Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

7/10

lugonian5 May 2001

THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (Universal, 1932), directed by Robert Florey, and suggested on the story by Edgar Allan Poe, became Universal's third installment in its horror cycle (following two 1931 releases of "Dracula" and "Frankenstein." Top-billing goes to Sidney Fox, a short, dark-haired beauty with innocent charm, but the scene stealing goes to Bela Lugosi in a very creepy and scary performance.

Set in 1845 Paris, Pierre Dupin (Leon Waycoff), a young medical student, with his fiancée, Camille L'Espanaye (Sidney Fox), attend a carnival where they enter a tent to watch a side show featuring Doctor Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) with his pet ape, Erik. Mirakle demonstrates his friendship with his ape by speaking his language, etc., and tells his mesmerizing audience that the ape's blood can be mixed with that of the blood of man. While many in view feel him to be insane, Pierre does not. Mirakle later makes an acquaintance with Camille, and noticing that Erik is particularly interested in her, Mirakle finds she may possibly be the perfect choice as the bride for his gorilla. As the story progresses, bodies of street girls are found in the river and taken by authorities to the Rue Morgue where Pierre decides to study these unfortunate victims of drowning, only to soon learn the motive for these recent deaths, and hoping to put a stop to it before any more murders occur.

Combining horror and mystery, THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, running only 60 minutes in length, reportedly did not become a box office success, maybe because of some scenes that were possibly too intense for 1932 audiences, but in spite of some intrusive "comedy relief," this atmospheric movie does have its bonuses, especially that of Lugosi, sporting curly hair, bushy eyebrows, glassy eyes and red lips that make him every bit as creepy as he did playing Dracula a year ago. The scene where he leisurely approaches a prostitute (Arlene Francis) in the heavy fog of night after her "lovers" have a knife fight to the death, speaks to her in saying slowly, "A lady ... in distress .... Come ... with me." The way he says this is pure Lugosi not only scaring his proposed victim, but his viewers as well. What occurs after he takes her with him to his place is not for the squeamish. D'Arcy Corrigan also adds some nice touches of horror in the story as the morgue keeper. He is not the villain, but his appearance in itself is stereotype undertaking at best. He looks more like the walking dead himself. The funny thing here is that he tells Pierre that he has a wife and children. One can imagine what they look like, but we'll never know.

If the voice of Leon Waycoff sounds familiar and not his name, Waycoff later changed his surname from Waycoff to Ames. Leon Ames is famous for his role as Judy Garland's father in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (MGM, 1944), and playing fathers in many other film and TV roles. Also in the cast are Bert Roach as Paul; Brandon Hurst as the Prefect of Police; Betsy Ross Clark as Camille's mother; and Noble Johnson as Mirakle's assistant, Janos, who says nothing but whose facial gestures also add to the creepiness.

Pierre Dupin, the medical student turned sleuth, would turn up again in another Universal film, THE MYSTERYOF MARIE ROGET (1942) with Patric Knowles as Dupin, Nell O'Day as Camille and Marie Montez as the title character. As for THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, it was formerly shown on both the Sci-Fi Channel and American Movie Classics cable channels prior to 2001, and later Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: August 18, 2006). Formerly on video cassette and later on DVD, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, is satisfactory nightmarish entertainment, especially for any avid Bela Lugosi fan. (***)

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7/10

Expressionist horror in the sound era...

jluis198419 June 2007

After the enormous success of Tod Browning's "Dracula" in 1931, producer Carl Laemmle Jr. finally proved that his vision had been correct and that the horror genre was an excellent source of stories to film. With that in mind, he began to work immediately in a follow up for that success with an adaptation of Mary Shelley's immortal novel, "Frankenstein", in the expressionist Gothic style of Browning's film. The film was set to be written and directed by French director Robert Florey and starred by the recently discovered Hungarian star of "Dracula": Bela Lugosi. However, people at Universal changed the plans and assigned the film to British director James Whale, who had a different idea for the movie and replaced Lugosi with Boris Karloff. Owing a film to both Florey and Lugosi, Universal gave them a project based on a tale by Edgar Allan Poe: "Murders in the Rue Morgue".

Set in Paris during the late 19th Century, "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is the tale of a series of unsolved crimes where women are abducted and murdered by an unknown method. Since the murders began to take place after a carnival arrived to the city, young medicine student Pierre Dupin (Leon Ames) suspects that Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi), a scientist who owns one of the sideshow attractions, is behind the crimes, but so far he finds himself unable to prove it. His suspicion has its source in the fact that Mirakle has claimed to be looking for a way to finally prove that man and ape are related, and apparently has been experimenting on his sideshow attraction: an intelligent ape named Erik, which Mirakle claims is the missing link. Dupin fears that Mirakle's experiments are related to the murders, but the truth is far more horrible than what he thinks.

"Murders in the Rue Morgue" is not exactly a faithful adaptation of Poe's short story, as the script (written by Tom Reed, Dale Van Every and Robert Florey himself) focuses more on the reasons behind the murders than on the investigation done to solve the case. It is because of this reason that it is Dr. Mirakle who is in the spotlight while Poe's famous character, Dupin, has been transformed from cunning detective to a young student of medicine. With this change, the writers allow themselves to completely focus on horror, and deliver one of the darkest and most violent stories among Universal's classic horrors. However, as many have already pointed out, the story is not only an exploration of Poe's tale, but also a charming tribute to German expressionism's most celebrated triumph, "Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari", as the plot mirrors the classic silent film in more than one way.

The tribute to "Caligari" is not only a part of the script, as director Florey, aided by the legendary cinematographer Karl Freund and the wonderful art direction by Charles D. Hall, extended the tribute to the overall visual look of the film, following the expressionist style to the letter with an amazing use of light and shadows to create a powerful and haunting atmosphere. However, not everything is lifted from German expressionism, as Florey adds his own realist style to the mix resulting in a powerful combination that enhances the violence of the script. As the film was done before the Production Code was introduced, Florey manages to bring to life a lot of the vicious images of the script with an amount of detail that would be impossible a few years later. Sadly, Florey's skills at directing actors aren't as good as his skills with the camera, and some bad performances end up damaging the movie a lot.

While Florey doesn't seem to direct his actors as good as he does with the visuals, Bela Lugosi shows off his talent in a tremendous performance that's probably among the best of his career. As Mirakle, Lugosi is incredibly believable as a demented scientist, and despite being one of his most menacing roles he even manages to be sympathetic at times. The sadly ill-fated Sidney Fox is also good as Camille, the damsel in distress of this eerie horror, but sadly her counterpart, Leon Ames, isn't up to the challenge. While he later proved to be a talented actor, in this movie Ames delivers an awful performance that looks stagy and simply out of place in the movie. Bert Roach, who plays his sidekick, is not much better, as his delivery of comic relief is mediocre at best and ludicrous at worst.

This varying quality of the performances and the sharp contrast between them and the superb visual look of the movie may had played a part in the relatively disappointing reception the film had at box office, but the main reasons the movie failed was probably the fact that the audience wasn't ready for the dark nature of the plot and the violence displayed on screen. In fact, there are rumors stating that Universal removed almost 20 minutes of the original cut, taking away scenes supposedly too violent for being released. Anyways, whether this rumor is true or not is ultimately irrelevant, as the film's main problem is still in the actors' performances and that's something that missing footage hardly could improve. It is a shame that one of Lugosi's best performances ends up in the same film as one of Ames' worst.

Despite its many troubles, Robert Florey's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is still an effective tale of horror and mystery that keeps the classic Universal feeling to the max. Dark and atmospheric, it is also an unusual movie due to its raw portrayal of violence on film. While not exactly a classic of the level of Universal films like "Frankenstein" or "The Black Cat", this movie is definitely a must see if only for Karl Freund's masterful cinematography and Bela Lugosi's amazing performance. 7/10

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7/10

Definitely worth a look

kitchent21 December 2004

I won't go into the plot details as many have done that before me, but "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is worth a look for several reasons.

The first is the overall look of the film from legendary DP Karl Freund (Dracula, Metropolis, and many others). The sets are outstanding, the lighting is great, and the overall atmosphere is perfect. Everything comes off as some creepy nightmare.

The second reason to see "Murders" is Bela Lugosi, who owns every scene he is in. He is sufficiently strange and intimidating as the mad doctor.

The third reason is the overall story line. OK, forget the whole mixing of the ape and human blood thing and this movie is very similar in plot line to "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", just substitute the ape for Cesare the Somnambulist. It also contains some very strong (for its time) scenes involving the doctor "administering" to his patients.

OK, now some things that aren't so hot.

First, the cutting between the man in the ape suit and the real ape's face is distracting. The shots don't match and some serious suspension of disbelief is required for this not to be a deal breaker. I've heard that Florey's film was cut against his wishes to add these scenes and remove others. That would explain why these scenes seem out of place.

Also, as others have referred to, the comic relief is really not very good. At the time, however, this type of thing was common in films that were thought to be very intense. The comedy was used to relieve the tension so the audience could be set up for the next batch of horrors. Most of it doesn't work in this film.

Overall, I felt this film was well worth a look, and I've watched it several times just to admire the outstanding work of Karl Freund.

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6/10

Pre-Production Code Thriller!

bsmith555210 September 2005

"Murders In the Rue Morgue" was Universal's follow up for star Bela Lugosi after the huge success of "Dracula" (1931). He did appear in other films during this period but mostly in minor roles. In fact, in one of the worst career moves of his career, Bela had turned down the role of the monster in "Frankenstein" (1931).

This film made in 1932, two years before the introduction of the infamous Production Code, contains many situations that would have not been allowed under the Production Code. For example, even the suggestion of a liaison between an ape and a woman would have never been allowed and the clear identification of a prostitute likewise. It's probably why this film was not seen for many years.

Lugosi, donning his mad scientist hat, plays the mysterious Dr. Mirakle who works in a carnival sideshow in 1845 Paris. He displays his man-like ape (actually it looks like a full grown chimpanzee) Erik while searching for a human female to presumably mate with the monster. One night pretty Camille L'Espanaye (Sidney Fox) and her beau, medical student Pierre Dupin (Leon Waycoff) visit the carnival and take in Dr. Mirakle's show. During the show, the ape is give the girl's bonnet and becomes obsessed with her.

Meanwhile we learn that Mirakle has been searching for the right blood match for his pet. We discover that two women have been murdered (offscreen) already. One dark night, Mirakle comes upon a "woman of the streets" (Arlene Francis) who has just witnessed the deaths of two "suitors" in a knife fight. The good doctor lures the poor wench to his laboratory where we witness his torture of her and her rather cold disposition of her corpse when she dies after she is injected with the ape's blood.

All the while Mirakle has kept his eye on the comely Camille. Then one night he sends the ape to Camille's room and..............

The film is well directed by Robert Florey who utilizes Universal's dark fog filled sets to great effect. Lugosi is quite terrifying in this role. Although he did get teamed with Boris Karloff in the mid thirties, he never achieved the heights he should have at Universal. With his personal off screen problems well documented, he made a number of poor choices in his movie roles. During the period when his star should have been rising he kept appearing in cheap poverty row features and serials which did little to advance his career.

Others in the cast include Bert Roach as Paul, Pierre's friend, Brandon Hurst as the Prefect of Police and D'Arcy Corrigan as the Morgue Keeper.

A very young John Huston contributes some additional dialog for the story. Leon Waycoff became Leon Ames and enjoyed a lengthy career as a character actor.

One of Lugosi's best.

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7/10

A U.S. look at French horror through a German lens

brianina27 May 2001

Much creepier than any mad scientist and his monkey movie has a right to be. Much of the credit must go to cinematographer Karl Freund (The Last Laugh, Metropolis) who gives the movie the feel of a German horror film. Charles D. Hall's distorted sets also help make this often resemble a sound remake of "The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari." The script has a very European flavor as well with lines that sometimes sound as if they were translated from another language. The ape is more convincing than all those later films because of quick cutting between an actual ape's snarling face and a man in a suit, the latter shown not enough to destroy the illusion. At one point stop motion is used to show the ape carrying a woman across the top of buildings a year before "King Kong!" There are three failings, however. Near the end is a long attempt at humor concerning French bureaucracy that hurts the build-up of tension. The other two failings come from the lab. They lay over one sequence a fog effect with the fog blowing at hurricane strength despite no apparent wind anywhere else in the shot. And at the end is a very obvious matte shot with lots of squiggly lines around the characters.

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7/10

Simian blood, the better to stimulate the mating urge

bkoganbing23 January 2012

Murders In The Rue Morgue casts Bela Lugosi as one of the many mad scientists he played in his long career. To make ends meet he has a carnival act, but it's really a blind for some gruesome experiments involving sex. InterSpecies sex that is.

If Charles Darwin is correct and man is related to the other primates than it follows, reasons Bela apes should be looking to mate with man given the proper stimulation. So for his horny gorilla he kidnaps women and injects them with simian blood. In the Paris of 1845 Bela's experiments are working pretty good as his ape is let loose on these injected women and the young women of Paris are in danger. Women of all classes as streetwalker Arlene Francis discovers to her tragic regret.

King Kong never eyed Fay Wray with more lust than Bela's simian had when he was checking out Sidney Fox. In fact King Kong should prove the hypothesis Lugosi was advancing. The climax of Murders At The Rue Morgue is very similar to King Kong with Leon Ames playing the Bruce Cabot part.

Some really great sets and beautiful cinematography are the main attraction of Murders At The Rue Morgue which bares only the slightest resemblance to Edgar Allan Poe's story. Lugosi is fabulously sinister and lustful, he's checking out Fox and the others himself. It's not Dracula for him, but what is?

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6/10

Dated it might be, but this Universal horror is also spookily atmospheric

Leofwine_draca29 August 2016

Warning: Spoilers

Fun, if minor, Universal horror flick which casts Bela Lugosi in his trademark role as a screen icon of pure evil. This is a very loose adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe story; the locked-room murder does occur towards the end of the movie, complete with a body stuffed in a chimney, but this is only part of it. Instead, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE focuses on Lugosi's mad scientist and his Darwinian theories that humans are descended from apes (the setting being Paris in 1845, this idea is widely pooh-poohed). In order to prove this, he attempts to mate a girl with an ape, and his plan involves injecting girls with gorilla blood which results in a series of strange deaths. Lugosi ingeniously dumps the bodies into the river under his house and the victims are simply described as victims of drowning.

Of course it's not long before an irritating medical student is on the case to foil Lugosi's plans, but he's interrupted in his task when the ape goes berserk and murders Lugosi itself. This leads to an exciting rooftop finale which acts as a miniature forerunner to KING KONG with the ape kidnapping the young female victim and escaping from roof to roof as her suitor gives chase. A well-placed bullet sends the ape to a watery grave, thus ending the film at the incredibly short hour mark. MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is an understandably dated film with many aspects to alienate it to modern audiences. Like Dracula, there's no music in any scenes which make it look more like a stage play than a movie. The special effects involve closeups of a cute chimpanzee interspersed with a clumsy man in a poor costume pretending to be an ape and are extremely poor in the modern light.

However, all is not lost. As mentioned on the back of the box, the film does recall the classic German Expressionist movies in the use of lighting and shadows, and strange backdrops which really help to give it a unique look. There's a fair amount of brooding atmosphere built up in the backstreets of a dirty Paris and plenty of ghoulish humour in the morgue (as well as some unwanted over-the-top comedy and acting at a police inquest). The film also benefits considerably from one of Lugosi's best roles as a crazed, demented scientist who talks to his pet ape and shocks people at a carnival with his insane evolutionary theories (the irony being, of course, that he was correct in his assumptions). Lugoi's wild-haired mad man gets to wear some great costumes which emphasis his skeletal body and delivers his lines with an evil relish. The same quality cannot be said of the rest of the cast, especially the boring hero and his policemen chums, whom we have no interest in whatsoever. Thankfully Sidney Fox makes for quite a fetching beauty and can scream with the best of them. MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE isn't one of Universal's best movies, but it remains a solid (if dated) piece of entertainment with much to commend it to classic horror fans.

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10/10

Edgar Allan Poe Meets Bela Lugosi

Ron Oliver19 May 2001

A crazed scientist commits vile MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE to promote his theories concerning the relationship between human & ape biology.

Bela Lugosi dominates this rather fascinating little foray into terror, his mad mesmerizing eyes & theatrical gestures a natural complement to the film's Grand Guignol qualities. Listening to the world of weariness in his voice as he delivers a line like `Will my search never end?' makes only more poignant this fine actor's eventual descent into drug addicted obscurity.

Pert, pretty little Sidney Fox -she actually receives top billing over Lugosi - gives a pleasing performance as the unfortunate choice of the ape's interest (the plot is never really clear as to what, exactly, Lugosi is attempting to accomplish with his gruesome experiments). Leon Waycoff is hopeless as a romantic lead, but with an eventual name change to Leon Ames, he was to become one of Hollywood's most durable character actors.

The supporting cast is quite good: plump Bert Roach as a nervous medical student; sepulchral D'Arcy Corrigan as a sardonic morgue keeper; Arlene Francis, who has the dubious honor of featuring in one of Universal's most horrific murder scenes; and Noble Johnson, important Black actor & silent film star, here performing in whiteface (as he often did) as Lugosi's mute henchman.

Movie mavens will spot some familiar faces in unbilled roles: Harry Holman as Miss Fox's silly, obese landlord; Herman Bing, Torben Meyer & Agostino Borgato as three ear-witnesses to one of the murders; Tempe Pigott as an old crone with very bad teeth; and Charlotte Henry as a lovely young lady.

Based somewhat loosely on the classic detective story by Edgar Allan Poe, the film also owes much in plot to Leroux' The Phantom of the Opera and in style to Wiene's THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Karl Freund's cinematography is first rate, as is the expressionistic set design by Herman Rosse, with buildings tilted or leaning at crazed angles. The contribution of master makeup artist Jack Pierce is also evident.

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It's a Mirakleous Performance

BaronBl00d29 August 2000

Having decided not to do the Frankenstein monster, Bela's next film for Universal was this rather stagey thriller about a demented doctor trying to mix the blood of an ape with a virgin. The story is a bit far-fetched, and Lugosi is as over-the-top as he can get, but for the most part the film is good, solid entertainment. The film is a bit slow, and its has no music in the background. Add to this some stoic acting on the part of the cast as a whole(Lugosi excepted of course)and some frequent, flat direction from Florey(say that a few times quickly). Florey shows flashes of brilliance(many of them coming through the magic of Karl Freund's camerawork) with scenes such as Lugosi's pitch in the carnival tent, Lugosi murdering a street prostitute, and the finale of Paris above ground. Florey is also remarkably mundane in many scenes too, adding little depth to many of the characters as well as not creating enough suspense where always needed. Florey does deliver more often than not, however. This film is a good example of the traditional Universal horror film, as well as vehicle to display the talents of one Bela Lugosi. Look for Arlene Francis(of What's My Line fame) as a prostitute tied to a cross of woodbeams(possibly one of the best sequences in the film).

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6/10

Bela may be good, but the rest of the cast isn't

bensonmum210 September 2005

Warning: Spoilers

While at first glance Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) appears to be like many of the other sideshow charlatans, there's something very sinister about the man. It seems that he has been experimenting with the relationship between human and ape blood to prove their mutual lineage. But his experiments require a healthy human body with which to inject gorilla blood. And Dr. Mirakle will stop at nothing to get "volunteers" to assist him with his work.

What Works:

Bela. I don't care how bad or dull the material, Bela Lugosi always appears to be having the time of his life and is somehow able to transmit that feeling to the viewer. It's difficult to watch one of his performances and not be drawn to the man. His Dr. Mirakle is another in the long line of characters given life by Bela. He is just so devilishly demented that it's impossible not to enjoy the character or the actor playing the character. Good job, Bela.

Cinematography. I've made no secret over the years of my fondness for Karl Freund. Many of the movies where he credited for the cinematography (or directed) are among my favorites. His work on Murders in the Rue Morgue does not disappoint. Many of the scenes are shot like works of art. One of my favorites (and not just in this movie, but when compared with other movies) is the scene where Bela's prostitute victim is tied to the cross in his laboratory. The lighting, staging, and use of shadows make it one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen.

What Doesn't Work:

Stagey. While this is a common complaint with some of the older films, I think I have only used the term twice before - Dracula and The Cocoanuts. But the term "stagey" fits many scenes in Murders in the Rue Morgue quite nicely. The unnatural feel caused by this took away from the atmosphere the movie was going for in many of these scenes.

The Rest of the Cast. As good as Bela is, many of the other members of the cast have trouble meeting the standard set by Bela. The actor who immediately comes to mind is Leon Ames. On more than one occasion I found myself groaning out loud at his ludicrous performance.

That's No Gorilla. This may seem picky, but I was bothered almost the entire movie by the close-ups of the gorilla that obviously wasn't a gorilla. In long shots, it's easy to tell that it's a man in a gorilla suit. But in the tight shots, the gorilla suddenly transforms into a chimpanzee. It's very distracting.

If for no other reason than Bela Lugosi's performance and the incredible cinematography of Karl Freund, I will re-watch this movie. While Murders in the Rue Morgue may never become a favorite of mine, the work of these two men easily makes the movie better than average. If you're a fan of either, I'm sure you will agree.

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4/10

Not really good but at least it only lasts 1 hour

Johan_Wondering_on_Waves5 April 2015

Warning: Spoilers

This movie is tagged with genres horror, crime, mystery and romance. But in none of these aspects it really shines. I think it's a curiosity at best. The only interesting scenes were towards the end when the gorilla abducted the girl and was trying to escape with her over the rooftops. Maybe that scene gave movie makers eventually the idea to make King Kong as it really reminded me a lot of the legendary film ape. Plot and characters are not at all interesting. The character of Dr Mirakle is nice and fitting for Bela Lugosi even though I do prefer him as count Dracula. It's a plot with potential and they try to do make it mysterious even though as viewer we already know from the beginning the intentions of Dr Mirakle. I found it boring and predictable most of the time. There was even a bit of humor in it with the 3 men arguing about the language the suspect spoke which was amusing but served mostly a filler in my opinion. How interesting if Dr Mirakle really succeeded in his experiment, now that would have been interesting!

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9/10

An appreciated but underrated Universal and Lugosi short triumph

secondtake6 March 2010

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

King Kong was released by RKO in 1933, a story of an ape captured by white hairless apes and brought to a foreign land. And this is exactly the beginning of the 1932 Rue Morgue, as Bela Lugosi, playing Dr. Mirakle, appears as flamboyant sideshow impresario with an ape in a cage. His trick (if it is one) is knowing how to translate ape talk to English (or French, maybe, since we are in Paris). His point is that the apes are us, that evolution is true. "Can you understand what he says? Or have you forgotten?" Not the most honorable spokesman for science, no doubt, but he is a mad scientist, and is setting out to create some kind of unexplained human/ape hybrid.

The movie is filled with dramatic innovations, and a very high technical standard (for Universal, a minor studio player until this time). And the transfer to DVD is terrific. Ten minutes into the film, Lugosi breaks the fourth wall and looks into the camera to challenge the viewer to accept evolution and its consequences.. (The Scopes trial was 1925, so this is a hot topic.) Watch for the camera attached to the swing about 32 minutes in. There are echoes of Frankenstein (1931) with the madman and his doltish assistant, as well as the angry mobs. And there is Lugosi himself, with all the aura carrying over from his breakthrough in Dracula (also 1931).

The cinematography by Karl Freund is totally amazing. There are not astonishing tricks, just consistent, brilliant framing and lighting, scene after scene. (If only he had shot Dracula--oh, he did! Yes...check that out, too.) 1920s German Expressionist films find a true expression here (not Caligari, for sure, but a high water mark for American movies of the time). Simple things like shadows and angles, of course, but also moving camera in subtle ways (the camera falling slightly when approaching someone in a window, for example). Completely first rate.

It's common in these movies to have eccentric villains, grotesque monsters, and Gothic settings with wild special effects. And to have the common person as a balance to all this madness. These apply a little comic relief but in a silly way from our perspective. (The "common" person at the time in other movies was far more vivid and timeless, like Crawford or Cagney, but that would overwhelm the villains as well as the budget). In this case, one of the common folk is a resourceful doctor, and this search for the bad guy takes on a larger role than in the other monster movies.

The movie isn't a sparkling masterpiece. The acting throughout (even by Lugosi, really) isn't always spot on, but it works overall, and is consistent. There is a comic moment near the end (when we are most anxious for action) where the character have an argument in different languages, and it's so perky I'm assuming they felt they couldn't take it out, but it doesn't advance the plot. It does deal with Logosi's characteristic odd accent. And for fun, there is an anachronism, half an hour in, when a bicycle rides through the little town, decades before they were made like that.

It won't matter if you don't believe in evolution. The movie plays loose with the concept, and Dr. Mirakle says at one point, with his beady eyes: "Do you think your little candle can outshine the truth?"

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7/10

Atmospheric and classic terror movie very loosely based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe

ma-cortes31 July 2020

Classic terror movie with a powerful cast that will guarantee entertainment . Young women in Paris are being killed in Paris . Few clues were left behind . The killer could not have fled via the windows as they were nailed shut . Nor was the killer observed leaving by neighbors . Pierre Dupin (Leon Ames) thinks he has the solution to the killings . Dupin begins to investigate the case on his own, and puts together quite an interesting scenario in solving the crime . He and his girlfriend , Camille L'Espanaye (Sidney Fox) , had recently visited a carnival sideshow where Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) showed off his giant ape . Mirakle has been taking women off the street to conduct experiments he hopes will demonstrate that human beings evolved from gorillas . As he attempts to prove his rather unusual theory of evolution : experiments involve mixing the blood of the women with that of an ape . Meanwhile , the mysterious and grisly crimes of women go on and leave police investigators puzzled . It seems the only person with the skills to solve the crime is Dupin, but things go wrong . Innocent Beauty - this was her wedding eve. On the wall a shadow . . the beast was at large grinning horribly-cruelly . What was Her Fate ? Beautiful girl- giant ape... both under the mysterious power of the mad Dr. Mirackle!

Edgar Allan Poe's dramatic story of the horrors of Paris with good cast and nice atmosphere in this vintage eerie film in which young women in Paris are being mysteriously killed . This is a pedestrian but highly agreeable account of a mad scientific scouring Paris for young female victims . There's enough fascination and enjoyable style in some scenes as well as spectacular scenes set in Paris roofs with efficient special effects . The perverse and sordid sexual implications are rarely made explicit , but there are a couple of genuinely unpleasant frames . Here Bela Lugosi gives one of his best interpretations . His name had become such as asset that studios would give him prominent billing even when he was playing such supporting roles as butlers , as he did in Columbia's Night of Terror (1933), Fox's The gorilla (1939), Universal's Night Monster (1942) and Paramount's One Body Too Many (1944) and , eventually , took his most successful role : Dracula (1931) . He appeared with Boris Karloff in eight films: Satanas (1934) , The raven (1935), The invisible ray (1936), Frankenstein's son (1939), You'll Find Out (1940) , Black Friday (1940) Body Snatcher (1945) and Gift of Gab (1934) . Co-starred by Leon Ames as Dupin , he subsequently to become himself an illustrious secondary playing a lot of characters throughout a long career . This role of Pierre Dupin, played by Leon Ames, reappeared in another Poe story done by Universal, "Mystery of Marie Roget" (1942) . It is stylistically and beautifully photographed by prestigious Karl Freund who directed another classy movie : ¨The Mummy¨. The motion picture was well directed by Robert Florey , though the whole thing owes more to ¨The Cabinet of Dr Caligari¨ by Robert Wiene than to Poe .

There are other version about this known story : ¨Murders in the Rue Morgue 1971¨ by Gordon Hessler with Jason Robards , Herbert Lom , Christine Kaufmann , Michael Dunn , Adolfo Celi , Maria Perschy . ¨The Murders in the Rue Morgue 1986¨ by Jeannot Szwarc with George C. Scott , Rebecca De Mornay , Ian McShane , Neil Dickson , Val Kilmer.

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5/10

The riddle, so far, was now unriddled

ackstasis15 May 2008

The early 1930s was very much a transition period for cinema. Armed with the newly-adopted technology of "talking pictures" and not really knowing what to do with it, many filmmakers stumbled through the first years of the sound era, gradually finding their feet as more and more established and emerging talents demonstrated exactly what could be done with these advanced storytelling tools. 'Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)' seems to be very much a product of this learning process, and the truth is that the film is marred horribly by poor acting, often-ludicrous dialogue, a shabbily-edited narrative structure and a giant gorilla that switches periodically between a man in a monkey-suit and a real chimpanzee. However, it would be unfair to attribute these problems solely to the era, as many filmmakers were at this time already creating memorable cinema: in terms of the horror genre, James Whale's 'Frankenstein (1931)' and 'The Invisible Man (1933)' both adapted from classic literature today remain remarkable pictures that have lost little of their intelligence and brilliance.

There are two avenues through which 'Murders in the Rue Morgue' retains a certain air of respectability. The cinematography of Karl Freund, a veteran of German Expressionism, makes the film, if little else, visually interesting, and the climactic rooftop chase is vaguely reminiscent of Robert Wiene's 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).' This sequence, not unexpectedly, also calls 'King Kong (1933)' to mind, and I wonder if Cooper and Schoedsack perhaps looked in the direction of this film as inspiration for their final act in New York. One of Freund's gloriously-inspired shots sees the movie camera attached to Sidney Fox's swing, as she oscillates back and forth while in conversation with her boyfriend; just like the virtuoso first-person perspective in Rouben Mamoulian's 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931),' this single shot demonstrates an inventiveness uncommon in film-making prior to the 1940s. Without the restrictions of the Production Code, which wouldn't be actively enforced until 1934, Robert Florey sprinkles the story with some moments of unexpected violence, though Universal reportedly enacted their own form of censorship, removing around twenty minutes of footage.

The second component of the film that merits attention is certainly the acting of Hungarian Bela Lugosi, who had recently secured fame as the infamous Count in Tod Browning's 'Dracula (1931).' Though his performance isn't "great," as many have put it, his interpretation of Dr. Mirakle brims with a ghoulish enthusiasm for theatrics, and the overblown portrayal works well with Karl Freund's exaggerated visuals. Lugosi does his very best to maintain our interest in the film, but most of the remaining actors appear to be actively working against him: Leon Ames (credited as Leon Waycoff) is mostly unconvincing in his role as the heroic medical student turned sleuth, and Bert Roach is almost painfully inadequate as the "comic relief" sidekick. Not much is demanded of actress Sidney Fox, but she is suitably pretty and vulnerable to fit the bill, and I did enjoy D'Arcy Corrigan as the gruesome and corrupt morgue-keeper. Charles Gemora, who built an entire career from making a monkey of himself, plays Erik the Gorilla; apparently Universal's orangutans were in short supply.

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7/10

Rarely shown pre-code horror

preppy-313 February 2009

Warning: Spoilers

SPOILERS!!! IN 1845 Paris evil Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) is trying to mate a male gorilla with a woman--but most women die when injected with gorilla blood. This involves him disposing of a lot of corpses. The gorilla seems very attracted to beautiful Camille (Sidney Fox) and her boyfriend Pierre Dupin (Leon Waycroff) isn't happy...but Mirakle thinks she may be the one perfect for the mating.

This is rarely shown probably because of the theme of bestiality and a truly harrowing scene involving Arlene Francis as a "Lady of the Streets" in Lugosi's lab. By today's standards it's fairly tame but still surprising what they got by with back then. The movie has beautiful expressionistic photography giving it the feel of a German horror film--check out some of the backdrops--they're straight out of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligri"! Lugosi is great in his role--hamming it up in an amusing way. Unfortunately most of the movie concentrates on the colorless Fox and Waycroff and their boring romance. And the "gorilla" is obviously a guy in a shabby ape suit! They only use him for far shots and intercut shots of a real gorilla for closeups--but it's pretty obvious. Those elements severely lessen what could have been a great horror film. Still it's above average and worth catching.

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7/10

Under-rated Universal horror

mhesselius28 July 2010

I saw "Murders in the Rue Morgue" when I was just a child in the sixties and wasn't impressed. But now that I've seen the uncut original on Universal's Lugosi collection, I believe "Murders" is one of the most under-rated films from the golden age of horror.

Direction by Robert Florey, cinematography by Karl Freund, and art direction by Charles Hall will satisfy the cravings of atmospheric horror fans. And the sources that Florey uses—the Poe story and the silent classic "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"—dovetail nicely. What seems rather silly in the Poe story (an ape escapes from a sailor to commit senseless murder) is more plausible and horrific when the ape's owner becomes Dr. Mirakle, a mad scientist intent on proving humans and apes are evolutionary cousins. Why else inject ape's blood into nubile young women if not to find a suitable mate for his side show attraction Erik? I was also impressed by the way director/writer Florey zeroed in on one of Poe's themes. The confusion of tongues scene from Poe's story in which people of different nationalities (ear-witnesses to a murder) mistake the ape's language for unintelligible human speech, demonstrates that humans are no different from Erik, another species of savage primate inhabiting the planet. Seeing Dr. Mirakle talk with Erik and translate for the carnival audience doesn't seem as far-fetched today considering the recent research into primate communication.

These thematic elements, together with Lugosi's sinister but surprisingly low-key (for him) performance, and the scene in which Dr. Mirakle injects the street walker with ape blood (Arlene Francis made a good screamer), and in which fiendish assistant Noble Johnson (who made an art of playing such roles) cuts the ropes that bind her Christ-like between crossbeams, releasing her body through a trap door into the river, make this one of the most daring of pre-code horror films.

The print Universal included in its Lugosi collection looks fine, much better that the one I saw in the sixties. And neither the bland performances of the romantic leads, nor the man in the ape costume detracts from the over all effect. The inter-cutting between the actual animal and the costumed double is really not that jarring when you consider what was being done elsewhere in this era.

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6/10

Alas, poor Edgar...and poor C. Auguste D.....

theowinthrop26 August 2006

It's a bearable film. It has some nice atmospheric effects due to Karl Freund. The scene of the duel between Arlene Francis' two "Johns" or lovers or whatever is stylized to look like two men slowly draining each other of life, until they stab each other to death. But such moments are rare ones. The screenplay is horrible. And that does not mean that it is horrible in the sense that it will benefit a "horror" film.

Edgar Allen Poe, like most 19th Century writers, constructed his stories to be read - he was good at descriptions, but he was better at mood, particularly by his brilliant ear for words and language. Like in his short story "THE TELL-TALE HEART", where he makes the words force the reader into hearing the beat of a hidden heart. His story THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE was the first of a trilogy about an amateur reasoner who aids the police (a prototype for Sherlock Holmes) named C. Auguste Dupin. The tales were Poe's way of showing off his high intellect by inventing his version of Conan Doyle's "deductive reasoning" ("ratiocination").

I won't go into the exact plot, except that it does deal with murders carried out by a non-human agent. It has nothing to do with Pre-Darwinian evolutionary crap, like that supposedly being pursued by Bela Lugosi's "Dr. Mirakle" (a name stolen from E.T.A. Hoffman's odd tales, or at least from the Offenbach opera). As such, although it would be really hard to believe such a tragedy could happen in a suburb of a major city, it is a fascinating story. But most of Poe's best stories are just that, fascinating.

Aside from Freund's cinematography, Lugosi's acting (it is one of his best roles actually), and some curiosity about the fake gorilla, there is not much going for this film. Leon Waycoff (as pointed out on this thread) later achieved acting success in less heated roles at MGM like in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and YOLANDA AND THE THIEF. But he was Leon Ames then, and as such he is remembered. Sidney Fox was pushed in the early talkie period, but petered out, and died a forgotten suicide in 1945. Oddly enough, if you are into criminal history, her name has a sinister position. A young man named Sidney Fox murdered his mother in an English hotel in 1930, trying to cover it up as death by misadventure in a fire. For every true crime fan who recalls that Sidney Fox there are not that many film fans who recall the other one.

Finally a comment about the director. Robert Florey had a long career in film and movie direction, and is best recalled for being the director of the first Marx Brother comedy (or co-director) THE COCOANUTS. Groucho was dismissive of Florey, because he was French and seemed at sea dealing with the brothers, but their first film is among their best - and dealing with Groucho and his three siblings was quite difficult. Even Leo McCarey had problems with them. In the early sound period, Florey appears to have directed some of the French language movies that came out of Hollywood. Even someone with a language problem could be still useful. Unfortunately, whatever strengths Florey developed as a director are not obvious from this film.

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6/10

The Lonely Heart & Blood Club, with Erik the Gorilla!

Coventry26 January 2008

"Murders in the Rue Morgue" isn't nearly as great as the previous year's horror successes namely Frankenstein and Dracula but nevertheless another progressive and remotely eerie chiller for Universal studios. Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's writings, "Murders" does feature an old fashioned movie-monster, but the dominating storyline revolves on a mad scientist desperately wanting to prove his awkward theories; even if that means multiple innocent people have to die. Dr. Mirakle, another supremely glorious role for Bela Lugosi, tours around with a carnival and exhibits his pet gorilla Erik to petrified villagers. The traveling show is actually just a disguise, as Mirakle is a scientist obsessed with proving humanity's kinship with the apes and he abducts young women of the street to run tests with their blood. Several bodies end up in the Parisian river, via the trapdoor in Mirakle's lab, but then Erik the gorilla itself points out the next "victim" for the Doctor's experiments. The beautiful young Camille would make a fine gorilla's bride indeed, but her fiancée is a medical student and quickly suspects Dr. Mirakle is up to no good. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" isn't stellar entertainment, but horror fans will definitely appreciate the harshly sexual implications as well as the explicit & brutal sequence involving the young prostitute. The harshness is quite shocking considering the year of release, but the film sadly contains too many overlong tedious parts (the whole picnic scene, for example) and suffers from misfit comical elements (Pierre's roommate, the interrogation of the foreign restaurant owners). The biggest strongpoint of the film is undeniably Karl Freund's moody & sinister cinematography, which is beautifully reminiscent to the expressionistic style of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Later the same year 1932, Freund himself would make his Hollywood debut as a director, with the genuinely brilliant Boris Karloff classic "The Mummy".

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10/10

Stands with Dracula as Lugosi's best film

CubsandCulture4 July 2022

This is an odd and stylish film that combines elements of all three of Poe's Dupin stories with ideas from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Add a dash of Darwin and it adds up to a creepy engaging film. Lugosi is as powerful in this film as he is in Dracula. This is a lost gem.

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7/10

Murders In The Rue Morgue (1932) **1/2

Bunuel197611 February 2006

A fascinating if unsatisfying addition to the Universal horror cycle (co-written by John Huston!) with a splendid turn from Bela Lugosi - complete with his inimitable delivery - and some highly interesting sets obviously inspired by THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919). The leads are among the blandest in 30s horror cinema but Robert Florey's stylized direction and Karl Freund's Expressionistic camera-work make up for this deficiency in spades: the foggy night-time sequences, carnival scenes and the gorilla rampage at the end (which reminded me of the similar finale of Hammer's THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF [1961], incidentally!) are quite effective. The film followed the trend of sadistic violence (which reached a peak in Universal's THE BLACK CAT [1934]) and sexual overtones (first touched upon by DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE [1931]) prevalent at the time - which certainly aided its box-office potential - but these elements now seem very tame. In the end, while MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE may not be in the same league as the best Universal horrors, it's still a worthy effort which repays repeated viewings.

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5/10

A plain vanilla gorilla movie...

AlsExGal11 July 2019

... and it probably wouldn't be remembered at all if not for Bela Lugosi being second billed as Dr. Mirakle and Leon Ames (so early in his career he is still going by Leon Waykoff) as Pierre Dupin, a medical student. And yet it is on DVD!

Dr. Mirakle is a mad scientist, and he meets Pierre and more importantly his girlfriend Camille (Sidney Fox) at a circus sideshow where Dr. Mirakle claims he can talk to his gorilla, Eric, and that the gorilla is lonely. It is obvious Mirakle wants Camille to be Eric's "girlfriend", but she is difficult to get close to. So he continues trying - and failing - with prostitutes, who are easily abducted. and not missed. He injects gorilla blood into their blood, probably in an attempt to turn them into gorilla like creatures as a companion for Eric, but the experiment always fails and the girls die. Dr. Mirakle blames the failures on the girls' "sins". There were some things that you couldn't come out and say even in the precode era, and what he is probably trying to say is that he needs the blood of a virgin - enter Camille. Mirakle's assistant dumps the bodies into the Seine. That is where Dupin comes back into the picture as he is frequenting the Rue Morgue where their bodies end up, and is trying to determine the cause of death.

The dialogue is pedestrian, and so is the acting. Only Lugosi comes alive at all. And there are some really obvious shots of a man in a gorilla suit that is supposed to be Eric and repetitive close up shots of the gorilla himself that do not impress. What does impress is the set design. It is very detailed and interesting and worth a look. Plus there are a couple of scenes, that, if it wasn't for the fact that King Kong came out a year later, I would swear were stolen from that more famous film.

Probably for fans of Lugosi and of interesting and atmospheric set design only.

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German Expressionism meets Edgar Allan Poe in Universal thriller

ametaphysicalshark5 August 2008

Certainly one of the least popular Universal horror films, not only for lack of people bothering to see it, but also in terms of its reputation among those who have seen it, "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is worth seeing for the extraordinary visuals. Cinematographer Karl Freund gives the film the distinctive look of an Expressionist horror film, and his work is excellent throughout, and Robert Florey's work as director is up to his usual standard (Florey was a very talented director who unfortunately worked on films with mostly mediocre screenplays).

That's not to say "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a neglected classic, as it most certainly is not. The film is, of course, an adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe short story which is important historically and interesting if viewed as a template for later detective stories, but not great as a whole and with a solution which is a little on the bizarre and unbelievable side. The story contains some very memorable classic Poe moments especially in the description of the carnage, but is simply not one of Poe's finer works. The film isn't quite as loose an adaptation as 1935's "The Raven" (although that poem is almost certainly unfilmable, so it's pointless to try), but extrapolates and builds on Poe's story, and has many of the same problems in addition to others. It's simply not a very good screenplay at all.

Thankfully the film's visual appeal and the quality of the performances keep this from being a tedious affair but the story and script are far from memorable, and the finale plays a little like "King Kong" in 19th century Paris, although "Kong" would only arrive a year later.

6/10

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10/10

An American Caligari

briantaves1 January 2006

Warning: Spoilers

In spring 1931, Robert Florey had been hired by Universal to adapt FRANKENSTEIN as a follow-up to Dracula, and prepared to direct the new movie. Abruptly, however, he was asked to assist in adapting Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" into movie form, since other writers had been stumped and Florey had successfully turned Frankenstein into a feature script.

Florey subsequently discovered with anger and disappointment that Universal had decided to transfer him as both writer and director, along with prospective FRANKENSTEIN star Bela Lugosi, to RUE MORGUE. Florey saw that Universal "wanted to produce MORGUE quickly and cheaply," as the second horror movie put into production to capitalize on the success of Dracula.

Florey had a lifelong fondness for Edgar Allan Poe, but almost nothing remained of the original story in his version. He also relied on elements drawn from plays presented by the Thatre du Grand Guignol (in which he had been involved as a teen-ager), and other German expressionist films, elements that also suffused his later horror films THE FLORENTINE DAGGER (1935), THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941), and THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (1946). Florey also added numerous background characters inspired by Henri Murger's stories of the Bohemians.

Universal had determined to make Lugosi their new Lon Chaney, so the Poe original had to be altered even more to serve as a Lugosi vehicle, adding a new character which he could portray, Dr. Mirakle, a fanatical pre-Darwinian evolutionist. Florey and Tom Reed collaborated on the continuity, while Reed later polished the script and wrote the dialogue with Dale Van Every. Last to be brought in for "additional dialogue" was John Huston, in one of his earliest Hollywood credits.

Poe's own character Dupin was altered from a detective presaging Sherlock Holmes to a romantic young medical student. Mirakle represents in many ways the darker, ethically questionable side of Dupin's work, epitomized by his fascination with the morgue, and Mirakle and Dupin are frequently paralleled in both plot and visuals.

There are a number of obvious similarities between FRANKENSTEIN and MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE: the scientist's peculiar assistant (symbolically bridging the evolutionary gap between the doctor and his creature); the lab in an abandoned hovel; and the monster's superhuman strength, in the climax attacking his master and being pursued by a mob. Florey candidly admitted the resemblance: "The Universal people, not being particularly bright, didn't realize that I again used the same plot, using an ape instead of a monster and this time giving the Doctor's part to Lugosi."

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is also heavily indebted to THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919), and has been described as the German classic's most direct descendant in the United States. Previously, around 1925, Florey had shot tests for a "Caligari-esque" experimental film, THE MAD DOCTOR; only a few stills survive, but in costume, make-up, pose and lighting they bear a close resemblance to Drs. Caligari and Mirakle.

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is also a popularization and Americanization of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Upon learning that MORGUE had to be a Lugosi horror story rather than a Poe mystery, the screenwriters took the entire framed story of CALIGARI prior to the asylum, and with deceptive simplicity transformed the remainder into a Hollywood genre film.

Not only does MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE use a CALIGARI-like story, it also has a similar visual design. The setting of MORGUE is not the familiar Paris, which was impossible on the limited budget; it is the Boulevard du Crime, a dark underworld of temptations, menace and mystery.

The acting in MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE was in a different vein from the Hollywood norm of naturalism and contemporaneity, striving instead to accent the period setting and fantastic nature of the story through florid, stereotypical characterizations compatible with the bizarre set design and expressionistic camera-work.

Cinematographer Karl Freund's trademark mobile camera was almost perpetually on the move, in a manner reminiscent of his virtuoso work on THE LAST LAUGH, and RUE MORGUE was especially advanced over FRANKENSTEIN in terms of camera mobility.

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE was, overall, exceptionally fast-paced and lasts only a tight 62 minutes. "I saw the rushes of MURDERS every evening and worked closely with the cutter," explained Florey, "telling him how I wanted the film edited, quick cuts lasting less than a few frames, etc." But Florey was never one to allow even a rapid tempo to grow monotonous by its speed, and so the story pauses periodically for languorous moments. This combines with a shift in the movie--horror dominating the first half and detection the latter part--resulting in diminished suspense during the second half, as the audience waits in frustration for Dupin to deduce what the viewer has already seen. This factor, combined with the tendency of some scenes to be far more effective than others in generating terror, creates a certain unevenness throughout the film.

Shooting on MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE lasted 23 days, filming sometimes nearly round the clock, going five days over schedule but remaining under budget. Just as MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE was completed, the enormous grosses of FRANKENSTEIN convinced the studio to allow seven days of re-takes and added scenes, bringing the total cost of the film to $190,099just about half the budget of Dracula.

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE was, and remains, in many ways utterly unique: none of the other Universal horror films were so redolent of European film-making techniques, in terms of visual design, lighting, camera technique, exaggerated acting, and deliberate pacing; there was little of the characteristic gloss or unobtrusive style of Hollywood studio production. The differences from the norm of American film-making have been even more apparent by the "remakes" of the Poe story over the years.

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7/10

Lugosi and an ape named Erik.

Hey_Sweden3 November 2012

"Murders in the Rue Morgue", an adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe tale, is set in 19th century Paris when a mad scientist named Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) has an exhibit consisting of a "human"-like ape. Dr. Mirakle spouts some pretty radical ideas about evolution that local carnival goers find blasphemous. But the bad doctor is committed to his pursuit: proving the link between man and ape. So periodically he abducts young women so they may be injected with gorilla blood. His latest target is Camille L'Espanaye (pretty Sidney Fox), whose boyfriend Pierre (Leon Ames) is not a real Dudley Do Right type himself. He's not above bribing a morgue keeper (D'Arcy Corrigan) to let him have access to dead bodies in order to study them. Overall, this isn't one of the most notable Universal horrors of the time. The main problem is that for a movie running only about one hour, it goes on a little long(!), with some scenes that do feel padded, and some comedy relief (supplied by Bert Roach, as Paul, Pierre's roommate) that doesn't really add anything to it. The movie is simply too slow, too quiet (it could have used a music score), and too light on horror too much of the time. Still, it has the look of quality, with appropriate Expressionist cinematography by Karl Freund, and some good atmosphere. In the movies' few shocking scenes, it *does* deliver, and is actually strong stuff for the time, with people getting stabbed, stripped naked and jabbed with a needle, and stuffed up a chimney. These moments do add punch to the movie, but what really elevates the rating by a point is the presence of Lugosi, one genre star who could always be counted on to give 100% to any role; here he delights in the depraved nature of his character. The other actors are okay but can't exactly compare. Erik himself is portrayed with a combination of a human performer in a gorilla suit and closeups of chimpanzees. This may take some viewers out of the movie too much. Given the short duration, the climax naturally feels a little rushed. All things considered, this is worth a look for devoted fans of 30s horror, but isn't as potent as some of the other productions of the time. John Huston is credited with additional dialogue. Seven out of 10.

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4/10

Moody but plodding horror.

DPMay31 August 2008

Warning: Spoilers

Following on from the success if "Dracula" and "Frankenstein", Universal began a veritable production-line of horror vehicles for their new screen stars, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi it is who stars in "The Murders In The Rue Morgue" and is probably the main reason people will still take the trouble to watch this film nowadays. He's playing to type here with a portrayal of a mid-19th Century scientist with some particularly hair-brained ideas who is prepared to kill to continue his experiments. Lugosi's performances throughout his career are generally consistent: when the material allows, he shines. Unfortunately for him, many of his films were inferior ones and whilst it does have some moments this film falls into the inferior class.

For the time it probably seemed much better, with some shocking new ideas, but seen now "Murders In The Rue Morgue" seems to play out at a snail's pace. The sets and lighting, always strong points in Universal horrors of this period, add some atmosphere but a total lack of music and some rather theatrical performances from the cast only contribute to a feeling of tedium, despite the film having quite a short running time.

The plot is all over the place, veering between high drama and high comedy more through clumsiness than by design and leaving perhaps too much open to the viewer's interpretation (my kind way of saying too many loose ends are not tied up). Whilst Lugosi will always be interesting to watch, the other characters in this film are rather mundane and one-dimensional.

A historical French setting, competently achieved, does add some flavour to the film though and thankfully its ape character (apparently a gorilla, although it seems to change species from scene to scene) is portrayed by a real primate in close-up, thereby avoiding the ridiculous look of the standard man-in-a-gorilla-costume that haunted many action films and serials of the 30s, 40s and 50s.

A film that's certainly worth a look to fans of Poe, Universal Horrors or Bela Lugosi, but hardly one that will demand repeated viewing.

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