About this episode

The episode discusses the 1971 film 'Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde' and its merits as a late period Hammer movie.

It’s Hammer Time once again on WTH, and it’s the turn of 1971’s “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde”. A film in which we learn that two’s company, three’s a positive deviation; that Burke and Hare were time travellers; and that an alias inspired by a newspaper headline isn’t always the best idea (just ask Mrs Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster). A title that began as a joke has probably not helped the reputation of this late period Hammer movie, with many dismissing it as an unnecessary watch from a studio long past its prime. But this is a mistake, from the combo of stalwart director Roy Ward Baker and Avengers writer Brian Clemens comes an interesting and vibrant film, that feels more modern than a lot of its stablemates, with bags of atmosphere, a line of still effective gore, some lovely directorial flourishes, and a blackly comic streak in both its characters and dialogue. Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick are a brilliant paring as the two aspects of our protagonist, ably supported by a strong cast, notably Gerald Simm’s disreputable Professor and Philip Madoc’s lugubrious mortuary attendant. Whilst “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde” ultimately fails to adequately explore the concept at its…

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