Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957)

A young woman discovers she is the daughter of the infamous Dr. Jekyll, and begins to believe that she may also have a split personality, one of whom is a ruthless killer.

Director:

Edgar G. Ulmer

Writer:

Jack Pollexfen

Stars:

John Agar, Gloria Talbott, Arthur Shields

Cast

Credited cast:
John Agar	...	George Hastings
Gloria Talbott	...	Janet Smith
Arthur Shields	...	Dr. Lomas
John Dierkes	...	Jacob
Mollie McCard	...	Maid Maggie
Martha Wentworth	...	Mrs. Merchant
Marjorie Stapp	...	Woman Getting Dressed
Reita Green	...	Young Woman (as Rita Greene)
Marel Page	...	Young Man
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ken Terrell

Storyline

A young woman discovers she is the daughter of the infamous Dr. Jekyll, and begins to believe that she may also have a split personality, one of whom is a ruthless killer.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | jekyll | gothic horror | vampire | werewolf | 

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Taglines:

Blood-hungry spawn of the world's most bestial fiend!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released on a double bill with The Cyclops (1957), also starring Gloria Talbott.

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Goofs

The page of text in the prop book "Witch, Warlock and Werewolf" is the exact words related by George and Janet's inner voices. However, the same paragraph of text is printed multiple times down the page.

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Quotes

Jacob: He will never prowl the night again!
Dr. Lomas: Are you sure!... then laughs.
[This line is said at the beginning and end of the movie]

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Alternate Versions

Television broadcasts of the padded-out version begin with a scrolling-text introduction:

• "We raise a familiar ghost from its moonlit grave, to bring you a sequel to the story of the world's most famous monster.
• "On the eerie grounds of an ancient manor house in England lies a tomb with a grim history. Within the tomb is the body of the man known as Dr. Jekyll -- Mr. Hyde.
• "THESE are the startling revelations concerning an unknown secret, buried with the fiend . . . and discovered by the girl who never knew, she was the 'DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL'"
• Next comes the narrated prologue, and only then the standard title sequence.
• (Reference: My own article in http://www.horror-wood.com/next_gen_jekyll.htm )

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1996)

User Reviews

Minor Amusement For Fans of 1950s "B" Horror

Edgar G. Ulmer began his career as a set designer to the famous theatrical impresario Max Reinhardt; by 1920 he was working in films, and although often uncredited labored on such legendary films as Fritz Lang's DIE NIBELUNGEN and METROPOLIS. By 1927 he was in Hollywood, and set design work led to assignments as a director. In 1934 Ulmer brought the full force of his talents upon Universal's THE BLACK CAT--a brilliantly realized film that many consider among the finest horror films of that decade. But Ulmer's affair with script girl Shirley Castle, wife of a studio executive, resulted not only in his termination at Universal but placed him on an industry-wide blacklist as well. He would never work at a major studio again.

But Ulmer had a knack for getting the most out of a tiny budget, and he soon found himself in demand as a director at second-string studios and for independent productions. Between his dismissal from Universal in 1934 and his death in 1972 he would direct more than forty films, and he was often noted for his ability to bring a remarkable artistic vision to the screen in spite of low budgets and questionable casts.

All that said, the 1957 DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL was, according to daughter Arianne, a project undertaken for the sake of a paycheck; it is far from Ulmer's most memorable. Even so, as 1950s B-horror flicks go, it is far from the worst--in spite of tenth-rate special effects Ulmer manages to endow the movie with an entertaining atmosphere and the occasional jab of humor, and it is considerably more coherent than most of its kind.

The story concerns orphaned Janet Smith (Gloria Talbott), who has now reached her twenty-first birthday and arrives at the home of her guardian Dr. Lomas (Arthur Shields.) She brings with her future husband George Hastings (John Agar), who soon wins Dr. Lomas' approval, and all seems pleasant. But Janet is in for a surprise: Dr. Lomas tells her that she is heiress to the estate, left to her by her father, the notorious Dr. Jekyll, and no sooner is Janet in residence than corpses begin to crop up. Has she somehow inherited her father's chemically-induced evil? The script here is extremely transparent, and you'll know what's going on long before Janet does. It is also more than a little odd, managing to wrap ideas about vampires and werewolves into the whole Dr. Jekyll package. Add to this extremely obvious miniatures awash in dry ice, mediocre special effects, and a cast that tends toward the obvious at every possible turn--well, the overall effect is somewhat hooty, to say the least.

THE DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL will never rank along side the likes of Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE in the "so bad it's good" cult movie derby--Ulmer is too much of an artist to permit tipsy tombstones--but it is actually amusing in its low-rent efforts. Recommended to fans of the genre.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Totengruft des Dr. Jekyll

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Venturers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1