Phantom of the Rue Morgue

Phantom of the Rue Morgue
Phantom of the Rue Morgue
	Theatrical poster.
Directed by	Roy Del Ruth
Screenplay by	Harold Medford; James R. Webb
Based on	The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
Produced by	Henry Blanke
Starring	Karl Malden; Claude Dauphin; Patricia Medina
Cinematography	J. Peverell Marley
Edited by	James Moore
Music by	David Buttolph
Production; company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	March 27, 1954;
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1,450,000 (US)

Phantom of the Rue Morgue is a 1954 American mystery horror film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Karl Malden, Claude Dauphin and Patricia Medina.^[2] The film is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue.^[3]

Warner Bros. released several 3D productions during the 1950s, including the big-budget The Charge at Feather River (1953). Following another western, The Moonlighter (1953), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, the studio attempted to repeat the success they had with House of Wax the previous year. This movie was based on the same story which had formed the basis of a 1932 horror film which stars Bela Lugosi.^[4]

Plot

In 1870s France, a string of strange murders occur on the Rue Morgue, a fictional street in Paris. The authorities are baffled, but they do know of one man who may have the answers - a professor named Dupin.

Dupin agrees to help the police. Soon a list of suspects is established. The roster includes a one-eyed sailor named Jacques. But there is also Professor Marais, who is involved in bizarre and unauthorized animal experiments.

Cast

Karl Malden as Dr. Marais
Claude Dauphin as Insp. Bonnard
Patricia Medina as Jeanette
Steve Forrest as Prof. Paul Dupin
Allyn Ann McLerie as Yvonne
Anthony Caruso as Jacques the One-Eyed
Veola Vonn as Arlette
Dolores Dorn as Camille
Merv Griffin as Georges Brevert
Paul Richards as Rene the Knife-thrower
Rolfe Sedan as LeBon
Erin O'Brien-Moore as Wardrobe Woman
Charles Gemora as Sultan, The Gorilla
The Flying Zacchinis as Themselves
Tito Vuolo as Pignatelli
Marie Blake as Marie
Henry Kulky as Maurice, Sailor
Leonard Penn as Gendarme Dumas
Frank Lackteen as Gendarme Chavet
George J. Lewis as Gendarme Duval
Rico Alaniz as Gendarme
Belle Mitchell as Concierge
Creighton Hale as Concierge's Husband

References

^ "1954 Box Office Champs". Variety Weekly. January 5, 1955. p. 59. - figures are rentals in the US and Canada
^ "Phantom of the Rue Morgue". AllMovie. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
^ Palmer p.55
^ "Phantom of the Rue Morgue". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.

Bibliography

Aitken, Stuart C. & Zonn, Leo E. Place, Power, Situation and Spectacle: A Geography of Film. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1994.
Palmer, Barton R. Nineteenth-Century American Fiction on Screen. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

External links

Phantom of the Rue Morgue at IMDb
Phantom of the Rue Morgue at AllMovie
Phantom of the Rue Morgue at the TCM Movie Database

[box-1] "1954 Box Office Champs". Variety Weekly. January 5, 1955. p. 59. - figures are rentals in the US and Canada

[2] "Phantom of the Rue Morgue". AllMovie. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

[3] Palmer p.55

[4] "Phantom of the Rue Morgue". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.

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v t e Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin
Stories	"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" "The Purloined Letter"
Adaptations	Sherlock Holmes in the Great Murder Mystery (1908) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942) Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986) Morgue Street (2012)