Murders of the Rue Morgue (1932)

Lugosi and director unfortunately didn't make a big hit with this chiller set in France with inspiration from Poe, and its casting might not equal in quality of the main star, art direction, sense of period, or foggy, eerie cinematography courtesy of Freund, but as a technical, artistic, aesthetic piece, I always personally held it in high regard. Yes, perhaps it spends too much time with the less charismatic cast and insists on grinding to a halt in its romance, with trite compliments and swooning between the couple in love, but when focused on the darker aspects of Paris in the seedier night scenes, the Gothic horror shines. While the pacing and reliance on comedy might be considered failures that are a detriment, I personally don't have as much a problem with these anymore. Ames and Fox's romantic interludes I could do without, though the camera with Camille on the swing and Camille bowing at a cross are just two of several photographic, stylistic touches that really imprint on my mind, having left a lasting impression. Lugosi in the carnival tent upon introduction is just overpowering to me. In his prime, Lugosi held the screen. 3.5/5

I did want to mention some nice subtle touches that tell you who a lady of the night is without explicitly saying it, such as two barflies fighting over her with knives with her willingly going with Lugosi after they kill each other, Lugosi checking her "blood as black as her sins", and the coroner and a "body provider" understanding what her profession was without saying it outright to each other.

Brief user comments from October 2006

The murders of the title are committed by Darwinist Dr. Mirakle(Bela Lugosi, as diabolical as ever)looking for the ideal mate for his ape "man" Erik. One night during a carnival show when he was declared heretic for displaying his evolutionary beliefs, notices Erik embracing Camille(Sidney Fox)lovingly, albeit roughly, in his own way from his cage when she draws near to pet him. Mirakle feels his primate pal longs for Camille, but sets out to find the right woman before settling in on her often torturing several female street denizens. Medical student Pierre Dupin(Leon Ames), and Camille's true love, is obsessive in his studies on the bodies from the Rue Morgue, in finding out what causes a peculiar mark on each corpse and a certain element in the bloodstream of every female. Pierre will soon discover who is behind the murders, but will it be to late for poor Camille who is soon kidnapped by Erik when Mirakle lets him loose? Inspired, Gothic direction helps give the bizarre, hokey premise respectability. Atmospheric with great uses of fog, lantern light, and especially shadow. Surprisingly this period of time is captured well by Robert Florey, the cast is game, there's humor injected into the grisly premise which lifts the film, and Lugosi is fun to watch when he's on screen. They have to use visual tricks for Erik and most of these are shadowy backdrops on walls when he goes on the attack or kidnaps. The end where Erik scales the roof tops of building with Camille in tow is clearly, despite a model effort for realism, a man in an ape suit with close-ups of a real primate's face for reactionary shots.

Better than it should be, I do very much recommend this film.