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 (1954-03-27)
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1,450,000 (US)[1]

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

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.

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 the TCM Movie Database