In the 1800’s in Paris, a young woman is viciously murdered in Rue Morgue. Inspector Bonnard (Claude Dauphin) from the French police force is stumped. The crime goes unsolved. Months later another young woman, Yvonne (Allyn Ann McLerie) is found dead.
Yvonne is a circus style performer who works with Rene (Paul Richards), a knife thrower, at a local night spot. Yvonne has been having affairs with some of the local college students and Rene is jealous. Rene is hauled into police headquarters and is questioned but has an alibi. Bonnard then questions the students that Yvonne had been seeing. The students also have alibis. They were with their professor, Paul Dupin (Steve Forest) and his fiancé, Jeanette (Patricia Median).
The murders continue. Each new victim is found wearing a bracelet with bells on it. The women are also found in locked rooms. The victims are torn apart. One victim is found with a cameo that Dupin had purchased for Jeanette but had been stolen. Bonnard suspects Dupin of being the killer. This time his alibi is his colleague, Dr. Marais (Karl Malden). When another victim is killed, Dupin is nearby and sees the shadow of the killer going over the roof tops. He gives chase but is stopped by the Gendarme.
Dupin is now the only suspect despite the fact that there is no real evidence against him. Dupin has his suspicions, but no one believes him. Bonnard does his best to fit his suspect to the available clues. In reality there is something more sinister roaming the rooftops of Paris, and Dupin’s fiancé, Jeanette ends up in the crosshairs of the murderer.
“Phantom of the Rue Morgue” was released in 1954 and was directed by Roy Del Ruth. It is an American horror mystery. The film was loosely based on the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” written in 1841 by Edgar Allan Poe. The movie, produced by Warner Brothers, was also done in a 3D version. It is a remake of the original 1932 version of the story. Both versions take their own liberties with Poe’s tale.
The ape named Sultan was played by Charles Gemora. Gemora also played Erik, the Gorilla from the original Universal version “Murders in the Rue Morgue” 1932.
The movie’s other claim to fame is a bit part played by a very young television host and media mogul Merv Griffin. He plays a college student, George Brevert, who is briefly suspected of being the killer. There are also some shots of members of the trapeze group, the Flying Zacchinis.
It is your average Poe style horror mystery with some nice, almost expressionistic, atmosphere. The movie may have very little to do with Poe’s original story, but it was entertaining enough on its own.