Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971 film): Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
(47 intermediate revisions by 25 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|1971 film by Gordon Hessler}} |
|||
{{About|the film starring Jason Robards|the film starring Bela Lugosi|Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)}} |
|||
{{Infobox film |
{{Infobox film |
||
|name = Murders in the Rue Morgue |
| name = Murders in the Rue Morgue |
||
|image = Murders in the Rue Morgue 1971.jpg |
| image = Murders in the Rue Morgue 1971.jpg |
||
|caption = Theatrical release poster |
| caption = Theatrical release poster |
||
|director = [[Gordon Hessler]] |
| director = [[Gordon Hessler]] |
||
|producer = [[Louis M. Heyward]] |
| producer = [[Louis M. Heyward]] |
||
|writer |
| writer = {{ubl|[[Christopher Wicking]]|[[Henry Slesar]]}} |
||
| |
| based_on = {{based on|"[[The Murders in the Rue Morgue]]"|[[Edgar Allan Poe]]}} |
||
| starring = {{Plainlist| |
|||
|starring = [[Jason Robards]]<br>[[Herbert Lom]]<br>[[Christine Kaufmann]]<br>[[Adolfo Celi]]<br>[[Maria Perschy]]<br>[[Lilli Palmer]]<br>[[Michael Dunn (actor)|Michael Dunn]] |
|||
* [[Jason Robards]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
* [[Christine Kaufmann]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
* [[Herbert Lom]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
* [[Adolfo Celi]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
* [[Michael Dunn (actor)|Michael Dunn]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
* [[Lilli Palmer]] |
|||
|runtime = 87 min. (theatrical cut)<br>98 min. (restored director's cut) |
|||
}} |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
| distributor = American International Pictures<ref name="afi">{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54182-MURDERS-INTHERUEMORGUE?sid=3be4488a-d275-4929-a066-c55b064d8775&sr=19.80101&cp=1&pos=0|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|location=Los Angeles, California|title=Murders in the Rue Morgue|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120070407/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54182-MURDERS-INTHERUEMORGUE?sid=3be4488a-d275-4929-a066-c55b064d8775&sr=19.80101&cp=1&pos=0|archive-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | |||
| runtime = 87 minutes<ref name="afi" /> |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
}} |
}} |
||
'''''Murders in the Rue Morgue''''' is a 1971 American horror film directed by [[Gordon Hessler]], starring [[Jason Robards]] and [[Herbert Lom]].<ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/33861/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue/overview |title=New York Times: Murders in the Rue Morgue |accessdate=2008-08-31|work=NY Times | first=Howard | last=Thompson}}</ref> It is ostensibly an adaptation of the [[Edgar Allan Poe]] [[The Murders in the Rue Morgue|story of the same name]], although it departs from the story in several significant aspects, at times more resembling [[Gaston Leroux]]'s ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]''.{{fact|date=November 2016}} In an interview on the film's DVD, Hessler said that he thought everyone already knew the ending of the story, so he felt it necessary to reinvent the plot. |
|||
'''''Murders in the Rue Morgue''''' is a 1971 American [[Mystery film|mystery]] [[horror film]] directed by [[Gordon Hessler]] by [[American International Pictures]] (AIP). It stars [[Jason Robards]], [[Christine Kaufmann]], [[Herbert Lom]], [[Adolfo Celi]], [[Michael Dunn (actor)|Michael Dunn]] and [[Lilli Palmer]]. The screenplay by [[Christopher Wicking]] and [[Henry Slesar]] is a loose adaptation of [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s 1841 [[The Murders in the Rue Morgue|short story of the same name]]. However, it departs from Poe's version in several significant aspects, at times more resembling [[Gaston Leroux]]'s ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]],{{sfn|Weaver|2000|p=150}}'' and incorporating the historical character [[Eugène François Vidocq]]. |
|||
The final film of AIP's "Poe cycle," ''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' was released by AIP on July 21, 1971. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics. According to Gordon Hessler, the film was heavily re-edited by producers before its release.<ref name="dvd" /><ref name=":0" /> |
|||
==Plot== |
==Plot== |
||
In early-20th century [[Paris]], a theatre troupe is specializing in gory, naturalistic horror plays in the fashion of the [[Grand Guignol]], under the direction of Cesar Charron. |
|||
{{More plot|date=September 2014}} |
|||
Charron is presenting Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Cesar's wife, the actress Madeline, whose mother had been murdered by axe, is haunted by nightmares of an axe-wielding man. Then, suddenly, Rene Marot, a former lover of Madeline's mother thought long dead after being horribly disfigured on stage, mysteriously returns and begins murdering members and ex-members of the acting troupe, confounding the Paris police, who initially suspect Cesar. |
|||
==Cast== |
==Cast== |
||
{{Cast list| |
|||
* [[Jason Robards]] as Cesar Charron |
* [[Jason Robards]] as Cesar Charron |
||
* [[Herbert Lom]] as Rene Marot |
* [[Herbert Lom]] as Rene Marot |
||
* [[Christine Kaufmann]] as Madeleine Charron |
* [[Christine Kaufmann]] as Madeleine Charron |
||
* |
**[[Inma de Santis]] as young Madeline |
||
* [[Adolfo Celi]] as [[Eugène François Vidocq|Inspector Vidocq]] |
|||
* [[Maria Perschy]] as Genevre |
* [[Maria Perschy]] as Genevre |
||
* [[Michael Dunn (actor)|Michael Dunn]] as Pierre Triboulet |
* [[Michael Dunn (actor)|Michael Dunn]] as Pierre Triboulet |
||
Line 35: | Line 52: | ||
* Rosalind Elliot as Gabrielle |
* Rosalind Elliot as Gabrielle |
||
* Marshall Jones as Luigi Orsini |
* Marshall Jones as Luigi Orsini |
||
* [[María Martín]] as Madam Adolphe |
* [[María Martín (actress)|María Martín]] as Madam Adolphe |
||
* Ruth Plattes as Orsini's |
* Ruth Plattes and [[Xan das Bolas]] as Orsini's assistants |
||
* [[José Calvo]] as Hunchback |
|||
⚫ | |||
* [[Víctor Israel]] as Coachman |
|||
* Pamela McInnes as Member of Repertory Company |
|||
⚫ | |||
* Sally Longley as Member of Repertory Company |
|||
}} |
|||
* John Mansell as Member of Repertory Company |
|||
==Production== |
==Production== |
||
===Development=== |
|||
Gordon Hessler was hired to direct the film. Hessler said that he felt the story was so familiar it needed to be changed, so he and writer Christopher Wicking decided to do it as a play-within-a-play, with a mystery happening around a theatre that was putting on a production of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The new storyline |
[[Gordon Hessler]] was hired to direct the film. Hessler said that he felt the story was so familiar it needed to be changed, so he and writer Christopher Wicking decided to do it as a play-within-a-play, with a mystery happening around a theatre that was putting on a production of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The new storyline borrowed plot elements of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]]''.{{sfn|Weaver|2000|p=149}} In a DVD interview, Hessler said that he felt it necessary to reinvent the plot as he believed the majority of audiences were too familiar with Poe's story. |
||
===Casting=== |
|||
Hessler said that Vincent Price "was very upset that he wasn't in" the film "but I had nothing to with that."<ref name="dvd"/> He thought that Price was having contractual fights with AIP at the time. |
Hessler said that [[Vincent Price]] "was very upset that he wasn't in" the film "but I had nothing to do with that."<ref name="dvd"/> He thought that Price was having contractual fights with [[American International Pictures]] (AIP) at the time. Hessler said that AIP hired Jason Robards "because of his name, and he was quite well respected. Most actors like to play a horror part at some point in their life, so he was brought onboard."<ref name="dvd"/> |
||
===Filming=== |
|||
Hessler said that AIP hired Jason Robard "because of his name, and he was quite well respected. Most actors like to play a horror part at some point in their life, so he was brought onboard."<ref name="dvd"/> |
|||
Filming started October 1970.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title=Burton to Play Gangster|author=Martin, Betty|date=August 13, 1970|page=G20|location=Los Angeles, California|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The film was shot in [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] and [[Madrid]], Spain.<ref name="afi" /> Hessler commented that it was easier to film there, as "You couldn't shoot that in London unless you built sets."<ref name="dvd"/> |
|||
Filming started October 1970.<ref>Burton to Play Gangster |
|||
Martin, Betty. ''Los Angeles Times'' (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. 13 Aug 1970: g20. </ref> |
|||
The film was shot in Spain, in the town of Toledo, rather than England because of cost. They had streets which looked like old France. "You couldn't shoot that in London unless you built sets", said Hessler.<ref name="dvd"/> |
|||
Hessler said that Robards was "fine to work with" but, two weeks into filming, he told Hessler that he had the wrong part and wanted to be doing the other part. Hessler would have been happy to give him the other role, but by then it was too late. "It's always the monster who gets the best part in a horror picture, it's much more juicy", said Hessler.<ref name="dvd">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvddrive-in.com/hessler.htm|website=DVD Drive In|title=Interview with Gordon Hessler}}</ref> |
Hessler said that Robards was "fine to work with" but, two weeks into filming, he told Hessler that he had the wrong part and wanted to be doing the other part. Hessler would have been happy to give him the other role, but by then it was too late. "It's always the monster who gets the best part in a horror picture, it's much more juicy", said Hessler.<ref name="dvd">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvddrive-in.com/hessler.htm|website=DVD Drive In|title=Interview with Gordon Hessler}}</ref> |
||
"We may have had too much fun", said Robards after production. "It's hard to tell."<ref> |
"We may have had too much fun", said Robards after production. "It's hard to tell."<ref>{{cite news|title=Critic at Large: Robards Gets Kicks With Poe|author=Champlin, Charles|location=Los Angeles, California|date=January 15, 1971|page=I1|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> |
||
Champlin, Charles. ''Los Angeles Times'' 15 Jan. 1971: i1. </ref> |
|||
== |
=== Editing === |
||
Hessler said that James H. Nicholson liked the film when he saw it in Spain. The director says he felt "it was one of the best films I had ever made" |
Gordon Hessler said that James H. Nicholson liked the film when he saw it in Spain. The director says he felt "it was one of the best films I had ever made."{{sfn|Weaver|2000|p=150}} However, the film was drastically edited in the United States. Hessler said that he was "appalled when I originally saw the theatrically released version."<ref name="dvd" /> He wrote a five-page letter to Samuel Arkoff complaining about the changes made, but by then the film was already in release. |
||
⚫ | Among the changes that Hessler disliked were removing a sequence from the end of the film and tinting the flashback scenes. "The whole idea was not to tint them so that you wouldn't know when you're more or less in a dream sequence or just being puzzled by it," said Hessler. "The whole trick in that was instead of it being a flashback, this would be a flash-forward, which people really hadn't done before at that time. It was a premonition of what was going to happen. When it's tinted, it's just so obvious. Audiences picked up on it immediately."<ref name="dvd" /> |
||
Hessler said that he was "appalled when I originally saw the theatrically released version."<ref name="dvd"/>He wrote a five-page letter to Samuel Arkoff complaining about the changes made, but by then the film was already in release. |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | Among the changes that Hessler disliked were removing a sequence from the end of the film and tinting the flashback scenes. "The whole idea was not to tint them so that you wouldn't know when you're more or less in a dream sequence or just being puzzled by it," said Hessler. "The whole trick in that was instead of it being a flashback, this would be a flash-forward, which people really hadn't done before at that time. It was a premonition of what was going to happen. When it's tinted, it's just so obvious. Audiences picked up on it immediately."<ref name="dvd"/> |
||
=== Music === |
|||
⚫ | |||
The musical score was written by Argentine composer [[Waldo de los Ríos]]. |
|||
==Release== |
|||
⚫ | |||
''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' was released in the United States in the summer of 1971, premiering in Philadelphia on July 21.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|title=New Films|date=July 18, 1971|via=Newspapers.com|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39314038/the_philadelphia_inquirer/}}</ref> |
|||
Murphy, Mary. ''Los Angeles Times'' 29 May 1972: g1. </ref> |
|||
⚫ | |||
===Critical response=== |
|||
==Reception== |
|||
{{expand section|date=February 2016}} |
{{expand section|date=February 2016}} |
||
''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' received mixed to negative reviews from critics. [[Leonard Maltin]] panned the film, awarding the film 1 1/2 out of 4 stars.<ref name=" |
''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' received mixed to negative reviews from critics. [[Leonard Maltin]] panned the film, awarding the film 1 1/2 out of 4 stars.{{sfn|Maltin|2012|p=962}} Howard Thompson from ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave the film a positive review, praising the film's direction, costume design, color, and performances. Thompson did, however, note that the film's ending, while sound, was fairly predictable.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/33861/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue/overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520132635/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/33861/Murders-in-the-Rue-Morgue/overview |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 20, 2011 |title= Murders in the Rue Morgue |access-date=November 20, 2019| first=Howard |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2011 | last=Thompson}}</ref> |
||
Donald Guarisco from ''[[Allmovie]]'' gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's substandard pacing, convoluted plot, performances, and lack of actual tension, writing "This riff on the famous Edgar Allen {{sic}} Poe story has an intriguing, experimental edge to it but is not fully successful at reinventing the Poe subgenre".<ref name="guariscoallmovie">{{cite web|last1=Guarisco|first1=Donald|title=Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) – Gordon Hessler|url=https://allmovie.com/movie/murders-in-the-rue-morgue-v33861/review|website=[[AllMovie]]|access-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref> |
|||
Donald Guarisco from ''[[Allmovie]]'' gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's substandard pacing, convoluted plot, performances, and lack of actual tension, writing "This riff on the famous Edgar Allen {{sic}} Poe story has an intriguing, experimental edge to it but is not fully successful at reinventing the Poe subgenre".<ref name="guariscoallmovie">{{cite web|last1=Guarisco|first1=Donald|title=Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) - Gordon Hessler|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/murders-in-the-rue-morgue-v33861/review|website=AllMovie.com|publisher=Donald Guarisco|accessdate=28 February 2016}}</ref> |
|||
==Home media== |
===Home media=== |
||
The film was released on DVD as a double feature with ''[[Cry of the Banshee]]'' on April 15, 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) |
The film was released on DVD as a double feature with ''[[Cry of the Banshee]]'' on April 15, 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) – Gordon Hessler|url=https://allmovie.com/movie/murders-in-the-rue-morgue-v33861/releases|website=Allmovie.com|publisher=Allmovie|access-date=28 February 2016}}</ref> |
||
[[Scream Factory]] released the film as a double feature on [[Blu-ray]] with ''[[The Dunwich Horror (film)|The Dunwich Horror]]'' (1970) in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[ComingSoon.net]]|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/horror/news/749098-blu-ray-review-murders-rue-morguethe-dunwich-horror|date=April 4, 2016|last=Alexander|first=Chris|title=Blu-ray Review: MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE/THE DUNWICH HORROR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818044736/https://comingsoon.net/horror/news/749098-blu-ray-review-murders-rue-morguethe-dunwich-horror|archive-date=August 18, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> This edition went [[out of print|out-of-print]] in May 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/murders-in-the-rue-morgue-the-dunwich-horror-double-feature?product_id=4539|work=[[Shout! Factory]]|title=Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Dunwich Horror|url-status=live|archive-date=August 22, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210822190509/https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/murders-in-the-rue-morgue-the-dunwich-horror-double-feature?product_id=4539}}</ref> |
|||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
Line 85: | Line 103: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
||
==Sources== |
|||
*{{cite book|last1=Maltin|first1=Leonard|authorlink=Leonard Maltin|title=Leonard Maltin's 2013 Movie Guide|year=2012|publisher=Penguin Press|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-451-23774-3}} |
|||
*{{cite book|last=Weaver|first=Tom|title=Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes: The Mutant Melding of Two Volumes of Classic Interviews|year=2000|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-0755-2}} |
|||
== External links == |
== External links == |
||
Line 91: | Line 113: | ||
* {{tcmdb title|8421}} |
* {{tcmdb title|8421}} |
||
* {{Allmovie|33861}} |
* {{Allmovie|33861}} |
||
{{Gordon Hessler}} |
{{Gordon Hessler}} |
||
{{The Murders in the Rue Morgue}} |
{{The Murders in the Rue Morgue}} |
||
Line 98: | Line 121: | ||
[[Category:1971 horror films]] |
[[Category:1971 horror films]] |
||
[[Category:Films based on The Murders in the Rue Morgue]] |
[[Category:Films based on The Murders in the Rue Morgue]] |
||
[[Category:American films]] |
[[Category:American historical horror films]] |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
[[Category:Films directed by Gordon Hessler]] |
[[Category:Films directed by Gordon Hessler]] |
||
[[Category:Films shot in Madrid]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
[[Category:1970s American films]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
[[Category:American films about revenge]] |
Revision as of 14:59, 31 July 2024
Murders in the Rue Morgue | |
---|---|
Directed by | Gordon Hessler |
Written by | |
Based on | "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe |
Produced by | Louis M. Heyward |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Manuel Berenguer |
Edited by | Max Benedict |
Music by | Waldo de los Ríos |
Production company | |
Distributed by | American International Pictures[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes[1] |
Land | Vereinigte Staaten |
Sprache | Englisch |
Budget | $700,000[2] |
Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1971 American mystery horror film directed by Gordon Hessler by American International Pictures (AIP). It stars Jason Robards, Christine Kaufmann, Herbert Lom, Adolfo Celi, Michael Dunn and Lilli Palmer. The screenplay by Christopher Wicking and Henry Slesar is a loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story of the same name. However, it departs from Poe's version in several significant aspects, at times more resembling Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera,[2] and incorporating the historical character Eugène François Vidocq.
The final film of AIP's "Poe cycle," Murders in the Rue Morgue was released by AIP on July 21, 1971. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics. According to Gordon Hessler, the film was heavily re-edited by producers before its release.[3][4]
Plot
In early-20th century Paris, a theatre troupe is specializing in gory, naturalistic horror plays in the fashion of the Grand Guignol, under the direction of Cesar Charron.
Charron is presenting Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Cesar's wife, the actress Madeline, whose mother had been murdered by axe, is haunted by nightmares of an axe-wielding man. Then, suddenly, Rene Marot, a former lover of Madeline's mother thought long dead after being horribly disfigured on stage, mysteriously returns and begins murdering members and ex-members of the acting troupe, confounding the Paris police, who initially suspect Cesar.
Cast
- Jason Robards as Cesar Charron
- Herbert Lom as Rene Marot
- Christine Kaufmann as Madeleine Charron
- Inma de Santis as young Madeline
- Adolfo Celi as Inspector Vidocq
- Maria Perschy as Genevre
- Michael Dunn as Pierre Triboulet
- Lilli Palmer as Mrs. Charron
- Peter Arne as Aubert
- Rosalind Elliot as Gabrielle
- Marshall Jones as Luigi Orsini
- María Martín as Madam Adolphe
- Ruth Plattes and Xan das Bolas as Orsini's assistants
- José Calvo as Hunchback
- Víctor Israel as Coachman
- Rafael Hernández as member of repertory company
Production
Development
Gordon Hessler was hired to direct the film. Hessler said that he felt the story was so familiar it needed to be changed, so he and writer Christopher Wicking decided to do it as a play-within-a-play, with a mystery happening around a theatre that was putting on a production of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The new storyline borrowed plot elements of The Phantom of the Opera.[5] In a DVD interview, Hessler said that he felt it necessary to reinvent the plot as he believed the majority of audiences were too familiar with Poe's story.
Casting
Hessler said that Vincent Price "was very upset that he wasn't in" the film "but I had nothing to do with that."[3] He thought that Price was having contractual fights with American International Pictures (AIP) at the time. Hessler said that AIP hired Jason Robards "because of his name, and he was quite well respected. Most actors like to play a horror part at some point in their life, so he was brought onboard."[3]
Filming
Filming started October 1970.[4] The film was shot in Toledo and Madrid, Spain.[1] Hessler commented that it was easier to film there, as "You couldn't shoot that in London unless you built sets."[3]
Hessler said that Robards was "fine to work with" but, two weeks into filming, he told Hessler that he had the wrong part and wanted to be doing the other part. Hessler would have been happy to give him the other role, but by then it was too late. "It's always the monster who gets the best part in a horror picture, it's much more juicy", said Hessler.[3]
"We may have had too much fun", said Robards after production. "It's hard to tell."[6]
Editing
Gordon Hessler said that James H. Nicholson liked the film when he saw it in Spain. The director says he felt "it was one of the best films I had ever made."[2] However, the film was drastically edited in the United States. Hessler said that he was "appalled when I originally saw the theatrically released version."[3] He wrote a five-page letter to Samuel Arkoff complaining about the changes made, but by then the film was already in release.
Among the changes that Hessler disliked were removing a sequence from the end of the film and tinting the flashback scenes. "The whole idea was not to tint them so that you wouldn't know when you're more or less in a dream sequence or just being puzzled by it," said Hessler. "The whole trick in that was instead of it being a flashback, this would be a flash-forward, which people really hadn't done before at that time. It was a premonition of what was going to happen. When it's tinted, it's just so obvious. Audiences picked up on it immediately."[3]
AIP also removed a lot of Lilli Palmer's scenes. "She was vital to the plot and by cutting her scenes down, it was like she was an extra in the film", said Hessler.[3]
Music
The musical score was written by Argentine composer Waldo de los Ríos.
Release
Murders in the Rue Morgue was released in the United States in the summer of 1971, premiering in Philadelphia on July 21.[7]
Robards later called the film "a disaster... but I got a good price and part of the picture."[8]
Critical response
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2016) |
Murders in the Rue Morgue received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Leonard Maltin panned the film, awarding the film 1 1/2 out of 4 stars.[9] Howard Thompson from The New York Times gave the film a positive review, praising the film's direction, costume design, color, and performances. Thompson did, however, note that the film's ending, while sound, was fairly predictable.[10] Donald Guarisco from Allmovie gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's substandard pacing, convoluted plot, performances, and lack of actual tension, writing "This riff on the famous Edgar Allen [sic] Poe story has an intriguing, experimental edge to it but is not fully successful at reinventing the Poe subgenre".[11]
Home media
The film was released on DVD as a double feature with Cry of the Banshee on April 15, 2003.[12]
Scream Factory released the film as a double feature on Blu-ray with The Dunwich Horror (1970) in 2016.[13] This edition went out-of-print in May 2020.[14]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Murders in the Rue Morgue". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019.
- ^ a b c Weaver 2000, p. 150.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Interview with Gordon Hessler". DVD Drive In.
- ^ a b Martin, Betty (August 13, 1970). "Burton to Play Gangster". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. G20.
- ^ Weaver 2000, p. 149.
- ^ Champlin, Charles (January 15, 1971). "Critic at Large: Robards Gets Kicks With Poe". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. I1.
- ^ "New Films". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. July 18, 1971. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Murphy, Mary (May 29, 1972). "Star of 'Country Girl': Backstage With Jason Robards". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. G1.
- ^ Maltin 2012, p. 962.
- ^ Thompson, Howard (2011). "Murders in the Rue Morgue". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ Guarisco, Donald. "Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) – Gordon Hessler". AllMovie. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) – Gordon Hessler". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
- ^ Alexander, Chris (April 4, 2016). "Blu-ray Review: MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE/THE DUNWICH HORROR". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.
- ^ "Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Dunwich Horror". Shout! Factory. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021.
Sources
- Maltin, Leonard (2012). Leonard Maltin's 2013 Movie Guide. New York, New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0-451-23774-3.
- Weaver, Tom (2000). Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes: The Mutant Melding of Two Volumes of Classic Interviews. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0755-2.