gavin6942
While the title suggests that the film is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story (something that had not been done since the 1930s), it is actually far more similar to "Phantom of the Opera", which has been done many, many times.The film is noteworthy for being one of the two American International Pictures Poe films without Vincent Price -- the other being "Premature Burial". But should this film really count as Poe anyway? Howard Thompson of the New York Times wrote that "the entire film is a gorgeous eyeful in excellent color, with lavish period decor and costumes and some perfectly beautiful dream montages." While I can hardly disagree, he goes above and beyond the praise I would have offered. I mean, I liked the story and the acting, but I never really noticed the color. And I am not sure what the "period decor" is, since there is no indication this is supposed to be anything but modern (after all, how can you present Poe's story unless it is well after he wrote it).Thompson does offer one negative piece of criticism, and that involves pointing out that "a tacked-on, drawn-out postscript almost flattens the fun." I completely agree with this. While I enjoyed the film, I felt like it had two or three endings, and just kept going anyway. There is no better way to make a film seem long (wearing out its welcome) than to make it start after the audience has stopped!
BaronBl00d
To be honest I have never been a great fan of director Gordon Hessler. I didn't like Scream, and Scream Again, hated Cry of the Banshee, and thought The Oblong Box was okay. I did like his Sinbad film and really liked his Kolchak episode(The Spanish Moss Murders)to be fair. I always thought he was one of those directors that tended to have a lot to work with but never fully utilized his wealth. Directors like Herscell Gordon Lewis, Larry Buchanan, and Ed Wood never had a third or fourth of what Hessler was working with but sometimes blindsided him with their efforts. So...to spin a long story short...I went into Murders in the Rue Morgue with some trepidation and had limited expectations. It surprised me. It didn't suck. Nor is it great, but Hessler did a lot of things right here though the film has some obvious flaws. Hessler does create a very European-feeling film despite having Jason Robards in the lead(it helps that most of the rest of the cast is European like Herbert Lom, Adolfo Celi(see him in a lot of films from this time period it seems), Christine Kaufmann, Lili Palmer, Peter Arne, and virtually everyone else except Michael Dunn). Hessler also creates some good visuals with some repeated dream sequences of a man falling from the theater rafters and an ax being wielded by a man in evening dress. Hessler also gets some scenes with acid and the plays being performed on stage very nicely done. His script is a huge problem as Poe is more of a backdrop for another retelling of The Phantom of the Opera. the story itself about a man seeking revenge is okay - I really like what happened to Robards at the end. Nonetheless, much of the story makes no sense, a staple in a Hessler film it seems to me. While there are some shortcomings, I am offering up a mild vote of confidence for Murders in the Rue Morgue as it is watchable, does have some merit, and is one of Hessler's better films - for what that is worth.
preppy-3
Players at a Paris theatre (run by Jason Robards) become victims of a masked murderer (Herbert Lom). I saw a brand new print of this so the colors were rich and strong...that's about it for compliments. The movie was very obviously filmed in Spain and has erratic performances (even by pros Robards and Lom). Leading lady Christine Kaufmann is a really terrible actress and keeps having the same stupid dream again and again and again and again etc etc. The film is slow-moving, repititious, has lousy make-up (Lom seems to be wearing the exact same face he had in "Phantom of the Opera" in 1964) and the most boring murders ever put on screen...no gore and very little blood. Stick with the 1932 Lugosi version.
Kimmer-3
This is one of my favourite movies. I loved Herbert Lom and Michael Dunn. From my research on this movie, it was supposed to have a twist in the ending, but it was "badly edited" and good elements of the story were lost. (I am familiar with Henry Slesar's writings and his stories are excellent and unpredictable.) I have been looking for the "unedited" screenplay for over 10 years now, so if anyone knows where to find it or what the missing elements of the story are... I would love to see this movie unedited!Even edited, this movie is worth watching. Herbert Lom does an excellent job in this role. No "Phantom" has been able to match him.
Story summary: Madeline (Christine Kauffman) , a horror actress, is haunted by nightmares of an axeman. (Her mother was brutally murdered with an axe 12 years earlier.) A badly scarred actor, Rene Marot (Herbert Lom), who was in love with her mother comes back from the "dead" and murders former members of the acting troup with acid. What do these nightmares have to do with these murders? Who is this scarred actor and why is he committing these murders? Who killed Madeline's mother? Watch the movie and find out!
AD
