The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll (1964) El secreto del Dr. Orloff (original title)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Jesus Franco (screenplay)
Jesus Franco (story)
(more)

Release Date:

1964 (Spain)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A mad scientist creates a hideous monster to carry out his murderous plans. |

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Mad Scientist | Stripper | Female Nudity | Nudity

Cast

Hugo Blanco	...	Andros (as Hugh White)
Agnès Spaak	...	Melissa
Perla Cristal	...	Rosa
Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui	...	Dr. Conrad Jekyll
Pepe Rubio	...	Juan Manuel (as José Rubio)
Pastor Serrador	...	Inspector Klein
Marta Reves
Daniel Blumer
Luisa Sala	...	Ingrid Fisherman
Manuel Guitián	...	Ciceron
Mer Casas
Rafael Hernández
José Truchado
Juan Antonio Soler
Javier de Rivera		(as Javier Rivera)
Julio Infiesta
Ramón Lillo	...	Emilio, the inspector's assistant
Julia Toboso
Maribel Hidalgo
Jesus Franco	...	Piano Player
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Magda Maldonado		(as Magda MacDonald)

Directed by
Jesus Franco		(as Jess Franck)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jesus Franco		screenplay and dialogue
Jesus Franco		story (as David Kühne)
Nicole Guettard		(as David Coll)
A. Norévo		adaptation

Produced by
Marius Lesoeur	....	producer

Original Music by
Fernando García Morcillo
Daniel White

Cinematography by
Alfonso Nieva

Film Editing by
Ángel Serrano

Production Design by
Fernando Somoza

Sound Department
R. St. Martin	....	sound engineer

Other crew
Julio Parra	....	production supervisor

Production Companies

• Eurocineac
• Leo Films

Distributors

• CCB (1964) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (1996) (USA) (VHS) (Frank Henenlotter's Sexy Shockers from the Vaults, Vol. 70)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• P.F.A. Films (2010) (Italy) (all media)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (19??) (USA) (TV) (dubbed)
• Nueva Films S.A.

Also Known As:

"El secreto del Dr. Orloff" - Spain (original title)
"The Secret of Dr. Orloff" - USA

Runtime:

90 min | Spain:99 min

Country:

Spain | Austria | France

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Castillo de la Coracera, San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Eurocineac

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Dr. Orloff's Monster (1964) (#1.100)" (1981)

DR. ORLOFF'S MONSTER (Jesus Franco, 1964) **1/2

The second "Orloff" movie is apparently unrelated to the first (a re-acquaintance with which will follow): in fact, this name is omnipresent throughout Franco's filmography; anyway, it is more or less on the same level of THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS (1962) – even if I watched ORLOFF in English rather than French (or, for that matter, the original Spanish language). Again, Franco shows to be fairly adept with genre conventions and even manages to blend them relatively easily with a modern-day setting – still, he cannot help being himself and resist incorporating nightclub performances (in fact, this rather lazily makes the artistes themselves the victims so that we get a song every 20 minutes or so!) and, inevitably, erotic overtones.

Incidentally, Howard Vernon (the actor most associated with the Orloff role) is sorely missed here – the character himself is only of secondary importance and appears very briefly – but the memorable Morpho figure, a disfigured zombie-like creature obeying its master's will (not unlike Cesare from the German Expressionist landmark THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI {1920}), is now assumed by Andros. The latter – played by Hugo Blanco, the villainous latest member of the Von Klaus family and whose brooding good looks suit his mute stalker here – is perversely turned into a monster (hence the title, though the print actually bears the absurd moniker DR. JEKYLL'S MISTRESSES - which would, in any case, have better suited Walerian Borowczyk's masterful 1981 film, DOCTEUR JEKYLL ET LES FEMMES!) by his own scientist brother (Vernon's bearded, rather gruff replacement and saddled with the peculiar surname of Fisherman) when he catches him in bed with his own wife (she, of course, also pays for her infidelity by being driven to the bottle).

However, the plot this time around is decidedly contrived: we never learn why Andros (who sleeps upright in a class cage, as Cesare himself did albeit in a wooden-box) is sent on a murderous rampage – after being revived, and subsequently controlled, by sound-waves – every once in a while (most effectively when he nonchalantly moves through a crowded nightspot following yet another attack). The "Digitally Obsessed" website review suggests the reason for the various killings is because Fisherman wanted to get even with his spouse…but this is hardly EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), is it?! Similarly, the heroine – the monster's daughter, whom she believed was dead and buried (at one point, he even visits his own grave!) – turns up to stay with the central family only so that we get the obligatory damsel-in-distress and add an admittedly refreshing touch of pathos to Andros' condition; Agnes Spaak, sister of the more famous Catherine(!), appears in this part. On the other hand, the girl's bland male counterpart is extremely annoying, and the presence of the Police basically only serves to keep the audience abreast of the villains' eventual apprehension.