I, Monster

75 minutes
81 minutes
(extended cut)CountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglish

I, Monster is a 1971 British horror film directed by Stephen Weeks (his feature debut) for Amicus Productions. It is an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with the main characters' names changed to Dr. Charles Marlowe and Mr. Edward Blake.^[1]

Plot

Psychologist Charles Marlowe (Lee) invents a drug which will release his patients' inhibitions. When he tests it on himself, he becomes the evil Edward Blake, who descends into crime and eventually murder. Utterson (Cushing), Marlowe's lawyer, believes that Blake is blackmailing his friend until he discovers the truth.

Cast

• Christopher Lee as Marlowe / Blake
• Peter Cushing as Utterson
• Mike Raven as Enfield
• Richard Hurndall as Lanyon
• George Merritt as Poole
• Kenneth J. Warren as Deane
• Susan Jameson as Diane
• Marjie Lawrence as Annie
• Aimée Delamain as Landlady (as Aimee Delamain)
• Michael Des Barres as Boy in Alley

Production

It stars Christopher Lee as the doctor and his alter ego, and Peter Cushing as Frederick Utterson, a central character in Stevenson's original story. Mike Raven and Susan Jameson also star. It was photographed by Moray Grant, with music by Carl Davis.^[2]

Peter Duffell, who had previously worked for Amicus, was offered the movie to direct, but turned it down.^[1] Financing came from British Lion and the NFFC.^[3]

It was intended to be shown in 3-D utilizing the Pulfrich effect, but the idea was abandoned upon release.^[4]

Reception

The film performed poorly at the box office,^[3] however recent reviews have praised the film for its faithful direction from the source material^[5] with Drew Hunt of Chicago Reader listing it as one of Christopher Lee's five best roles.^[6]

Differences from the source material

Apart from changing the names for the character Henry Jekyll/ Edward Hyde to Charles Marlowe/ Edward Blake, as well as changing the character to a Freudian psychotherapist instead of a doctor, the story is fairly faithful to the original novella. The character of Danvers Carew is eliminated, with Marlowe murdering a woman who scorned him and leaving his broken walking stick on her body, similar to Carew's murder in the novella. The final act is also changed. In the original novella, Utterson and Poole smash Jekyll's door to find the body of Hyde dead by suicide, after Jekyll has failed to keep Hyde in check. In the film, Blake goes to kill Utterson at his residence, and in the ensuing struggle Utterson kills Blake by pushing him down the stairs. Blake's face transforms into Marlowe's while Utterson and his maid stare in shock.

References

Sources

• Bryce, Allen (2000), Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood, Stray Cat Publishing Ltd, ISBN 978-0953326136
• Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2015), The Amicus Anthology, Midnight Marquee Press, ISBN 978-1936168569
• Hunt, Drew (14 June 2015), Christopher Lee's five best performances, Chicago Reader, retrieved 22 February 2017
• Miller, Mark A.; Johnson, Tom (2009), The Christopher Lee Filmography: All Theatrical Releases, 1948-2003, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0786446919

External links

• I, Monster at IMDb
• I, Monster at AllMovie
• I, Monster at BFI Screenonline