''My Friend, Dr. Jekyll'' ( it, Il mio amico Jekyll), is a

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Marino Girolami Marino Girolami (1 February 1914 – 20 February 1994) was an Italian film director and actor. Biography Marino Giorlami was born on 1 February 1914 in Rome, Italy. Formally a Professional boxer, Girolami ended his boxing career when he was 20. ...

. It is a parody of the

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's 1886 novella ''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

''. The film deals with the concept of a

mind swap A body swap (also named mind swap or soul swap or brain swap) is a storytelling device seen in a variety of science and supernatural fiction, in which two people (or beings) exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. In media such as televi ...

. A

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

uses a mind swap technique to transfer his own mind to the body of a tutor. A later attempt to return the body to its original owner results in the professor's mind inhabiting the body of a monkey.

Plot summary

In 20th century Italy, Giacinto Floria is a tutor in a rehabilitation center for former prostitutes. Floria is kidnapped each night by Professor Fabius who transfers his mind into Floria's, making him a crazed sex fiend. A detective later discovers this is happening and frees Floria from his kidnapper while the Professor's mind ends up within the body of a monkey at a zoo.

Cast

Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...

as Giacinto Floria *

Raimondo Vianello Raimondo Vianello (7 May 1922 – 15 April 2010) was an Italian film actor, comedian, and television host. He was a well-known Italian television personality. Biography He was born in Rome, but spent his youth in Pula, where his father, an ...

as Prof. Fabius *

Abbe Lane Abbe Lane (born Francine Lassman; December 14, 1931) is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader ...

as Mafalda de Matteis *

Hélène Chanel Hélène Chanel (born Hélène Stoliaroff; 12 June 1941 in Deauville, Calvados, France) is a French actress of Russian heritage. She was active in the 1960s in a variety of European international co-productions of sword and sandal, Eurospy and ...

as Rossana * Carlo Croccolo as Arguzio *

Linda Sini Linda Sini (13 February 1924 – 5 February 1999) was an Italian film actress. She made 75 appearances between 1950 and 1979 and several appearances after this, mostly in film. Debuting in '' Sigillo rosso'' in 1950, she went on to star in ...

as Adelaide *

Luigi Pavese Luigi Pavese (25 October 1897 – 13 December 1969) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Asti, Pavese started his career in 1916 working as a silent film actor at 19 years of age. He then began his theatrical debut in 192 ...

as Colonel Rolando *

Anna Campori Anna Campori (22 September 1917 – 19 January 2018) was an Italian actress. From 1951 onwards, she appeared in 70 films. Life and career Born in Rome, Italy, after the debut on stage in a small company of prose Campori moved shortly after in ...

as Clarissa de Matteis * Elena Fontana as Loredana * Maria Fiè as Mara * Angela Portaluri as Fanny * Dori Dorika as Yvonne Trelati Norcia * Ivanna Gilli as Margot

Release

''My Friend, Dr. Jekyll'' was released in Italy on August 11, 1960 where it was distributed by Incei Film. It grossed a total of 157 million

Italian Lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...

on its initial theatrical run. The film received a release in the United States in March 1965 through Union Film Distributors. The film was acquired by Dick Randall through the purchase of Sam Fleishmann's shares in the company. It has not been released on home video as of 2015.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

* 1960 films 1960s parody films Films set in the 20th century Films set in Italy Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films Films directed by Marino Girolami Italian parody films Films with screenplays by Marino Girolami 1960 comedy films Films with screenplays by Giulio Scarnicci 1960s Italian films Films about educators Body swapping in films Films about kidnapping {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub