Here in the UK there seems to be an abundance of TV channels specialising in screening old and often exceedingly obscure but fascinating movies (especially British ones, like the example under review here) that would never appear nowadays on the main channels. And on 22 September 2021, courtesy of one such channel, Talking Pictures, I was lucky enough to catch one such movie – The Ugly Duckling. Or, as I like to think of it, Jekyll Does Jazz and Hyde Does Hilarity! Let me explain.
Directed by Lance Comfort, filmed in glorious b/w, and released by Britain's legendary horror movies company Hammer Films in 1959, despite its title The Ugly Duckling owes far less to Hans Christian Andersen than it does to Robert Louis Stevenson, or, specifically, to his novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. There have been many cinematic takes on this harrowing, horrific tale of split personality extrapolated to its nth degree, but none had added comedy and jazz to the mix until The Ugly Duckling waddled onto the big screen, that's for sure!
Famed for his many uproarious appearances in the much-loved Carry On series of movies, British comedy stalwart Bernard Bresslaw plays Henry Jeckle (note the spelling difference), the kindly but decidedly dim and socially inept brother of pharmacist Victor (Jon Pertwee in his pre-Doctor Who/Worzel Gummidge days). However, after inadvertently discovering their distant ancestor Dr Henry Jeckle's secret formula that had brought disgrace upon the Jeckle family name several generations ago, Henry duly concocts and drinks it, transforming into the super-cool, socially suave Teddy Hyde (again played by Bresslaw).
Unfortunately, Hyde is also a thuggish ne'er do well, who hilariously joins forces with an inept criminal gang and successfully pulls off a daring robbery of priceless jewellery nearby before changing back into Henry, thereby leaving Henry and Victor to try and right his wrongdoings.
Also featuring here is Richard Wattis, another prolific comedy actor during this particular period in British movie history, as befuddled Police Inspector Barclay under whose watch the jewels were pilfered. Other notable names playing secondary roles are David Lodge, actor/singer Jess Conrad, and Michael Ripper (without whom it would scarcely be a Hammer Film!).
The Ugly Duckling is a funny albeit at times rather laboured horror/comedy (being burdened with a very misleading title doesn't help matters either), some of the slapstick becoming wearying, even tedious, at times. Then again, this type of humour was still very popular on screen in Britain back in this movie's day. Consequently, its inclusion and emphasis here, not being unexpected, must simply be endured, and is best simply dismissed as visual padding between the genuinely comedic moments.
In any case, it was good to see Bresslaw work into the dialogue his famous catchphrase "I only arsked", and also to enjoy the foot-tapping appearances of dance band/jazz leader Joe Loss and His Orchestra – during whose up tempo performance at this movie's opening Henry characteristically causes absolute chaos and mayhem, thereby making abundantly clear from the outset exactly what to expect from what is to follow in this nowadays long-forgotten but still worthy-of-watching curiosity.
Interestingly, many people had long considered The Ugly Duckling to be a lost movie, because following a screening on British TV during the early 1970s, nothing more was heard of it for almost half a century. Then on 14 October 2018, and to the great surprise but delight of movie aficionados, it belatedly but abruptly resurfaced, via a screening by Talking Pictures, who have since rescreened it several times.
And if you'd like to rediscover this movie for yourself, please click here to view an official trailer for The Ugly Duckling on YouTube.
To view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.
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