Murders in the Rue Morgue

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B G Wonderful adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe story directed by the great Robert Florey. Very stylish with nice bits of humor and fluid camera work for an early talkie. Bela Lugosi at the top of his game before drugs began taking their toll. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/05/25 Full Review Alex K The idea of adapting the classic Poe short story was first brought up at Universal in 1930, it would begin development the following year with one of their biggest stars Bela Lugosi. The casting of a start of Lugosi's stature required much of Poe story to be changed. Much of Poe's initial mystery is changed to accommodate new additional characters. However many of the elements remain the same. Director Robert Florey had previously been considered to helm both Dracula and Frankenstein had brought this project to the studio and was given the reins to helm this film. With a supporting cast including Sidney Fox, Leon Ames, Bert Roach and Betty Ross Clarke, the film utterly belongs to Lugosi with the rest of the cast having thin characters to portray, Fox and Ames play the typical romantic duo and while they're very cute the script doesn't give them much to do. Roach is comedic relief as Ames' long suffering roommate and Clarke as Fox' mother. Lugosi plays the mysterious Dr. Mirakle whose experiments involving blood transfusions between species revolved around many disturbing scenes that even in the Pre-Code times cause the 80min film to be trimmed to 61mins. The film itself is not without positives. Lugosi is excellent, delivering a compelling and menacing performance of a scientist driven mad by ambition. It also features cinematography by the great Karl Freund and Art Direction by Charles D. Hall that were both worthy of Oscar consideration. Under Florey's direction the film moves at a good pace, has some nice sinister moments and is full of gloriously gothic imagery. Murders in the Rue Morgue is a gorgeous looking film that still manages to pack a punch in regards to its content, themes and horror, the fact that Lugosi is so good in it and the special effects for their time are pretty good doesn't hurt either. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/01/25 Full Review Alec B Not really a great adaptation but it has its minor charms, namely Lugosi's performance. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/28/24 Full Review Valerii Ege D 1931 Dracula, is the starter of the Universal Horror. The second choice is an ape, which supports the premise. Not a fantastic movie, a little bit romantic and poetic, but back in the day, gold. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/02/23 Full Review Steve D At this point it is an unintentional comedy. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting product of its time, with a poor grasp of evolution but an attempt to comment of it nonetheless, Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Murders in the Rue Morgue

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