Hammer Films produced a number of classics and an even larger number of very good, entertaining films and a few misses. While Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde is not a classic, it is one of their better later films, and much better than Hammer's other Jekyll and Hyde re-imagining The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll.Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde looks incredibly good, no surprise seeing as Hammer's films always looked good no matter the quality of the rest of the film. The sets and lighting recreate the Victorian London era with lovingly and evocatively and they look sumptuous and splendidly Gothic. One also has to love the rich colours and the beautiful and atmospheric photography. It is not just that the production values look great that is really well done, but also how much it contributes towards the feel and atmosphere of the film, here the atmosphere is wonderfully moody and has a real sense of fear throughout, which were not always there as effectively in other later Hammer films.The film also has a chillingly haunting, with also some touches of lush romanticism, score with an at times Rachmaninov sound to it, the dark richness of the orchestration adding so much. It also has the advantage of being well placed and used effectively, excepting some overblown moments in a couple of the transformation scenes. Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde is very intelligently scripted, with some witty and thought-provoking dialogue, while the story(with one of Hammer's most innovative and pretty ingenious premises) is incredibly clever and enormous fun, the suspenseful and often very creepy atmosphere staying consistent all the time and the chills and scares come off tastefully and unsettlingly. Loved the use of the Jack the Ripper mystery, which really did give off a sense of dread, and the nod to Sweeney Todd. The transformation scenes are beautifully shot and boast good effects work and a real edge-of-your-seat tension. The film is strongly directed, the characters carry the narrative very well and the acting is solid; with Ralph Bates giving by far his best performance in a Hammer film and Martine Beswick- youthful beauty at its best- even better in a menacing but never over-the-top performance.It's not perfect however, but comes close. There are a few pacing longueurs, where a few scenes towards the start dragged just a little. And while the film is incredibly entertaining, rich in atmosphere and does a great job with the majority of its ideas, others did come off rather clumsily, especially the anachronistic and out of place inclusion of Burke and Hare, leaving one wonder why they were included in the first place(a nod to Stevenson's story The Body Snatcher perhaps?).Overall, while not without flaws and not one of the Hammer classics, it's one of their better later films and never fails to entertain, chill and engage, making the most out of a great premise. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Hammer Films Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde unashamedly pinches elements from the real-life stories of the most famous serial-killer of all Jack The Ripper as well as the grave-robbers Burke & Hare, who later turned to murder & then selling the bodies to unscrupulous doctors for medical research. On top of all this it is also, obviously, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's book The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Handsome Ralph Bates plays Dr. Jekyll, his alter ego Sister Hyde by the beautiful & seductive-looking Martine Beswick. Like many of Hammer's best movies it has superb production standards with real style & panache. Ralph Bates was an excellent actor & any excuse to ogle the ravishing Martine Beswick in various states of undress is fine by me. An entertaining mishmash of a movie!.

This Hammer flick was a major turn in the career of Martine Beswick. Her first flick could have been a major role in Dr. No but the director preferred Ursula Andress instead but promised her another role in another James Bond which became From Russia With Love. After Jams Bond she appeared in a lot of flicks but had one problem, she didn't want to do nudity. Even as she was asked to do it she refused in way that her career was influenced by it. But to cut a long story short, she was asked by Hammer to have a lead in this flick, an era were Hammer had a lot of nudity in their flicks and so she agreed to appear naked. Only her breasts should be shown but due a game of the director he asked her to go full monty and somehow the studio was full of people watching her strip. She wasn't offended by going nude and after the Hammer flicks she went into Italian soft core flicks. Once that she was done with that she went to television for series and commercials. So here we have her for the first time in her nudies. Luckily for the Europeans it came in an uncut edition, sadly for the US the nudity was cut out to have a commercial rating. The flick itself hasn't really a typical Hammer Gothic feeling but it still works. It's based on the Jekyll and Hyde story combined with the Jack The Ripper story. The filming is sublime and the acting is really good. Of course there is blood in it but you never see the knife going in, the effects are up to today's standard laughable, especially the transformation from Jekyll to Hyde. Nevertheless, it's enjoyable and surely one to watch and to have in horror collection.

Hyde as a woman! Could be a bad comedy, but thankfully it is not. Made as a Gothic thriller with some humor in it, Brian Clemens'script is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sister Hyde/Jill the ripper in her strikingly scarlet and feminine dresses is sexy and blood-thirsty without filthy ho-look and her stalking scenes in the streets of 1888 London, accompanied by David Whitaker's wonderful score, make this lady one of the great villains of cinema. No, not just horror movies but cinema in general. Photography and sets are good - hey, this is a Hammer film! - and Susan Brodrick's rose-coloured jacket-dress ... lovely! Burke and Hare, who sold the bodies of their victims to the doctors in 1820s Edinburgh, are now magically transported to another time and place, with a bit of 1950s British movie Flesh and the fiends (the duo's fate in the hands of the mob) thrown in for the good measure. There's even mention of the legendary Victorian killer barber Sweeney Todd and the fate of HIS victims in Burke's comment "If I were you, I would not eat meat pies in this neighborhood". Alternative universe Hammer, so don't whine about lack of realism.