{"id":3826,"date":"2007-08-01T16:12:39","date_gmt":"2007-08-01T23:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3826"},"modified":"2021-01-20T01:36:59","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T08:36:59","slug":"murders-in-the-rue-morgue-1932","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3826","title":{"rendered":"Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;My life is consecrated to a great experiment: I tell you I will <em>prove <\/em>your kinship with the ape!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue-Poster-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue-Poster-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue-Poster.jpg 432w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen mad Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) plots to kidnap beautiful young Camille (Sidney Fox) and &#8220;mingle&#8221; her blood with that of his giant ape, Erik (Charles Gemora), it&#8217;s up to Camille&#8217;s boyfriend, a medical student named Pierre (Leon Ames), to save the day.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bela Lugosi Films<\/li>\n<li>Horror Films<\/li>\n<li>Mad Doctors and Scientists<\/li>\n<li>Primates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary seems less than enamored with this unusual Universal horror flick, based in-name-only on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. While acknowledging the power of Karl Freund&#8217;s &#8220;expressionistic photography&#8221;, he barely touches upon the film&#8217;s remarkably risque premise (the &#8220;perverse sexuality&#8230; implicit in Dr. Mirakle&#8217;s work&#8221;), a topic discussed in much greater detail in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1728bela.html\">DVD Savant&#8217;s review<\/a>. While I agree that the film possesses some egregious flaws (the alternating use of a chimpanzee and a man in an ape suit to play Erik is especially noticeable), I disagree with Peary that some of the most powerful scenes &#8212; such as &#8220;Lugosi draining the blood from a streetwalker&#8221; &#8212; are &#8220;tasteless&#8221;. As noted by DVD Savant, <em>Murders in the Rue Morgue<\/em> may be a bit of a mess, but it&#8217;s nonetheless a &#8220;hugely enjoyable&#8221; one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Many have pointed out this film&#8217;s visual similarities to <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4897\"><em>The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari <\/em>(1920)<\/a>, and the association is apt. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Expressionistic set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Cinema.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Cinema.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3825\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Countless memorable images<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Hand.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Hand.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3822\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Karl Freund&#8217;s atmospheric, shadow-filled cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Shadows.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Shadows.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3824\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A remarkably risque premise<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Gorilla.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Gorilla.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3821\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s recommended. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0023249\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1932\/02\/11\/archives\/after-edgar-allan-poe.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1728bela.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/murders-in-the-rue-morgue-1932.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/84216\/murders-in-the-rue-morgue#articles-reviews?articleId=139124\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;My life is consecrated to a great experiment: I tell you I will prove your kinship with the ape!&#8221; Synopsis: When mad Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) plots to kidnap beautiful young Camille (Sidney Fox) and &#8220;mingle&#8221; her blood with that of his giant ape, Erik (Charles Gemora), it&#8217;s up to Camille&#8217;s boyfriend, a medical student named Pierre (Leon Ames), to save the day. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Bela Lugosi Films Horror Films Mad Doctors and Scientists Primates Response to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3826\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3826"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64640,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826\/revisions\/64640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}