The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951)

Edward Jekyll, ignorant of how his father had brought forth death and destruction with his experiments, is pursuing a chemist career despite the fact that he has been discharged from school... See full summary »

Director:

Seymour Friedman

Writers:

Mortimer Braus (story), Jack Pollexfen (story),

Stars:

Louis Hayward, Jody Lawrance, Alexander Knox

Cast

Cast overview:
Louis Hayward	...	Edward Jekyll / Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Jody Lawrance	...	Lynn Utterson
Alexander Knox	...	Dr. Curtis Lanyon
Lester Matthews	...	Sir John Utterson
Gavin Muir	...	Editor Richard Daniels
Paul Cavanagh	...	Insp. Stoddard
Rhys Williams	...	Michaels, the butler

Storyline

Edward Jekyll, ignorant of how his father had brought forth death and destruction with his experiments, is pursuing a chemist career despite the fact that he has been discharged from school or his unorthodox experimentations. When the time comes for his father's estate, which had been put in trust, Edward first learns of his father's actions and rather than ignore the matter, sets out to prove that human personality can be changed by certain chemical stimulations. But he hasn't reckoned on Dr. Curtis Lanyon, a prominent doctor and close friend of the family. Lanyon wants to get his hands on the estate and resorts to murder and frame-ups to make Edward appear to be as insane as his father.

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Plot Keywords:

jekyll | murder | experiment | chemical stimulation | chemist | 

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Ungeheuer von London

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: 2010 College Championship Finals: Game 2 (2010)

User Reviews

Gets a little better as it goes on

I realise that my one-line summary is faint praise indeed but it does reflect the quality of this film. Overall it's at best, a slightly below average story but, it does indeed get better and picks up the pace in the last one/third of the film. The black and white photography of this period piece is done very well with the street sets looking very authentic. Louis Hayward does his usual competent job and is assisted especially well by Alexander Knox and Rhys Williams. Jody Lawrence is pretty to look at but her character adds very little to the story. The identity of the real killer is divulged rather early so this film is not a whodunnit. If you start watching this movie and find yourself starting to get bored, try to stay with it for a while longer. You will eventually be rewarded with about 30 minutes of good action.