I’m sure the few regular fans this column has are expecting me to celebrate the arrival of The Incredible Hulk this week with a Double Feature that continues to tie in on the Marvel Comics universe. Bad news folks - we’ve done it before. Iron Man’s release kind of got the best of the movies that might tie in with The Incredible Hulk, including the best of the Hulk TV movies.
The character of the Hulk isn’t just a comic book thing. He’s a play on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Id and the Ego in battle for the same body, even transforming that body for their own means. Sure, the big green goliath has a cooler appearance and doesn’t kill at a whim, but it’s basically the same story at heart.
Of course, the Hulk isn’t the only video venture into that classic story, which has seen approaches as varied as the four hour miniseries featuring Michael Caine to the silly, bumbling antics of Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor (forget about the Eddie Murphy remake though). With that in mind, this week we present a Double Feature that pays tribute to the central story of The Incredible Hulk without actually putting the big green guy in the spotlight.
Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical
We love it when someone decides to take a perfectly good story and adapt it into a musical, even if the story has absolutely no reason to have people breaking out into song. Imagine our surprise then when we found out the story of Jekyll and Hyde had been developed into a stage play, which was then filmed. Yes, this isn’t a movie with high production quality – it’s a filming of a stage play, with all of the issues that come along with that. While the music isn’t exactly memorable, you can’t ignore this for one main reason: David Hasselhoff is Dr. Jekyll (and thereby Mr. Hyde). That’s right – the Baywatch lifeguard and German rock star takes the lead in this version of the musical. It may not be great, but it certainly is memorable for that alone.
I, Monster
For a little more serious take on the character and the original story, try this 1970s version featuring the iconic Christopher Lee in the lead role. Sure, the character names have been changed to Dr. Marlowe and Mr. Blake, but the story is pretty much still the same, with a few minor deviations. Although it’s not a Hammer film, fans of the old movies will probably appreciate this one just as much as it manages to copy the production values of the Hammer films (Lee appears in the Hammer version of Dr. Jekyll’s story, although not in the lead role). The movie also offers a Star Wars connection with Lee (who played Count Dooku in the prequels) and Peter Cushing (Tarkin in the original Star Wars).
Other dual personalities: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Nutty Professor, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, Jekyll & Hyde (miniseries), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Van Helsing: The London Assignment, Secret Window
Enjoy our Double Feature suggestions? and maybe we’ll use them in a future column.
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