MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932) Starring Bela Lugosi, Sidney Fox, Leon Waycoff, Bert Roach Directed by Robert Florey
Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Mirakle, a scientist who travels with the carnival, showing off his prized gorilla named Erik. The creepy doctor explains his theories of evolution to the audience, all the while determined to prove his hypothesis. By night, he lures wayward women to his lab, where they are subjected to weird experiments as the Doctor attempts to inject them with Erik's blood. Exactly what he hopes to accomplish by this goofy idea is never fully explained, but it makes for some of the film's best scenes. When the women die, as they always do, Mirakle disposes of them via a cool trap door that deposits them into the river.
MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is a decent film that could have been great. The main problems lie in the casting and the direction. Lugosi does very well as the demented Dr. Mirakle, but the remainder of the actors are guilty of the most horrific over-acting ever put on film. This is especially true of Leon Waycoff, who plays medical student Pierre Dupin. He's supposedly the hero of the story, but he is played in such an annoying manner by Waycoff that one hopes he'll be the next victim! Florey attempts to put some humor into the story in a few scenes, but it always seems so inappropriate. This isn't a humorous story, and scenes like the one where the three witnesses engage in a "who's on first" routine about the language spoken by the murderer just kill the otherwise wonderful atmosphere created by some of the best sets in any film of the genre.
That's the real shame of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE. It has so much going for it - wonderfully surrealistic cityscapes, Lugosi, some extremely gruesome scenes for its time - but Florey's attempts at lightheartedness and some bad acting keep it from reaching its full potential. Viewed with realistic expectations, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is an enjoyable film to watch. Lugosi's performance and the surrealistic backdrop, reminiscent of the classic of German Expressionism THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, are worth the effort in themselves.
Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Mirakle, a scientist who travels with the carnival, showing off his prized gorilla named Erik. The creepy doctor explains his theories of evolution to the audience, all the while determined to prove his hypothesis. By night, he lures wayward women to his lab, where they are subjected to weird experiments as the Doctor attempts to inject them with Erik's blood. Exactly what he hopes to accomplish by this goofy idea is never fully explained, but it makes for some of the film's best scenes. When the women die, as they always do, Mirakle disposes of them via a cool trap door that deposits them into the river.
MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is a decent film that could have been great. The main problems lie in the casting and the direction. Lugosi does very well as the demented Dr. Mirakle, but the remainder of the actors are guilty of the most horrific over-acting ever put on film. This is especially true of Leon Waycoff, who plays medical student Pierre Dupin. He's supposedly the hero of the story, but he is played in such an annoying manner by Waycoff that one hopes he'll be the next victim! Florey attempts to put some humor into the story in a few scenes, but it always seems so inappropriate. This isn't a humorous story, and scenes like the one where the three witnesses engage in a "who's on first" routine about the language spoken by the murderer just kill the otherwise wonderful atmosphere created by some of the best sets in any film of the genre.
That's the real shame of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE. It has so much going for it - wonderfully surrealistic cityscapes, Lugosi, some extremely gruesome scenes for its time - but Florey's attempts at lightheartedness and some bad acting keep it from reaching its full potential. Viewed with realistic expectations, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is an enjoyable film to watch. Lugosi's performance and the surrealistic backdrop, reminiscent of the classic of German Expressionism THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, are worth the effort in themselves.