‘Blood-hungry spawn of the world’s most bestial fiend!’
Daughter of Doctor Jekyll is a 1957 American horror feature film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer (The Black Cat; The Strange Woman; The Man from Planet X) from a screenplay written by producer Jack Pollexfen (The Neanderthal Man; Captive Women; The Man from Planet X).
The film stars Gloria Talbott (The Cyclops; I Married a Monster from Outer Space; The Leech Woman), John Agar (Tarantula; The Brain from Planet Arous; Zontar: The Thing from Venus), Arthur Shields, John Dierkes and Martha Wentworth.
Plot:
It features Gloria Talbott as Janet, the daughter of the infamous Doctor Henry Jekyll, and John Agar as her fiancée. Janet learns that she may have inherited her father’s condition, and she begins to believe she may be guilty of murder when people are found horribly killed. However, all is not what it seems…
Reviews:
” …the film succeeds with eerie music and gloomy atmosphere, particularly in the dream sequences. It’s much better than Columbia’s boring Son of Doctor Jekyll (1951) in that we actually get to see a monster running around.” DVD Drive-In
“Ulmer has no patience for the niceties of smooth plotting or transitions; he’s only got a little over an hour to tell this story, and he seems determined to milk it for all the potent imagery it can yield, even if it means giving in to incoherence and silliness from time to time.” Only the Cinema
“Talbott is perfect in the role as she exudes that innocent and demure quality needed, and that wild-eyed wonderment at each revelation that is proffered to her. And while the actress is a great fit for the film, sometimes the script works against her a little as she is perhaps a little too accepting of each and every situation she is made aware of.” The Tell-Tale Mind
“Shortcomings aside, Daughter of Doctor Jekyll is an engaging, entertaining, and atmospheric job from a masterful director. Ulmer transformed a minuscule budget and an indifferent script into an exercise that retains a thrall of unease.” Jay Alan Henderson, Forgotten Horrors, Vol.6: Up from the Depths
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Cast and characters:
- John Agar … George Hastings
- Gloria Talbott … Janet Smith
- Arthur Shields … Doctor 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
Technical details:
- 71 minutes
- Audio: Mono (Westrex Recording System)
- Black and White
- Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Release:
Released on a double-bill with The Cyclops (1957).
