Murders in the Rue Morgue

Murders in the Rue Morgue

Me, stalking you? Never! I just wanted to use the bathroom!

Murders in the Rue Morgue was an interesting movie. I mean with a mad scientists, an evil henchman and a scary ape in tow, how could you go wrong, right? Sure, it had a few questionable themes in the plot-line but that is just reflection of the times. Or so I tell myself every time I think about some of the themes. Well, here is my review.

Made in 1932, the movie was directed by Robert Florey. Bela Lugosi fans, take note - it stars him as the evil, chuckling scientist complete with a secret laboratory! And, in case you are curious, here are the names of other cast members: Leon Ames, Sidney Fox and Edna Marion. Do note that while this particular movie was based on a popular Edgar Allan Poe short story, it has liberally added its own themes and topics into the main plot-line.

Firstly, here is the gist of the movie. There's a carnival in town and everyone is buying out tickets to the grand event. I mean can you really pass up the chance to oogle at items, creatures and sometimes folks from other lands? One of the most popular exhibits involved the mysterious and badly named Dr. Mirakle. Donning a smug smile, elaborate gestures and a bushy uni-brow, he goes on to display an ape and jabber on about evolution. As you can imagine, that really won folks over. This controversial event was followed by the said ape, Erik, making dove-eyes at a young lady and then subsequently trying to strangle her fiancee. That certainly didn't win any votes either. Needless to say, most folks left in a huff. Somethings never change, do they? About the anti-evolution feeling I mean, not the ape strangling episode.

Now that we have established that there is group of foreigners in town, let's go to the second part of the story. Turns out, some one is picking up women from the streets of Paris and killing them. Alright, so occasionally there are additional male bodies popping up alongside the deceased female. Mmmhm, that's what happens when two feisty sailors decide to fight it out on the street over a prostitute. Speaking of that street-smart lady, let me just say that if you don't have enough sense to make a run for it when a uni-brow man with the creepy grin attacks that sailor who won the that-is-my-prostitute-fight, then you have some seriously questionable survival instincts. All is not lost; there is smart detective, Pierre Dupin, on this case. Sure, he is still a bit shaken after that incident with the ape (yes, he was the one playing squeeze my throat with the ape) but he is willing to stoke his ego by catching the criminal by using his deductive reasoning and forensic equipment. Little did he know that the ape and his master were behind it and had designs on his rather daft fiancee.

Folks seem to love blaming the science guy, don't they? As you probably guessed, Dr Mirakle is behind all the murders. Apparently he is a bit obsessed (and might I say misinformed) about the theory of evolution and so wants to create a human-ape hybrid. From what I gathered, he wanted to inject ape blood into a female human. What he planned next was not quite known. I am assuming there was going to be a public display tent for the resulting aftermath (perhaps even the consummation, this is a carnival after all). Anyway, the detective's fiancee is missing, her mom is shoved up a chimney (seriously!) and the clock is ticking. Luckily, Dupin solves the case in time to put together a gun-toting, torch-wielding mob together. Now, can they reach Dr Mirakle in time?

What did I learn from this movie? I suppose the most important lesson is the fact that evolution was and is still not properly understood. And that folks will almost always hate it. I would love to say that in modern times more folks are knowledgeable about the theory but unfortunately that is not true. Secondly, it seems like they don't build henchmen like they used to. I mean nowadays the sidekicks would either run for it or back-stab you the moment the tide turns. Not in this movie. Janos, the creepy servant, fends off the blood-thirsty mob, with just a simple door and a meager piece of wood between his master and certain death. If he was not dead, he would be employee of the month amongst evil lords.