User reviews

It's sometimes hard to keep your faith in Jess Franco when you've seen so much of his by-the-numbers horror and sleaze crap like I have... This notorious Spanish director made over 180 films in approximately 40 years. That's an average of more than four films each year, so it shouldn't be a surprise that really a lot of his movies are carelessly filmed and poorly edited routine jobs. However, his older films (let's say, everything released before 1972) are definite cinema classics and particularly the black & white Gothic horror try-outs of the early 60's are highly listed among my personal favorites. "Dr. Jekyll's Mistresses" is some sort of sequel to Franco's biggest success "The Awful Dr. Orloff", even though it mainly introduces new characters and an entirely different storyline. The uncanny castle setting was maintained, however, and so were the sinister atmosphere and inventive camera angles. Beautiful young orphan Melissa spends Christmas with her drunk aunt and scientist uncle up in their old, ramshackle castle. The uncle, Dr. Conrad Jekyll, can't dedicate much time to her as he inherited the secret formula of his tutor Dr. Orloff, which causes the dead to walk again and their actions can by controlled by ultrasonic noises. Jekyll resurrects his own dead brother (whom he killed for having an affair with his wife) and uses him to strangle random strip-bar dancers and prostitutes. Deceased Andros slowly begins to develop his own will again when he finds out that his poor and defenseless daughter stays at the castle. The script leaves too many questions unanswered (does Jekyll has anything against strippers or are they just test cases for his experiments?) but it's more coherent than most of Franco's other movies and there's a constant tension surrounding the film. Many sequences are stunningly beautiful and almost poetic, like when the "zombie" visits his own final resting place at the graveyard or when he pays nightly visits to his daughter's bedroom to look at her. The sound effects during the murder sequences are quite disturbing and the acting performances are overall very adequate. Even the dialogues are professionally written and that truly proves that "Dr. Jekyll's Mistresses" is one of Jess Franco's absolute finest achievements. Recommended!

The teenager Melissa (Agnès Spaak) travels from her small town in Austria with the Spanish Juan Manuel (José Rubio), who flirts with her, to the creepy castle of her uncle Dr. Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita- Jáuregui) in Holfen to spend Christmas with him and her aunt Inglud (Luisa Sala). Melissa's father Andros (Hugh White) has mysteriously died at the house of his brother Conrad sometime ago. Now she has just reached majority and Conrad intends to transfer the inheritance to her. Melissa is received by the servant Ciceron (Manuel Guitián) and she meets the strange Inglud. Then she meets Conrad in his laboratory, where he secretly carries out a sinister experiment. Melissa wants to get information about the death of her father but she is ignored by Conrad and Inglud. In the past, Andros and Inglud had a love affair and Conrad surprised them and killed Andros. Now, Conrad has turned Andros into a killer zombie controlled by ultrasonic radio wave and uses him to kill women with easy life. Inspector Klein (Pastor Serrador) is investigating the murders but has no clue. Will Melissa find the truth about her father?

"El secreto del Dr. Orloff" is one of the best movies by Jess Franco in the earlier stage of his uneven filmography. The story is simple but makes sense; the acting is not bad but unfortunately Marcelo Arroita- Jáuregui is weak for a villain; and the black and white cinematography and the camera angles are top-notch. The music score by Daniel White is perfect for the atmosphere of this film. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "As Amantes do Dr. Jekyll" ("The Mistresses of the Dr. Jejyll")

The second "Orloff" movie is apparently unrelated to the first (a re-acquaintance with which will follow): in fact, this name is omnipresent throughout Franco's filmography; anyway, it is more or less on the same level of THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS (1962) – even if I watched ORLOFF in English rather than French (or, for that matter, the original Spanish language). Again, Franco shows to be fairly adept with genre conventions and even manages to blend them relatively easily with a modern-day setting – still, he cannot help being himself and resist incorporating nightclub performances (in fact, this rather lazily makes the artistes themselves the victims so that we get a song every 20 minutes or so!) and, inevitably, erotic overtones.

Incidentally, Howard Vernon (the actor most associated with the Orloff role) is sorely missed here – the character himself is only of secondary importance and appears very briefly – but the memorable Morpho figure, a disfigured zombie-like creature obeying its master's will (not unlike Cesare from the German Expressionist landmark THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI {1920}), is now assumed by Andros. The latter – played by Hugo Blanco, the villainous latest member of the Von Klaus family and whose brooding good looks suit his mute stalker here – is perversely turned into a monster (hence the title, though the print actually bears the absurd moniker DR. JEKYLL'S MISTRESSES - which would, in any case, have better suited Walerian Borowczyk's masterful 1981 film, DOCTEUR JEKYLL ET LES FEMMES!) by his own scientist brother (Vernon's bearded, rather gruff replacement and saddled with the peculiar surname of Fisherman) when he catches him in bed with his own wife (she, of course, also pays for her infidelity by being driven to the bottle).

However, the plot this time around is decidedly contrived: we never learn why Andros (who sleeps upright in a class cage, as Cesare himself did albeit in a wooden-box) is sent on a murderous rampage – after being revived, and subsequently controlled, by sound-waves – every once in a while (most effectively when he nonchalantly moves through a crowded nightspot following yet another attack). The "Digitally Obsessed" website review suggests the reason for the various killings is because Fisherman wanted to get even with his spouse…but this is hardly EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), is it?! Similarly, the heroine – the monster's daughter, whom she believed was dead and buried (at one point, he even visits his own grave!) – turns up to stay with the central family only so that we get the obligatory damsel-in-distress and add an admittedly refreshing touch of pathos to Andros' condition; Agnes Spaak, sister of the more famous Catherine(!), appears in this part. On the other hand, the girl's bland male counterpart is extremely annoying, and the presence of the Police basically only serves to keep the audience abreast of the villains' eventual apprehension.

Dr. Orloff's Monster (1964)

** (out of 4)

Jess Franco's sequel to The Awful Dr. Orloff is more of a remake than anything else. I watched the French version under the title The Mistress of Dr. Jekyll and this version features more nudity than the versions released in Spain and America. In the film. Dr. Fisherman (Marcelo Arroita Jauregui) kills his brother (Hugo Blanco) when he learns that he is having an affair with his wife. The doctor eventually brings his brother back as a zombie like creature to kill various women for him. I've never really been a fan of Franco's earlier period of Gothic horror films but you can certainly see that he has talent with these films. While I prefer his 70s work he does give this film a lot of style, which is something missing from those later films. The performance Blanco is pretty good but Jauregui comes off very boring and certainly can't fill the shoes of Howard Vernon from the previous film. The film is beautiful to look at and features a very nice score from Daniel White but in the end the film left me looking at my watch too much. The movie's pace is quite slow and all the stuff dealing with the police comes off boring. You can spot Franco during one scene. The DVD features some of the alternate scenes from the American and Spanish version of the film. I think I prefer the French scenes with the nudity as it makes the film stand out from countless other Gothic films of this period.

If you've suffered through some of the hack work Jess Franco cranked out in the last two decades, you may find it difficult to believe that he once took some pride in his craft and evinced a certain mastery of cinematic technique, as well as a modicum of discipline. "Dr Orloff's Monster" is a case in point. Despite the title, it bears no direct relation to the creepy and perverse opus, "The Awful Dr Orloff", which put the director on the map back in the early 60s. However, it shares the same doom-laden aura -- with the expected (but always riveting) kinky asides -- that so resemble that earlier picture as well as the German Edgar Wallace 'krimi' series which was reaching its peak at the same time.

The picture is rife with carefully-executed camera angles and atmospherics, something that would become anathema to Franco's slash-and-burn methods of the 80s. The best scenes are reminiscent of (dare I say) Lewton and Franju. It builds up a strong pathos for the title character, thanks to a subtle, wordless portrayal that evokes Cesar in 'Cabinet of Dr Caligari' and Christiane in 'Eyes without a Face' (such homages were a Franco specialty). There is a particularly poignant sequence in which the zombie stumbles about near his own tombstone in a bleak, wintry cemetery. No matter what depths Franco's movies plunged to, they always offered a few wonderfully oddball cabaret scenes in smoky jazz or rock bars, and this is no exception. One singer performs a wacky, rhythmic Latin ditty that must have sparked the imagination of the members of the retro band 'Les Rita Mitsouko'. (These cabaret scenes were a welcome staple of the Euro-thriller genre of the 60s, also perking up the krimi series, several of the campier works of the Italian Gothic revival, and especially the outlaw melodramas of Jose Benazeraf.)

There are already foreshadowings of the director's latter-day carelessness -- a few too many zooms, cutting from the middle of one scene to another, and a general neglect of motivation. And, of course, he'd end up doing the revenge plot to death. But overall, this one (along with the much more perverse 'Sadistic Baron von Klaus') comes highly recommended for Franco skeptics and genre fans alike. Surprisingly, this film was immediately followed by his magnum opus, the delirious 'Succubus' (aka 'Necronomicon'), which in its pseudo-sophisticated Radley-Metzger-like style is miles removed from the Gothic horror of his early work.

Nice Franco film revolving around a nutty doctor , Orloff , aka Jekyll , who sends his disfigured monster to attack beautiful women from nightclubs . It begins with the gorgeous teen Melissa (Agnès Spaak) travels from Austria and meets the Spanish Juan Manuel (Pepe Rubio) , who flirts with her , and going to the mysterious house of her uncle Dr. Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui) in Holfen to spend Christmas with him , while he intends to transfer the inheritance to her . There Melissa meets the burnt-out and bittered aunt Inglud (Luisa Sala) who has dark secrets , too . Meantime, a police inspector (Pastor Serrador) and underlings (José Truchado, Ramón Lillo) to discover the real culprit , by investigating the complex cases about killed women and going after some suspicious people . Thanks to the help his girlfriend , the young Juan Manuel ((José Rubio or Pepe Rubio) finds out the prime suspect , who results to be Dr. Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui) or Dr. Orloff , assisted by a horrific servant (Hugo Blanco who has a decent make-up) to execute his murderous schemes .

Austerily wonderful horror film about an ordinary Franco plot , as a mad scientist creates an ominous monster , being currently helped by the creepy servant , a deformed and hideous monstrosity . It contains thrills , chills , haunting poetic fantasy and deemed to be one of the first movies of the ¨Spanish Fantaterror¨ . In this enjoyable tale titled ¨The Orloff's secret¨ as well as the former eerie flick ¨The awful Dr Orloff¨, Franco established his uniquely poetic and visually striking style , though imitating to classy "Eyes Without A Face" (1960) , the masterpiece directed by George Franju , while in ¨The Awful Dr. Orlof¨(1962) by Franco himself , Orloff removes the faces of gorgeous girls and attempts to graft them onto the ruined head of his disfiguring daughter . This decent Spanish/French co-production is generally characterized by unforgettable images that owed a great deal to early cinema in general and German Expressionism in particular and turns out to be a symbolic attack on the ethics of science . Although the film passed European censors upon its original release in 1964 , the disturbing attacks and erotic scenes still caused controversy , existing a double version , both , a light Spanish and another hard French one . Nice acting by sympathetic and wonderful Agnès Spaak ; excellent and eerie Hugo Blanco as Andros a monster turned into a killer zombie controlled by ultrasonic radio wave , fine Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui as a brilliant and demented researcher/scientific/surgeon haunted by past tragedy and likeable Pepe Rubio as the brave boyfriend . And a lot of familar Spanish faces giving attractive support cast , such as : Perla Cristal , Pastor Serrador , José Truchado , Ramon Lillo, Marta Reves , Manuel Guitián , Maribel Hidalgo , Julio Infiesta , Rafael Hernández . And brief appearance , as usual , by Jesus Franco or Jess Frank as a pianist at a bar .

Tenth film of the prolific writer/producer/director Jesús Franco , considered to be one of the best films in his first period . Well produced but in short budget by Leo Films , Nueva Films S. A. (Spain) and the French company run by Daniel and Marious Lesoeur : Eurocine . Stunningly filmed in black and white by cameraman Alfonso Nieva , using continuous lights , shades and expressionist darkness . Shot on location in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Castillo de la Coracera , Madrid, Spain , posing as the fictitious French town of Hartog . This vintage terror motion picture , a classic in some circles , was well directed by Jesús Franco who never considered the film to be a horror story, but instead felt it was tale of "anguish" . Franco is really influenced by ¨Eyes without a face¨, B-movies about Detectives or Noir Films , German expressionism from Cabinet Dr Caligari , and the Universal Terror . Initial releases of the film were met with negative reactions from film critics , while the general critical reaction had been poor , however , today being considered to be a pretty good fim.

The Orloff character as a mad doctor who tries to use skin of murdered women to repair his beloved daughter's fire-scarred face and whose role subsequently to show up in various flicks starring a long saga , using the same shots in more than one film ; some of his actors relate how they they were hired for one film and later saw their name in two or more different one . Orloff is often assisted by Morpho , Andros-lookalike, who delights in killing his victims and sadistic practices . Orloff was habitually played by Howard Vernon who initiated in ¨Gritos en la Noche (1962) , the best of all them , also titled "The Awful Dr. Orlof" . It's followed by El Secreto del Dr. Orloff (1964) aka "The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll" - USA . It's gone on by " Orloff y el hombre invisible (1970) aka "Dr. Orloff's Invisible Monster" , ¨Ojos siniestros de Doctor Orloff¨(1973) . Furthermore , El enigma Del Ataúd (1969) aka "Only a Coffin" and El Siniestro doctor Orloff (1984) aka "The Sinister Dr. Orloff . Finally in ¨Faceless¨ or Depredadores de Noche¨(1987) Orloff appears as a secondary role also performed by Howard Vernon.

Although made on a shoestring budget and as a sequel to The Awfull Dr. Orloff, this is a very enjoyable flick and a fine example of early Southern European horror. It's actually better than it's predecessor.

The plot is not real important (it contains a zombie-like creature, a castle and a mad scientist). What makes this movie is the mood, the often beautiful camera-angles, the art direction and the hints of later Franco movies.

For example, there's several scenes with women performing, often in erotic scenes, with men watching - which is exactly the kind of voyeuristic cinema Franco would turn to in later years (Vampyros Lesbos, Demoniac).

There's - of course - quite some nudity, which must have been considered quite risque in 1964. And there's a small cameo for the director himself, as a pianist who seems to be blind.....

Also of interest is the use of electronic devices used to make the zombie a murderous weapon, they give a strange effect to the movie and reminded me of early 50's sci-fi B-movies.

All in all, recommended for Franco fans and b/w horrormovie fans. If you've never seen a Franco I suggest starting with Vampyros Lesbos or Female Vampire.

1964's "Dr. Orloff's Monster" (El Secreto del Dr. Orloff or Les Maitresses du Docteur Jekyll), a Spanish-French-Austrian coproduction and sequel (the first in a lengthy series) to Jesus Franco's 1961 "The Awful Dr. Orlof," basically a continuation of the same outline, murderous undead assassin stalking pretty showgirls in various stages of undress. A similar castle setting finds Marcelo Arroita-Jauregui's evil Dr. Conrad Jekyll (no Hyde in evidence, his name changed to Fisherman in other territories) ruling his beaten down wife, who has been grieving for her lost love over the decades, in fact the doctor's own beloved brother Andros (Hugo White), now his robotic pawn drawn to each victim by a radio transmitting necklace that police prove slow to pick up on (a lost necklace was also a catalyst in the original ORLOF). Only when he tries to murder his visiting niece Melissa (Agnes Spaak) does he meet his fate at the hands of her protective father, though one wonders how Andros would recognize his now adult daughter after being, well, dead for so many years! Andros isn't as fearful as the original film's Morpho (Ricardo Valle), but he does prove more sympathetic and has the benefit of sight where his predecessor was blind. This doctor is a real cold fish, addicted to opium, lacking even the menacing qualities of Howard Vernon, who would reprise the Orloff role on many occasions into the 80s, plus a well meaning surgeon in Claude Mulot's unrelated French title "The Blood Rose." A perfunctory love interest for Melissa helps flesh out her character, Agnes Spaak the elder sister of Catherine Spaak, who would soon retire from the screen to work as a photographer. This early Franco shows that he was capable of good work with a decent budget, and without the dizzying zoom lens that would become his trademark.

A mad scientist creates a hideous monster to carry out his murderous plans.

I watched this on Netflix streaming, so I have to say I do not think they had the best copy possible. At times it seemed like a poor digital transfer from an old source. This did not really hurt the movie, but I just want to say if you want to see this film in its best light, you may want to look elsewhere. (Though, for all I know, no good copy exists.)

How this film ties together Orlof, Jekyll, an robots is a bit confusing, not helped in the least by the translation issue. I watched it as "Monster of Dr. Orlof", which seems to suggest a far different film than "The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll", and yet they are one and the same.

Jess Franco's The Mistresses of Dr. Jeckyll is a sequel of sorts to his 1962 horror The Awful Dr. Orlof, although the character of Orlof only appears in the opening scene, in which he reveals to his associate, Dr. Conrad Fisherman (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui), his secret theory about reanimating a corpse. Unless I missed something, there is no-one called Dr. Jeckyll in the film (perhaps Fisherman was called Jeckyll in the original language version; the copy I saw was dubbed).

When Fisherman learns that his wife Ingrid (Luisa Sala) has slept with his brother Andros (Hugo Blanco), the doctor slays his sibling by stabbing him with a scalpel, bringing him back from the dead as a robotic slave who can be controlled by ultrasonic transmissions. Conrad proceeds to punish wayward women by sending Andros out to kill, finding victims in the jazz clubs and bars of Holfen. Meanwhile, Conrad's niece Melissa (Agnès Spaak) arrives at Conrad's castle to take control of her inheritance, unaware that her dead father wanders the corridors at night.

Although not nearly as good as The Awful Dr. Orlof, this is still one of Franco's more coherent and therefore more enjoyable films, made before the effects of the psychedelic '60s took hold and he started to churn out incomprehensible garbage like Succubus and Nightmares Come At Night. The plot mightn't be the most inspired - it's formulaic 'tragic monster' fare - but Franco creates lots of contemporary gothic atmosphere, delivers some nice black and white imagery, and gives us a couple of cool jazzy musical numbers to boot.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Prolific director Jess Franco follows up his previous very successful Orloff films with this stylish black and white chiller. As is often the case with Franco, this production has been distributed around the world under several titles. Some refer to the title character as Orloff, and some as Jekyll. But who cares when we're having this much fun? The weakest link is the main man himself - whatever his name is! With Howard Vernon unavailable, Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui steps in; he's avuncular, cuddly and friendly-faced, the polar opposite of Vernon.

Everything else is much as it often is in monochrome Jess Franco films. Stylish, arty, stark, polished, creepy and ever so slightly dull. The magnificent monster is far too handsome to warrant all the shrieking that greets his every appearance. Hugo Blancoplays zombie henchman Andros very well, and he's aided by sinister lighting and spooky music, but really, his 'hideousness' amounts to nothing more to bad acne.

This is an enjoyable ride, though, and a million miles away from the gleeful bargain-basement fetish-romps that Franco would soon be producing. Some seeds of his future obsessions are sown here, in what would become familiar character names (Andros, Melissa for example) and a lengthy exotic jazzy cabaret sequence.

Perhaps not quite up there with the earlier 'The Awful Doctor Orlof', this is nonetheless unsettling, riotous early picture from the notorious Uncle Jess.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Jesus Franco; Produced by Marius Lesoeur, released on American television as "Dr. Orloff's Monster" by American-International TV. Screenplay by Jesus Franco; Photography by Alfonso Nieva; Edited by Angel Serrano; Music by Daniel White. Starring: Hugo Blanco, Agnes Spaak, Perla Cristal, Magda Maldonado and Pepe Rubio.

Spanish horror sequel to director Franco's "The Awful Dr. Orloff" which is even crummier than the first outing, as Orloff's human-like robot minion terrorizes pretty babes again. Featuring white nightgown action.

Saw via DVD 7/23/17. One of Franco's best works, in a class with the best of Mario Bava or Dario Argento. The film is his distinctly personal take on the myth of the animated (or re-animated) as homunculus (cf. Caligari, Golem, Frankenstein). The movie achieves strong pathos when the young heiress encounters the monster, a Freudian moment combining the beauty of Agnes Spaak with the terror of a vintage Lon Chaney reveal. The cinematic technique is assured, with especially masterful use of lighting and camera angles. The black and white photography is as visually striking as Franco's Eastmancolor "Vampyros Lesbos" (1971). Anticipates Lynch while looking back at Franju's "Eyes Without A Face"(1959) with maybe some Antonioni thrown in here and there – who knows? As in the other Franco movies I've enjoyed, great soundtrack and music, with the master himself in a keyboard cameo in a jazz dive. Essential film for Francophiles, but maybe also a good starter work for viewers simply wanting a break from Bunuel (yes, they met, according to this website).

Iconoclastic filmmaker Jess Franco followed up his breakthrough Gothic horror film "The Awful Dr. Orlof" with this similarly effective black & white thriller. The stand-in for Dr. Orlof this time is a scientist named Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jauregui), who presides over a castle in the country. Conrads' teenaged niece Melissa (the sexy Agnes Spaak) comes to visit to claim her inheritance after the death of her father, whom Melissa never met. Meanwhile, Conrad is sending his "robot" creation Andros (Hugo Blanco) out to murder female entertainers, for his own evil reasons.

Franco melds "mad scientist" and Gothic themes with youthful romance, some poignant drama, irreverent humour, and smokey jazz clubs for this typically interesting work. Viewers who may regard Franco as a sleazy hack need only see efforts like this to see that he was no one-trick pony. The atmosphere is solid, and the performances are efficient without being too flashy. Spaak is appealing as the young lead, and also doing an engaging job is the films' MVP, Luisa Sala as Conrads' wife Inglud. She delivers a haunted performance as a forlorn woman who doesn't exactly have a loving relationship with her husband. Pepe Rubio is a hoot as Juan Manuel, an outgoing Spanish cabbie who aggressively tries to work his charms on Melissa. Pastor Serrador is likewise highly amusing as a police inspector with a dry wit (and a bad cold).

"Dr. Orloff's Monster" (just one of the films' titles) may be a little light on sci-fi and horror elements for some tastes, but fans of Franco's racier pictures will pleasantly note that he has the camera linger quite lustily on the physical assets on some of the female cast members. Among the noteworthy aspects here are the cinematography (by Alfonso Nieva) and the music (by Fernando Garcia Morcillo and Daniel White).

In the end, "Dr. Orloff's Monster" is memorable for having a sad & tragic feel to the story, with the viewer taking pity on this killer Andros, a victim himself of another persons' machinations.

Franco himself has a small role as a piano player.

Eight out of 10.

In THE MISTRESSES OF DR. JEKYLL (aka: DR. ORLOFF'S MONSTER), the demented title character kills, then turns his cheating wife's lover into a remote control zombie robot. He then sends his new zombot out to slaughter various ladies of the night.

Enter the Doctor's niece, who arrives for a visit. Unbeknownst to her, it's her dad that's now a reanimated murderer!

Director Jesus Franco has really made a great horror film here. It's dark and bizarre, and the method used to facilitate the killings is ingenious! There's a macabre atmosphere and many genuinely creepy moments. The finale is also quite satisfying...