Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype (1980)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Charles B. Griffith

Writer:

Charles B. Griffith (writer)

Release Date:

October 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Romance

Plot:

An ugly, misshapen podiatrist ingests a formula made by a colleague and turns into a handsome, devil-may-care (but violent) ladies' man. |

Plot Keywords:

Satire | Barefoot | Experiment | Doctor | Murder

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Dr. Henry Heckyl / Mr. Hype
Sunny Johnson	...	Coral Careen
Maia Danziger	...	Miss Finebum
Virgil Frye	...	Lt. Mack Druck - 'Il Topo'
Mel Welles	...	Dr. Vince Hinkle
Kedrick Wolf	...	Dr. Lew Hoo (as Kedric Wolfe)
Jackie Coogan	...	Sergeant Fleacollar
Corinne Calvet	...	Pizelle Puree
Sharon Compton	...	Mrs. Quivel
Denise Hayes	...	Liza Rowne
Charles Howerton	...	Clutch Cooger
Dick Miller	...	Irsil / Orson
Jack Warford	...	Herringbone Flynn
Lucretia Love	...	Debra Kate
Ben Frommer	...	Sgt. Gurnisht Hilfn

Also Known As:

Dr. Heckyl & Mr. Hype (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Golan-Globus Productions

Movie Connections:

Follows Up from the Depths (1979)

Worth a "Heckyl", not much to "Hype"....

Charles B. Griffith wrote the original "Little Shop of Horrors", and co-wrote and directed this little gem. Note that I say "gem" in the most facetious usage.

"Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype" plays as a reverse "Jeckyll and Hyde" (DUH!) when ugly podiatrist Heckyl (Reed) discovers a potion that makes him handsome and, subsequently, desirable to women. But he cannot consummate any relationships since all the women he tries to connect with end up dead ("And I'm still a virgin!"). But there are police, garbage men and strange people emerging from the woodwork to make Heckyl's life even more disrupted.

It's cute, but plays out too hectic to be considered even a good "cult" movie, as was obviously the intention here. The talent was there; Reed in a comedy? Who would have known? And Coogan and Miller's contributions add up. And it doesn't hurt to have beautiful women to look at (like the Brough sisters - ROWRRR!). But if there was a little more story to add to the proceedings, instead of dry laughs and off-kilter pacing, maybe we would have had something.

In all, interesting but not even a pretender to the throne of "Horrors". A nice try, anyway.

Four stars for the effort, plus one star extra for Reed. Good to see him play silly on purpose, for once.