Murders In the Rue Morgue

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

Runtime: 61 minutes

Directed by: Robert Florey

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Sidney Fox, Leon Ames, Bert Roach, Betty Ross Clarke

From: Universal

Later in May I likely will watch a few movies in a row from the early 30's; movies leaving streaming services are one of the reasons why. This is not one of those films-instead it was chosen at random on YouTube. It is based on an Edgar Allan Poe story; if you're like me and haven't read The Murders in the Rue Morgue... that is irrelevant as I hear it is a rather loose adaptation.

What we got: it was 1845 France and two couples attend a carnival where one of the attractions is a doctor and his pet gorilla. Of course the doctor is Lugosi and of course there is outrage when he dare suggests that man has evolved from ape. Several women have gone missing and is it a spoiler to say that the lady w/ the rather wild name of Mademoiselle Camille L'Espanaye is an eventual target for could be accurately described as A HORNY MONKEY?

To be blunt, it seemed as if there was some padding for a movie barely an hour long. Otherwise, I was entertained by this movie. Besides the outrageous premise and just why women have been kidnapped for gruesome reasons (there are some over the top moments involving women in peril), the production was obviously inspired by German Expressionism. There were some intended chuckles along with some unintended ones... to be honest, you see two men that live together in a “bros being bros” manner yet I wondered if it was just a platonic relationship or if they-who already had girlfriends-also batted on the other side of the plate... even if it's not the best example of 30's Universal horror you'll still find some macabre delights.

Naturally, Lugosi was the highlight but I'll close this out on a sad note and that was me wondering why I had never heard of the lead girl, Sidney Fox. It was actually a tragic tale: she was a Jewish girl born in what is now the Ukraine... she emigrated young and as an adult she was on stage and her attempt at a Hollywood career only lasted for a few years, this being the most famous film she was in. Also, she allegedly had an affair with Universal boss Carl Laemmle, Jr. Fox died at age 34 of an OD of sleeping pills, accidentally or on purpose. Either case it does demonstrate how Hollywood has always had tragic cases like this.