THE UGLY DUCKLING is a 1959 crime comedy from Hammer Films that is a parody of DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE. In fact the opening credits state that the idea was stolen from Robert Louis Stevenson. The movie, like its namesake, was unwanted for a very long time but seems to have finally come into its own. Right now a pristine print is currently available on YouTube and I hope it will stay there until whoever owns the rights to it decides to issue UGLY on home video with commentary, subtitles, and additional extras. Great, no but it’s very amusing , full of charm, and is a great time capsule of the era.
The movie takes DR.JEKYLL & MR HYDE and re-imagines it as a comic farce that incorporates elements of the heist pictures that were popular at the time. Henry Jeckle (note the change in spelling) is a klutzy pharmacist who accidentally stumbles upon his ancestor’s infamous transformation formula and after mistakenly drinking it, becomes Teddy Hyde, a smooth and confident man about town who is in control of every situation. There’s no way that Jerry Lewis didn’t see this before making his 1963 comedy THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (which was remade by Eddie Murphy in 1996).
Henry, his brother Victor and their spinster sister Henrietta run a small pharmacy in a small neighborhood district in London. Victor and Henrietta like to participate in local dance gatherings which are also attended by local youths who like to swing dance much to the consternation of the older folks who come to watch old fashioned ballroom dancing . The lively swing music is performed by Joe Loss and his orchestra, one of the top British big band outfits of the day. The swing dance sequence in the beginning of the film is well choreographed, nicely photographed, and crisply edited.
After Henry is pressed into service to perform at the dance and fails miserably, he finds the formula, drinks it, and becomes everything that Henry is not. Teddy then helps a gang of criminals steal a valuable diamond necklace. When Teddy becomes Henry again, he tries to return it with the help of Victor and Henry’s girlfriend Snouty. Bernard Bresslaw, who plays the dual role, is 6″ 7″ “. It’s hard to see him and not think of Ted Cassidy’s Lurch from THE ADDAMS FAMILY or Fred Gynne’s Herman Munster although he predates both of them by several years.
Jon Pertwee (of DOCTOR WHO fame) plays Henry’s brother Victor while pint sized Jean Muir (no relation to the fashion designer) is his girlfriend Snouty. The comic contrast between her and Bresslaw is considerable. Character actor Reginald Beckwith is ideal as Henrietta’s put upon suitor while Maudie Edwards as the spinster sister is the picture of punctured dignity. THE UGLY DUCKLING was intended as a comic opposite to Hammer’s upcoming TWO FACES OF DR JEKYLL (1960) and was produced to show that Hammer could still make something other than horror movies.
FYI: There’s an in-joke which would have been instantly recognized by Hammer horror fans. When Henry turns into Teddy you can clearly hear James Bernard’s theme for Christopher Lee’s DRACULA on the soundtrack.
The Capsule Critic 