The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio

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
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEric Jeffrey Haims
Written byDonn Greer
Produced byEric Jeffrey Haims
StarringSebastian Brook
Mady Maguire
Donn Greer
Gray Daniels
John Terry
Rene Bond
CinematographyArch Archambault
Production
company
Xerxes Production Ltd.
Release date
  • 1971 (1971)
Running time
81 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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
  • 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

In 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

In 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
  1. "The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue (LTD) – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  2. 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.
  3. Stine, Scott Aaron (2001). The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s. McFarland & Company. p. 154. ISBN 978-0786409242.
  4. Thrower 2007, p. 30.
  5. Orndorf, Brian (May 10, 2014). "The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  6. Waugh, Rob (April 28, 2015). "These 5 VHS videos are worth up to £1,000 each to collectors". Metro. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  7. Thrower 2007, p. 468.
  8. O'Hara, Helen (April 23, 2015). "Is VHS making a comeback?". The Telegraph. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  9. "The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Retrieved January 9, 2020.

Bibliography
  • Thrower, Stephen (2007). Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents. FAB Press. p. 468. ISBN 978-1903254462.
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