Dr. Jekyll vs. the Werewolf (1972)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) falls in love with the beautiful Justine (Shirley Corrigan) who convinces him to travel to London to see if Dr. Jekyll (Jack Taylor) can cure his curse of turning into a werewolf. Once in London Jekyll's evil assistant injects Daninsky to where he turns into Mr. Hyde. I've now seen three different versions of this film. The Spanish "clothed" version was a highly entertaining gem. The American "nude" version brought a little added sleaze and T&A to the film. Now, the third version from Germany was just recently found and is making its way through various fan boards and it features extended nudity, which just takes this film to a whole new level and actually makes it even better. Even though this print is in Spanish without any subtitles, I've never enjoyed this film more and I think the added dirty bits really makes this one of the sleazier Spanish films from this era.
With this Germany version, the film just contains a very perverted and sinister feel to it that's not in any other version. It really does take the material and gives it a much darker approach, which is very much a positive and especially when we've already gotten some excellent atmosphere from director Leon Klimovsky. Another great benefit is that Naschy is at the top of his game here. No matter which version you watch, the werewolf here is without question one of the best looking in the series and it also features some of the most graphic violence. There's plenty of blood flowing around for fans of that type of thing. The actor also does a marvelous job in the role of Hyde and this is especially more true when you see the darker, more perverted version. Corrigan makes for one of the more memorable leading ladies in the series and it's great fun getting someone like Taylor on board.
The film also benefits from some very effective scenes. One includes the scene where the woman is attacked by three hoods. Another includes her looking down from her window at her new love who is in his werewolf form. Then, of course, there's the werewolf hitting the streets of London. Seeing Naschy running around the swinging style of London in the 1970s is just a wonderful sight. DR. JEKYLL AND THE WEREWOLF is a "fun" Gothic film even if you watch the non-nude version. You watch the American version and it's just as much fun with the added nudity. However, to get the full impact one really needs to find the German cut as all the added stuff just makes it so much more fun.
