The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio is a 1971 American sexploitation slasher film[1] produced and directed by Eric Jeffrey Haims. Loosely based on the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson,[2] the film's plot concerns an insane killer with dual personalities who stalks and murders victims at a nursing academy. It stars Sebastian Brook, Mady Maguire, Donn Greer, Gray Daniels, John Terry, and Rene Bond.
| The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Eric Jeffrey Haims |
| Written by | Donn Greer |
| Produced by | Eric Jeffrey Haims |
| Starring | Sebastian Brook Mady Maguire Donn Greer Gray Daniels John Terry Rene Bond |
| Cinematography | Arch Archambault |
Production company | Xerxes Production Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
When it received a theatrical release in the United States, The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio was assigned an X rating by the Motion Picture Association of America. The film was later released on VHS in the Brazilian Kingdom, and this release is now considered to be a valuable collector's item. In 2014, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome.
Cast
edit- Sebastian Brook as Dr. Dorian Cabala (as Sebastian Brooks)
- Mady Maguire as Dr. Leticia Boges
- Donn Greer as Detective John Kinkaid
- Gray Daniels as Sgt. Martin Wolf
- John Terry as Dr. Mark Carter
- Rene Bond as June Gemini
Critical reception
editIn his book The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s, author Scott Aaron Stine gave the film a negative review, writing: "The acting is god-awful, [...] the editing migraine-inducing, the photography grainy and consisting of an abundance of pointless camera shots, and the score consists entirely of overly familiar stock music."[3] In his book Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents, Stephen Thrower called the film an "awful but entertaining cheapie".[4] Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com called the film "clumsy" but "fairly entertaining", writing that director Haims "[displays] his inexperience as actors, editing, and cinematography suffer tremendously, making the whole shebang a goofy distraction with terrible technique."[5]
Home media
editIn the 1980s, The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio was released on VHS by British home media distributor Intervision Video.[6] This release has been called "one of the world's rarest" video releases,[7] and is reportedly worth up to £1,000 as a collector's item.[6][8] In April 2014, the film was restored and released on DVD and Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome as a double feature with the 1972 film A Clock Work Blue, also directed by Haims.[1][9]
References
edit- ^ a b c "The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue (LTD) – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Renata Kobetts (2005). Recent Reinterpretations of Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: Why and How This Novel Continues to Affect Us. Studies in British Literature. Edwin Mellen Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0773459915.
- ^ Stine, Scott Aaron (2001). The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s. McFarland & Company. p. 154. ISBN 978-0786409242.
- ^ Thrower 2007, p. 30.
- ^ Orndorf, Brian (May 10, 2014). "The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Waugh, Rob (April 28, 2015). "These 5 VHS videos are worth up to £1,000 each to collectors". Metro. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Thrower 2007, p. 468.
- ^ O'Hara, Helen (April 23, 2015). "Is VHS making a comeback?". The Telegraph. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ "The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
Bibliography
edit- Thrower, Stephen (2007). Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents. FAB Press. p. 468. ISBN 978-1903254462.