DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL

Gloria Talbott and John Agar

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL (1957). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

"If you love me, please kill me!" 

Janet Smith (Gloria Talbott of The Leech Woman) and her fiance George (John Agar of Bait) come for a visit with her late father's friend, Dr. Lomas (Arthur Shields). Lomas informs her that she has inherited this vast estate, house and cash, from her father, but also tells her that he was the notorious Dr. Jekyll. Departing from Stevenson's classic novel, Lomas tells Janet that Mr. Hyde was apparently a werewolf. Afraid that she has inherited the curse (although it sounds as if she were born before Daddy imbibed all those nasty chemicals), she breaks off the engagement. Worse, she has nightmares that she is attacking and killing women in her sleep, women who later turn up dead. 

The werewolf of Daughter

Daughter of Dr. Jekyll is a fair-to-middling horror film. On one hand, there are atmospheric shots of the mansion and countryside, all sheathed in fog, but the internal scenes seem a little too matter-of-fact. The truth of what's going on is pretty much given away by a campy prologue in which one character in werewolf make-up cackles at the audience (repeated at the end). Arthur Shields gives a good performance, while Talbott is suitably overwrought and Agar tries to summon up some enthusiasm. The supporting performers are fine, and the score, which is attributed to no one, is creepy when it needs to be. Cheap and entertaining, this is not one of Ulmer's best directorial efforts. The woman who appears in the nightmare sequences is an actress other than Talbott. 

Verdict: Good enough premise, and fun in a limited way. **1/4.