Strangely this has little to do with the classic tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde : rather it's a werewolf film, but with a plot based on folklore closer to the Universal style of vampire movie. I suspect that Edgar G. Ulmer (who also made the brilliant "The Black Cat", and the Noir favourite "Detour") really wanted to make a vampire film, but ended up having to use the more marketable and helpfully out of copyright Dr Jekyll theme due to the studio's insistence. Low budgets probably also didn't help. Despite this mismatch, there's plenty for the fan of old horror films, and occasional flashes of the director's potential . Agar and Talbott are watchable regardless of having little to work with, there's some atmospheric dream sequences with excellent cinematography, and a proto-slasher murder of a woman on a telephone which undoubtedly influenced later filmmakers. I can't help but wonder what classic Ulmer could have turned in if he'd had a decent budget and less interference?
Review of Daughter of Dr. Jekyll
