Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

In 19th Century Paris, the maniacal Dr. Mirakle abducts young women and injects them with ape blood in an attempt to prove ape-human kinship. He constantly meets failure as the abducted ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story), Robert Florey (adaptation),

Stars:

Sidney Fox, Bela Lugosi, Leon Ames

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sidney Fox	...	Mlle. Camille L'Espanaye
Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Mirakle
Leon Ames	...	Pierre Dupin (as Leon Waycoff)
Bert Roach	...	Paul
Betty Ross Clarke	...	Mme. L'Espanaye
Brandon Hurst	...	Prefect of Police
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	Morgue Keeper
Noble Johnson	...	Janos The Black One
Arlene Francis	...	Woman of the Streets

Storyline

In 19th Century Paris, the maniacal Dr. Mirakle abducts young women and injects them with ape blood in an attempt to prove ape-human kinship. He constantly meets failure as the abducted women die. Medical student Pierre Dupin discovers what Mirakle is doing too late to prevent the abduction of his girlfriend Camille. Now he desperately tries to enlist the help of the police to get her back.

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Plot Keywords:

ape | police | rescue | medical student | abduction | 

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Taglines:

A powerful cast that will guarantee entertainment !

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Danish German

Release Date:

21 February 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Morgue utcai gyilkosságok

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$190,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the original SHOCK THEATER package of 52 Universal titles released to television in 1957, followed a year later by SON OF SHOCK, which added 21 more features.

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Goofs

In many scenes, the close-up of a chimpanzee is used for the gorilla.

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Quotes

Dr. Mirakle: [Responding to an audience member who has accused him of heresy] Heresy? Do they still burn men for heresy? Then burn me monsieur, light the fire! Do you think your little candle will outshine the flame of truth?

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Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Black Cat, Raven (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Swan Lake Overture"
(uncredited)
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Played during the opening credits

User Reviews

Definitely worth a look

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.