Bela In The Rue Morgue

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE-1932-Universal Pictures first horror film (based on a Edgar Allan Poe story) made after the hits FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA! Set in Paris in 1845, Bela Lugosi portrays Dr. Mirakle, a slightly demented guy with a killer ape named Erik. The doctor can even "speak ape" to him. When not giving lectures on apes and humans being related he prowls the foggy streets looking for female victims to experiment on. He's assisted by Janos, (Noble Johnson). Mirakle takes a liking to Camille (the ill fated Sidney Fox who has top billing) after Erik steals her bonnet. She describes Mirakle as "a funny old man". Her boyfriend is medical student Pierre Dupin (Leon Waycoff, who later changed his surname to Ames) investigates the recent murders of 3 "women of the streets" and discovers they all died because ape blood was injected into them. A scene of Mirakle "experimenting" on a prostitute (future celebrity talk show panelist Arlene Francis) seems pretty shocking for 1932. Unable to convince Camille to come to him, Mirakle dispatches Erik to kidnap her. Fortunately Erik rebels and kills his master before any blood injecting can begin. Unfortunately Erik carries Camille over the rooftops of Paris with an angry mob in hot pursuit. Dupin arrives just in time to save his love.

Some comic interrogations where no one can agree on what language MIrakle and Erik are talking aren't that funny and seem to be thrown in to waste time. And since Erik is actually gorilla suited veteran Charles Gemora the close-ups of a an angry ape edited in are out of place.

Of course director Florey and star Lugosi were the original choices for the Universal production of FRANKENSTEIN but that was eventually changed. MURDERS has a smaller budget but is gruesome and eerie. It goes along well, until the end which seems rushed. The idea of Mirakle talking "ape" to his "pet" was used in a later Bela vehicle THE APE MAN.

Lugosi was in WHITE ZOMBIE and ISLAND OF LOST SOULS the same year. Florey, who co-wrote FRANKENSTEIN but was cheated out of screen credit by James Whale, co-wrote this and it's said John Huston also contributed some dialogue. MURDERS uses Tchiakovsky's Swan Lake over the opening credits (as did DRACULA and THE MUMMY). Herman Bing, Iron Eyes Cody and Charlotte Henry all have small roles.  

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