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poster of Murders in the Rue Morgue
Rating: 5.233/10 by 43 users

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)

In Paris, in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, Cesar Charron owns a theater at the Rue Morgue where he performs the play "Murders in the Rue Morgue" with his wife Madeleine Charron, who has dreadful nightmares. When there are several murders by acid of people connected to Cesar, the prime suspect of Inspector Vidocq would be Cesar's former partner Rene Marot. But Marot murdered Madeleine's mother many years ago and committed suicide immediately after.

Directing:
  • Gordon Hessler
  • Kuki López Rodero
  • Rosa Biadiu
Writing:
  • Edgar Allan Poe
  • Christopher Wicking
  • Henry Slesar
Stars:
Release Date: Wed, Jul 21, 1971

Rating: 5.233/10 by 43 users

Alternative Title:
Edgar Allan Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue - US
Asesinatos de la Calle Morgue - ES
Morugu machi no satsujin - JP
Mord in der Rue Morgue - DE
Τα Εγκλήματα της Οδού Μοργκ - GR
Murders in the Rue Morgue - CA
Double Assassinat Dans la Rue Morgue - CA

Country:
United Kingdom
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 27 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: prostitute, paris, france, england, psychopath, haunted house, phantom, hypnosis, buried alive, murder, decapitation, whodunit, grand guignol, axe murder, stage production

Jason Robards
Cesar Charron
Herbert Lom
Rene Marot
Christine Kaufmann
Madeleine Charron
Adolfo Celi
Inspector Vidocq
Michael Dunn
Pierre Triboulet
Lilli Palmer
Mrs. Charron
Marshall Jones
Luigi Orsini
María Martín
Madam Adolphe
Ruth Plattes
Orsini's Assistant
Rafael Hernández
Member of Repertory Company
Pamela McInnes
Member of Repertory Company
Sally Longley
Member of Repertory Company
Luis Rivera
Member of Repertory Company
Dean Selmier
Member of Repertory Company
Virginia Stach
Member of Repertory Company
Werner Umberg
Member of Repertory Company
Xan das Bolas
Orsini's Assistant
Brooke Adams
Nurse (uncredited)
José Calvo
Hunchback (uncredited)
Inma de Santis
Young Madeleine (uncredited)
Víctor Israel
Cowardly Coachman (uncredited)
Emile Stemmler
Doctor (uncredited)

talisencrw

In the extra on my Blu-ray of the film, director Hessler states he was upset with Jason Robards' performance in the title role and laments he didn't get to inherit Vincent Price as the film's star when he was asked to direct it. In watching, I quite agree that as fine an actor as Robards was, his heart wasn't in horror and thus his tone is off here. Still, Herbert Lom is great as the antagonist and there are many enjoyable wonders to behold. I strongly feel that had Price acted in Robards' place, this film would have joined the fine string of minor masterpieces Price starred in during that purple patch of his career.

Wuchak

_**Poe mixed with Phantom of the Opera**_ At a Grand Guignol-like theater in turn-of-the-century Paris a troupe is beset by a shadowy acid killer. Jason Robards plays the director/actor, Christine Kaufmann his young wife, Lilli Palmer her mother, Herbert Lom a mysterious stalker, Michael Dunn a dubious dwarf and Adolfo Celi the inspector. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1971) is not a film version of Edgar Allan Poe’s story, which the viewer is keyed-off to right away with the revelation that the play featured at the theater _IS_ Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgan.” The director & writer decided to do something different because Poe’s story was so well known. This movie has more to do with “Phantom of the Opera.” Once you accept that, you can enjoy this AIP flick as a colorful Hammer-like Victorian horror similar to their Dracula or Frankenstein movies, albeit with a different “monster.” The ending features a twist that I found unconvincing, but at least it’s unexpected and shakes things up. Robards is relatively dull as the protagonist, which explains why he wanted Lom’s role. The part called for someone of Vincent Price’s magnetism. The original version of the film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, which is the version I viewed. Eleven minutes were unfortunately cut for the US debut, which included the removal of sequences from the end of the film, e.g. a lot of Lilli Palmer’s scenes. Director Gordon Hessler objected to these edits, as well as the tinting of the flashback scenes on the grounds that the idea was NOT to tint them so that viewers wouldn't know when they’re seeing a dream sequence or perhaps a flashback or a flash-forward, which hadn't been done before. The movie was shot in Toledo and Madrid, Spain. GRADE: C/C+


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