speedily puffing on cheap cigars behind the beautiful sets. Hammer's Victorian London was populated with the kind of street life made famous in the work of Mayhew and Dickens. I don't know how big the sets were they had to play with but there's no doubt that all that fog helped keep the sense of depth. The cast of supporting characters, singing, huckstering and occasionally yelling obscenities makes this artifice feel so alive that even while it may be obvious that we are seeing the same alleyways and brickwork over and over, it never feels like this is anything smaller than a city. This is a film whose richness lies not just in its jokes, provided by Brian Clemens in the break between 'The Avengers' and 'The New Avengers'.
I wanted to avoid labouring the 'Jack the Ripper' plot here so I have avoided Dr Jekyll (played with total conviction by Ralph Bates) and stuck with his alter ego and companion in murder, Sister Hyde. There's something about the way Jamaican-born Martine Beswick inhabits the role, her lips playing with a smile at the thought of each fresh atrocity. Unlike Jekyll, she is a predator who must kill to exist but like so many predators, her prey is a plaything for her.
Martine Beswick established herself here as the ultimate femme fatale. In Vampire Lovers, also directed by Roy Ward Baker, the female monster (played by Ingrid Pitt) was conflicted and tortured by having to dine on those she loved. Here, there is no such ambiguity. Sister Hyde relishes her role. The flavours and possibilities conjure nothing more than a Sadean heroine. She knows that life is brutal and best enjoyed when accepting that brutality and being at the top of the food chain. She despises the weakness of her other half and has a special contempt for his too naïve would-be girlfriend who she stalks with particular zeal until Jekyll's hand stays her actions (he has no such sentimentality for the numerous prostitutes he has murdered).
Brian Clemen's witty script, Roy Ward Baker's assured direction, David Whitaker's outstanding score, the incredible production design (especially the costumes), given an extra dimension thanks to Norman Warwick's cinematography keeping the world rich even when you can't see beyond your nose, 'Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde' is a great corrective to those who believe the golden age of Hammer finishes at some point in the 60s.
Contents
0:00 - Footsteps in the Fog
0:50 - Someone's Waiting
2:25 - Murder Most Foul
2:48 - What Blind Men Know
3:06 - In a Private Room
3:37 - Dr Jekyll Hasn't Been Himself of Late
3:57 - Corsets and Brandy
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28 июл 2024
