kevinolzak Review of Daughter of Dr. Jekyll

Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957)

Seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1963

[5/10 · 31 March 2019]

1957's "Daughter of Dr. Jekyll" was one of director Edgar G. Ulmer's lesser lights, not entirely his fault as the entire cast is hamstrung by a Jack Pollexfen script regurgitating the same plot he devised for Columbia's 1951 snooze fest "Son of Dr. Jekyll," itself only a rehash of identical 1946 releases, PRC's "Devil Bat's Daughter" and Universal's "She-Wolf of London." Here, we already know from the title the true identity of ingenue Janet Smith (Gloria Talbott), and the villain is revealed in the opening gag scene so what's new? For a start we are told that Mr. Hyde was not only Jekyll's alter ego but also a werewolf, which can only be killed by a stake through the heart like a vampire (I'm confused!). Janet arrives at the ancestral castle by car, then for the rest of the film we seem to be trapped in some Gothic abode surrounded by superstitious villagers. When her guardian (Arthur Shields) reveals all to Janet about her late father she spends the rest of the picture in bed, dreaming of misty attacks on unsuspecting victims, much to the consternation of fiancée John Agar. The rugged Agar gets top billing in his first role since leaving Universal, while fellow John Ford alumnus Arthur Shields contributes the best remembered performance. There's virtually nothing to differentiate this Allied Artists release from the titles previously mentioned, except that in this case there truly is a monster, a light haired werewolf who at least engages in something big bad wolves are noted for, peering at little red riding hoods through open windows while they're dressing (!). Gloria Talbott is too strong a screen presence to look as wimpy as Rosemary La Planche or June Lockhart, famous for "The Cyclops," "The Leech Woman," and especially Paramount's "I Married a Monster from Outer Space," always a credible actress as well as quite the looker. It had only been three weeks since viewing Edgar G. Ulmer's best 50s entry "The Man from Planet X," with "The Amazing Transparent Man" and "Beyond the Time Barrier" still ahead; all he can do is drench the studio exteriors in the same kind of fog that worked in "Planet X," far less effective here.