This is among the better and more stylish versions of the classic horror tale, but one I was only aware of via a review of its R2 DVD on the estimable "Sight & Sound" magazine! Other TV renditions I have watched were those made in 1955, 1959, 1968, 1969, 1973 and 1990 – the first and fourth of these during the current Halloween Challenge. Like the 1960 Hammer adaptation THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL, Hyde is the handsomer, leaner persona – with the doctor's features hidden under large whiskers, grey hair and a rather stout figure (the latter would plague leading man David Hemmings himself in real life, as well as guest star Diana Dors!); his alter ego, then, is not stereotypically evil and brutish, more the haughty, callous sort with a nasty streak running in him. The storyline is opened up to encompass most of the mores of Victorian society, inflating the running-time to nearly two hours, and making its affinity with Oscar Wilde's "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" all the more pronounced. Curiously, Jekyll drinks a minimal amount of the potion to transform into Hyde but then the latter injects himself to revert back!; as for the unassisted metamorphosis, this occurs overnight while in bed (as in R.L. Stevenson's original) – also lifted directly from the novella is his unprovoked assault on an old gentleman (played here by Desmond Llewellyn of 007's Q fame!). The girl Hyde torments (to the point of suicide, again a' la DORIAN GRAY) is a housemaid, played by singer Toyah Wilcox(!), in Jekyll's own employ – as in MARY REILLY (1996), which I almost included in this ongoing marathon; other notable cast members are Ian Bannen as Lawyer Utterson and Clive Swift as Dr. Lanyon.
Review of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(1980 TV Movie)
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE {TV} (Alastair Reid, 1980) ***
2 November 2013