A Victorian scientist tests a serum that transforms him into a lascivious murderess.
In Victorian London, Dr. Henry Jekyll is a research scientist who searches the cure of many common diseases. However, he is a very reserved and shy man and spends most of his time working on his home laboratory. One day, his friend Professor Robertson visits him and advises that he would probably die before the conclusion of his studies. Dr. Jekyll decides to create an elixir of life, based on feminine hormones, to extend his life since women live longer than men. He uses feminine hormones stolen from fresh corpses. The effect of the elixir of life releases his feminine repressed side, and he becomes an aggressive, gorgeous and evil woman, Mrs. Hyde. When the bodies finish in the city morgue, Dr. Jekyll begins killing a number of young women to proceed with his research.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In Victorian London, the police are looking for an unknown man wearing a top hat and dark cloak as the perpetrator of what have been coined the Whitechapel Murders, the victims knifed to death being young women of ill-repute. Concurrently, research scientist Dr. Henry Jekyll feels compelled to document anecdotally his latest research in case something happens to him. A virologist working on an antidote to cure a number of viruses, he decides to change his field of research on an off the cuff comment by friend and mentor, Professor Robertson, saying that such a cure-all would take years to develop, longer than Dr. Jekyll's lifespan. So Jekyll changes his research to finding the answer to eternal life so that he can live long enough to cure the world of its viruses. In early experiments, he narrows his research to the differences between the sexes and that females have a longer lifespan than males, early experiments on insects increasing that lifespan of males by a factor of three. The two problems are: he needing female organs to advance his research to humans, and exhausting the supply of deceased females in morgues, he turns to killing himself for the greater good, hence he being the Whitechapel Murderer; and that he has no human subject, so uses himself as that subject. With that latter issue, he discovers that his use of the serum changes his being to a female, who he is passing off as his widowed sister, Mrs. Hyde. That transformation initially helps his cause as Mrs. Hyde takes over the murders. But as the Spencers, who live above him, become more ensconced in his life - Howard Spencer who is attracted to Mrs. Hyde, and innocent Susan Spencer having long pined for Dr. Jekyll - things become more complex as Dr. Jekyll and cold-blooded Mrs. Hyde battle for control of his being, Mrs. Hyde who could choose Susan as her next victim.—Huggo
In Victorian London, a series of prostitute murders are being committed, and the police are hunting for an unknown killer wearing a black cloak and top hat. Dr. Henry Jekyll is hard at work on his laboratory where he attempts to create an elixir of life using female hormones provided from fresh corpses, provided to him by two grave robbers, William Burke and William Hare. He deduces that these particular hormones will annihilate many common diseases and is the key to extending his life since women live much longer than men. However, once Dr. Jekyll drinks the serum himself, he transforms into a gorgeous but evil and murderous woman named Mrs. Hyde. Unfortunately, he realizes that he needs female hormones for his serum to maintain this persona, but soon, Mrs. Hyde wants to be free of Dr. Jekyll and resumes killing. Dr. Jekyll attempts to stop Mrs. Hyde before his secret is exposed.—charmardee-smith
Dr. Henry Jekyll is a scientist using viruses in seeking the cure of many common diseases. He spends endless hours in his home laboratory pursuing his work. A chance comment from his friend Professor Robertson, that he will probably die before the conclusion of his studies, prompts Dr. Jekyll to switch his research to an elixir of life. Because women typically live longer than men, he bases his formula on hormones extracted from corpses of young women. His first experiment is on a fly which normally would only live for hours as an adult insect. He is shocked to find it still alive when he awakes four days later after an exhausted collapse. Following his first attempt of the elixir on himself, his feminine repressed side is released, and he becomes an aggressive and gorgeous woman. His upstairs neighbors, the Spencers, are surprised to see a woman in his rooms, and he claims she is his widowed sister, Mrs. Hyde. To maintain this alter ego, he needs a constant supply of feminine hormones from fresh bodies. When his contact in the city morgue and a pair of unscrupulous grave robbers can no longer supply him, Dr. Jekyll (and then Mrs. Hyde) begins killing women to proceed with the research. Fortunately, Professor Robertson notices a pattern in the murder victims.—Garon Smith
In Victorian London, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Ralph Bates) is a research scientist who dedicates his life to the curing of many common diseases. However, his lecherous friend Professor Robertson (Gerard Sim) remarks that Jekyll's experiments take so long to actually be achieved, he will no doubt be dead by the time he is able to achieve anything. Haunted by this remark, Jekyll abandons his studies and begins searching for an elixir of life, using female hormones taken from fresh cadavers supplied by murderers Burke and Hare, reasoning that these hormones will help him extend his life since women traditionally live longer than men and have stronger systems.
In the apartment above Jekyll's lives a family: an elderly mother (Dorothy Alison), her daughter Susan Spencer (Susan Brodrick), and Susan's brother Howard (Lewis Fiander). Susan is attracted to Jekyll, and he returns her advances, but is very obsessed with his work to make advances. Once mixing the female hormones into a serum and drinking it, it not only has the effect of changing Jekyll's character (for the worse) but also of changing his sex, transforming him into a beautiful but evil woman. Susan becomes jealous when she discovers this mysterious woman, but when she confronts Jekyll over this, to explain the sudden appearance of his female ego, he calls her Mrs. Edwina Hyde (Martine Beswick), saying she is his widowed sister who has come to live with him. On the other hand, Howard develops a feeling of strong desire for Mrs. Hyde.
Jekyll soon finds that his serum requires a regular supply of female hormones to maintain its effect, necessitating the killing of young girls. Burke and Hare supply his needs, but their criminal activities are uncovered; Burke is lynched by a mob and Hare is blinded by lime. The doctor decides to take the matters into his own hands and commits the murders attributed to Jack the Ripper. Jekyll regards this with horror, but Mrs. Hyde relishes the murders as she begins to take control, even seducing and then killing Professor Robertson when he attempts to question her about the murders.
As Mrs. Hyde grows more powerful, the two personalities begin to struggle for dominance. Jekyll asks Susan to the opera; however, when he is getting dressed to leave, he unconsciously takes Mrs. Hyde's gown from the wardrobe instead of his own clothes, realizing that he no longer needs to drink the serum in order to transform. Susan is heartbroken when Jekyll fails to take her out to the opera, and she decides to go alone. However, Mrs. Hyde decides that innocent, pure Susan's blood is just what she needs to finally take over Jekyll's body. She stalks Susan through the dark streets, but Jekyll's will only just manages to prevent Mrs. Hyde's attempt to kill Susan. He then commits one last murder to find a way to stabilize his condition, but he is interrupted by the police after a comment by Hare to realize the similarities between Jekyll's earlier experiments on cadavers and the Ripper murders. As Jekyll attempts to escape by climbing along the outside of a building, he transforms into Mrs. Hyde and falls to the ground -- dying as a twisted amalgamation of both male and female.
