Home / Murders in the Rue Morgue

Murders in the Rue Morgue

Year:

1932

Duration:

61 min

Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Romance

IMDB rate:

6.4

Director:

Robert Florey

Awards:

1 win

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1932-02-21

Filming Locations: Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Cast

Actor

Character

Polly Ann Young

Sidney Fox

Mlle. Camille L'Espanaye

Bela Lugosi

Dr. Mirakle

Leon Ames

Pierre Dupin

Bert Roach

Paul

Betty Ross Clarke

Mme. L'Espanaye

Brandon Hurst

Prefect of Police

D'Arcy Corrigan

Morgue Keeper

Noble Johnson

Janos The Black One

Arlene Francis

Woman of the Streets

Ted Billings

Sideshow Spectator (uncredited)

Herman Bing

Franz Odenheimer (uncredited)

Agostino Borgato

Alberto Montani (uncredited)

Iron Eyes Cody

Indian at Sideshow (uncredited)

Christian J. Frank

Gendarme Using Snuff (uncredited)

Charles Gemora

Erik, the Gorilla (uncredited)

Harrison Greene

Sideshow Barker (uncredited)

Charlotte Henry

Blonde Girl in Sideshow Audience (uncredited)

Harry Holman

Victor Albert Adolph Jules Hugo Louis Dupont, the Landlord (uncredited)

Edna Marion

Mignette (uncredited)

Torben Meyer

The Dane (uncredited)

Charles Millsfield

Bearded Man at Sideshow (uncredited)

Monte Montague

Workman / Gendarme (uncredited)

John T. Murray

Gendarme (uncredited)

Tempe Pigott

Crone (uncredited)

Dorothy Vernon

Tenant (uncredited)

Michael Visaroff

Mirakle's Sideshow Barker (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

Many censors cut parts of the death scenes of the woman of the streets, eliminating her stabbing and her being tied to the cross beams.

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Among the caricatures drawn on the walls of Dupin's apartment is the likeness of Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote the story the film is based on.

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The character of Pierre Dupin, played by Leon Ames, reappeared in another Poe story done by Universal, "Mystery of Marie Roget" (1942) , this time with Patric Knowles in the role (now called Paul Dupin).

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Goofs

The movie is set in 1845 and mentions "evolution" of humans from apes. The concept was not absolutely original with Darwin, who published it in 1859, but the words "evolve" and "evolution" were not applied to it before then.

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During the sequence in which the gorilla carries Camille across the rooftops, he climbs up a pipe using both hands, when one hand should be occupied by the girl he is carrying.

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When Leon Ames is searching the bedroom, he accidentally tilts a set light flashed on a crucifix on the wall.

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Quotes

Dr. Mirakle: [Responding to an audience member who has accused him of heresy] Heresy? Do they still burn men for heresy? Then burn me monsieur, light the fire! Do you think your little candle will outshine the flame of truth?

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Faq

In what year does the story take place?

The movie takes place in Paris, France in 1845.

Why were the two guys fighting over the prostitute on the waterfront?

It does seem odd to drop a double homicide into the middle of the film without telling what led up to it. The best that be ascertained is that they were fighting over the prostitute (Arlene Francis). It's been said that the movie was supposed to open with the duel on the waterfront, then go into the scene in Mirakle's lab where the prostitute dies on the cross, then to the waterfront where the body is pulled out of the river, and then to the scene at the morgue where Pierre Dupin is introduced when he asks the morgue keeper for a sample of blood from the latest victim (the prostitute). Only then does the film show the carnival scene where Erik the ape is introduced and Mirakle makes his speech about his theory of evolution. Perhaps scenes in that order would have made more sense?

Is the opening music the same music played in 'Dracula'?

Yes, the opening music for both Murders in the Rue Morgue and for Dracula (1931) was from the 'Swan Lake Overture', written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky [1840-1893].

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