Murders in the Rue Morgue
Directed by Robert Florey
Tom Read and Dale Van Every from the immortal classic by Edgar Allan Poe
1932/US
Universal Pictures
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime (free to members)
Dr. Mirakle: My life is consecrated to great experiment. I tell you I will prove your kinship with the ape. Eric’s blood will be mixed with the blood of man.
Overlooked Universal horror entry loosely based on the Poe story complete with “Swan Lake” opening music.
Bela Lugosi plays mad scientist Doctor Mirakle who displays his “man-ape” in a carnival sideshow by day and conducts evil experiments on young ladies in an attempt to combine ape and human blood by night. With Leon Ames (still billed as Leon Wycoff) as Pierre Dupin, here a medical student in love with the Sidney Fox, the ape’s choice for a bride.
This film is marred by some ham-handed comic relief and unconvincing ape effects. On the other hand, it does feature some pretty spiffy cinematography by DP Karl Freund.
