I love the film BLACULA (1972), but this Blaxpoitation flick is a dull misfire that had potential to be entertaining in an offbeat way early on, but then blows it. Bernie Casey is a laid back and soft spoken scientist whose experiments with a formula for liver preservation cause him to turn into a light-skinned albino who likes to go around killing people, especially hookers. There are some fun moments, like 'Hyde' beating up a group of thugs on the street, and later mowing down a chick with his Rolls Royce. The first transformation scene involves a female patient who Casey uses as a guinea pig, and her makeup is quite creepy, featured in a quick sequence that sends a chill through you -- but that's about all; most of this then turns into slow-moving tedium, unfortunately. Also features Rosalind Cash, known for her role opposite Charlton Heston back in THE OMEGA MAN (1971). The best I can conclude about DR. BLACK, MR. HYDE is at least it's not quite as bad as BLACKENSTEIN (1973). *1/2 out of ****

I like a lot of the movies that came out of the blaxploitation movie era of the 1970s, so I thought this example would be pretty appealing to me. While most examples of the genre were action-based, this is one of several having a horror theme. The premise - a black doctor coming up with a serum that makes him both white and homicidal - had a lot of promise. Indeed, the scenes that show the doctor in his monster personality are kind of fun. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is not. The rest of the movie is pretty boring, to tell the truth. Bernie Casey tries, but his charisma can't save things. And while the movie is rated "R", it barely earns that rating. In fact, it might have gotten a "PG" rating had the "f" word not been uttered a couple of times. Watch the trailer for this movie instead - it's campy, fast-paced, and a lot of fun - which the movie as a whole isn't.

I remember seeing this film advertised on an Atlanta TV station late night in 1976: then I saw the rating, "R", and being 10 years old with religious parents I knew I'd never see it. Little did I know then that VCRs were just around the corner. Dr. Pride is looking for cures in liver diseases, and he discovers a formula that doesn't do too much for the liver but makes the user a monster. After a botched attempt on an old lady at the hospital he tries it on himself...becoming Mr. White Monster. This film isn't very scary, but its mighty entertaining. I can see how William Crane (the director) probably was making a statement about drug abuse. Bernie Casey is good as the doctor. The film also stars Rosiland Cash and was distributed by Dimension Pictures (Kingdom of the Spiders & Ruby).

I saw this film years ago on cable and enjoyed it for what it was. I suppose that's because I cam to it without any hype or expectations and enjoyed it all the more for it. The trouble with films like 'Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde' and the more famous 'The Thing With Two Heads' is that the gimmick often promises more than it delivers. Likewise when you get over the premise of 'Blacula', it's nothing more than an extended episode of 'Kolchak:The Night Stalker' held together by nothing more than the excellent William Marshall.But I digress. I think too many people expect these movies to have some meaningful insight into social issues of the day when many mainstream Hollywood films dealing with the same premise would be let off the hook. Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde is nothing more than the Jekyll and Hyde story told with a black actor and should be viewed on that basis alone.As a blaxploitation horror, this is competent stuff, though I'd recommend 'J.D's Revenge' over this as a better example. As a showcase for Bernie Casey this is far more enjoyable and one of the reasons I have remained a fan of this movie after many years.NOTE: DS9 fans will enjoy seeing Casey and Marc Alaimo together some 17 years before their appearance as Cal Hudson and Gul Dukat in the DS9 2-parter 'The Maquis'.