Doctor Jekyll and the Werewolf, Paul Naschy’s fifth Waldemar Daninsky outing is being released on Blu-ray by Mondo Macabro on May 4, 2024. The disc includes both the Spanish version and the rarely-seen racier export version. Special features:
Paul Naschy on Doctor Jekyll.
Interview with Sergio Molina.
Jack Taylor, testigo del fantástico, directed by Diego López-Fernández.
Jack Taylor on Fantaterror.
Filmmaker Victor Matellano on the career of director Leon Klimovsky.
Audio commentary from the Naschy cast.
86 minutes in English and Spanish, with English subtitles
Anamorphic Widescreen 1.66:1
DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
Region code: All
Buy Blu-ray from Amazon.com
Meanwhile, here is our previous coverage of this fun flick:
‘Spine chilling horror!!’
Doctor Jekyll and the Wolfman is a 1972 Spanish horror film about Waldemar Daninsky searching for a cure for his full moon madness by visiting the grandson of the infamous Doctor Jekyll in London. Also known as Doctor Jekyll versus the Werewolf
The movie was directed by León Klimovsky (The Vampires’ Night Orgy; Vengeance of the Zombies; The Dracula Saga; et al) from a screenplay written by Jacinto Molina (aka Paul Naschy). The latter stars, alongside Shirley Corrigan, Jack Taylor and Mirta Miller.
The soundtrack score was composed by Antón García Abril (The Loreley’s Grasp; Tombs of the Blind Dead; The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman; et al) and Adolfo Waitzman (Hotel Fear; Beyond Erotica; The Bell from Hell).
Plot:
Newlyweds Imre (Jose Marco) and Justine (Shirley Corrigan) are visiting Transylvania for their honeymoon when they are attacked by bandits. Imre is killed but Justine is rescued by Polish nobleman Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy), who is also a werewolf. The local villagers launch an attack on Daninsky’s castle, so he and Justine flee to London.
Besotted with Daninsky, yet aware of his tragic lycanthropic condition, Justine asks her friend Doctor Henry Jekyll (Jack Taylor) if he can help. Jekyll injects Daninsky with his grandfather’s potion to try and cure him…
Reviews:
“Jack Taylor is pretty great as the sketchy Doc Jekyll and Mirta Miller seems to be having a good time playing the true villain of the piece. When Naschy portrays Mr. Hyde he does so with a sinister grin and a hairpiece that recalls not so much Fredric March or Spencer Tracy, but more Bugs Bunny from the 1955 short “Hyde and Hare.” B & S About Movies
“Some of the action scenes seem slow and a bit sloppy, but the plethora of horror elements and gore (Daninsky even pulls chunks of flesh out of one victim) override the shortcomings […] Doctor Jekyll and the Wolfman (1972) is well worth your investment; and for Naschy fans, this tour de force of werewolfery and Hyde’s hedonistic sadist is a howlingly good time.” Cool @ss Cinema
“Klimovsky treats the rather campy premise with considerable style, with the action moving from the traditional horror movie motifs of the old country (the angry villagers, local superstitions, freakish looking scavengers) to modern London where the scenic images include a rather seedy early 1970s Soho district. Naschy acts and looks as great as ever as the werewolf, but his Mr. Hyde, well he’s a pisser.” DVD Drive-In
“Naschy is having so much fun and projects such infectious enthusiasm that it is simply impossible to be overly critical of his endeavours here. And Naschy is actually very effective in parts, particularly when he transforms into the heinous Mr Hyde. And, as the werewolf, he pulls off a good crowd scene in a groovy night club…” DVD Savant
” …there are moments of acknowledgeable proficiency as displayed periodically by director Klimovsky in other films: the awakening of Justine in the centuries-old castle and her subsequent meandering through the dark corridors by candlelight is exceedingly spooky, and similarly the locations used for Transylvania’s barren landscapes…” The Grim Cellar
” …gives Naschy the chance to ham it up as two classic monsters for the price of one. Whether growling into the camera or wielding a mean cane, he’s great fun to behold and keeps the film lively through some of the slower spots. Taylor has surprisingly little to do […] but the clash between gothic and groovy environments more than makes up for it.” Mondo Digital
“The first half feels exactly like a normal Daninsky movie – mountain road, attack, castle, lynch-mob, macho-Naschy – but it because extra fun when he flees from there and ends up in party party party-London. The disco scene is way to short, but the whole storyline of Dr Jekyll trying to cure Daninsky from the werewolf syndrome is fun and creative.” Ninja Dixon
“The set-pieces when Naschy transforms into werewolf or Mr Hyde is wonderfully staged, the best one being in a stuck elevator together with a scared shitless nurse…and of course the famous disco scene, which still is very cool.” Schmollywood Babylon
“His first onscreen wolf transformation is pure unadulterated Shatner but his portrayal of Mr Hyde is worth the price of admission alone. See Hyde complete with full original vintage costume hit the streets of swinging 70’s London, cruising the strip bars and grooving clubs for wenches to play with in his own devilish way – simply brilliant and lots of fun!” SGM
“Although deliriously implausible (and merely an excuse for Naschy to do double duty acting – once again), this middling Eurohorror benefits from Klimovsky’s always reliable direction and a few nice touches, such as Waldemar’s cool transformation scene in a trapped elevator.” The Terror Trap
“The decent amount of gore (head crushing, throat-ripping, severed head) and a lax running time help make Doctor Jekyll and the Werewolf better than the usual Naschy mishmash. The thing that really makes the movie though is the transformation scenes […] And this one has plenty of them.” The Video Vacuum
Choice dialogue:
Sandra: “Good and evil. The eternal make-up of all human beings. And which we can change with a chemical formula. It’s fascinating.”
Justine: “I’ve never seen something so frightening in my life. It gives me the shivers.”
Release:
Doctor Jekyll Versus the Werewolf was also released by Cheezy Movies on October 13, 2020. Buy via Amazon.com
Choice dialogue:
Waldemar Daninsky: [as Mr. Hyde] “I need pleasure… women… lots of women… different women!”
Cast and characters:
Jacinto Molina [as Paul Naschy] … Waldemar Daninsky / Wolfman / Mr. Hyde
Shirley Corrigan … Justine – The Crimes of the Black Cat; Devil’s Nightmare
Jack Taylor … Doctor Henry Jekyll – Wax; Pieces; Female Vampire; The Night of the Sorcerers; Count Dracula; et al
Mirta Miller … Sandra – Eyeball; Vengeance of the Zombies; Count Dracula’s Great Love
José Marco … Imre Kosta – Horror Express; Knife of Ice; Fury of the Wolfman; The Horrible Sexy Vampire
Luis Induni … Otvos – The Werewolf and the Yeti; Exorcism; The Devil’s Possessed; The Loreley’s Grasp; The Horrible Sexy Vampire;
Barta Barri… Gyogyo, the innkeeper – Horror Express; The Horrible Sexy Vampire
Luis Gaspar … Thurko, Otvos’s thug
Elsa Zabala… Uswika Bathory
Lucy Tiller … Prostitute
Technical credits:
Filmed in 70mm
Release:
The film was released in Spain on May 6, 1972.
