Henry Jekyll II (Hammer Horror)

Henry Jekyll, was the central protagonist from the 1971 British horror film Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. The character was loosely based on that of Doctor Jekyll, the alter ego of antagonist Edward Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1884 novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was played by actor Ralph Bates.

Biography
Doctor Henry Jekyll sought to find a cure for all existing diseases, thus granting everlasting life to all. A central ingredient required in his work were female hormones, which he cultivated from fresh cadavers supplied to him through his assistants Burke and Hare. Through the course of his experiments, he accidentally transformed himself both physically and behaviorally into a woman. To maintain secrecy, he fashioned the alias Edwina Hyde and projected the idea that she was the widowed sister to Henry Jekyll. Edwina's personality was more depraved and sociopathic than Henry's and her connection to him soon became one of lust.

During the periods when she would revert to her Henry Jekyll state, he found that his serum required a continued supply of female hormones to maintain its effect. As Burke and Hare were attacked by a lynch mob, Jekyll had to resort to more drastic measures - taking human lives. Jekyll's moral values could not abide such an act, but as the Sister Hyde persona began to exert greater control over him, he discovered to his horror that she took great delight in killing. She even murdered Jekyll's close acquaintance, Professor Robertson after the latter had attempted to question Edwina about the murders.

As the two personalities continued to struggle for dominance, Jekyll barely managed to thwart Hyde's attempt to kill his lover, Susan Spencer. Desperate to stabilize his condition, he committed another act of murder, but was interrupted by the police who made the connection between Jekyll's actions and the recent murders. As Jekyll tried to escape by climbing along the outside of a building, he transformed into Sister Hyde, who, lacking his strength, fell to the ground, dying as a twisted amalgamation of both male and female genders.

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of Henry Jekyll was created by director Roy Ward Baker and writer/producer Brian Clemens based on concepts originally developed by Robert Louis Stevenson.


 * Henry Jekyll is actually the second iteration of the Jekyll character featured in a "Hammer Horror" film. The first Henry Jekyll was from 1960's The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll who was played by actor Paul Massie.


 * Archival footage of Henry Jekyll was featured in the "Home Counties Horror" episode of A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss.