Marie Roget (Maria Montez) is a famous French actress. One day she went missing. Police Inspector Gobelin (Lloyd Corrigan) is at a loss as to what to do so he calls in his medical officer, Dr. Pierre Dupin (Patric Knowles). Ten days later, a woman’s body is found floating in the river. Her face has been removed so identification is almost impossible. The body is tentatively identified as Marie Roget.
When Gobelin and Dupin go to talk to Marie’s family, Marie suddenly reappears with no explanation of where she had been. Upon her return she learns that her sister, Camille (Nell O’Day) has become engaged to Marcel Vigneaux (Edward Norris). When they are alone, Marie and Marcel discuss his decision to marry Camille. In reality Marie and Marcel are lovers and are planning to kill Camille who will soon become of legal age to inherit her deceased grandfather’s estate. Marie insists that Marcel kill Camille that night at a party being given by Mr. and Mrs. De Luc (Clyde Fillmore and Norma Drury).
Overhearing their plans is the sisters’ grandmother, Cecile Roget (Maria Ouspenskaya). Marcel works for the Minister for Naval Affairs, Henri Beauvais (John Litel). Cecile is a friend of Beauvais, so she has him arrange for Marcel to be busy. She then calls Dr. Dupin to ask him to escort Cecile to the party. Dupin, upon seeing the lovely Camille, agrees to be her escort and protector.
Sometime during the party Marie once again disappears. Her body is found floating in the river. Her face has been destroyed. Dupin is left to collect the clues, assemble the suspects and find out who killed Marie and if the body of the first victim is connected in any way with Marie’s murder.
“The Mystery of Marie Roget” AKA “Phantom of Paris” was released in 1942 and was directed by Phil Rosen. It is an American crime thriller. The film was loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe story from 1842 with some upgrades and refreshes. It is a sort of follow-up, or unofficial sequel, to Universal’s 1932 film “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, also by Poe.
This is your standard 40’s era murder mystery. It includes several suspects and a few red herrings. The film is a bit of a combo platter with a leopard as a suspect and a ghoulish discussion concerning the removal of Maria’s brain to determine if she was in possession of a ‘criminal’ mind. At only an hour long it is a fast-paced film with some interesting plot devises. It’s nothing great but worth spending some time checking out if you like mysteries.
Supposedly, the story that Poe wrote was based on the real-life murder of New York City resident, Mary Cecilia Rogers. Reports of the incident vary but most say that the first time Mary disappeared was in 1841. A few days later she reappeared saying that she had been visiting either a friend or a relative in the country. About a month later she became engaged to Daniel Payne. In June or July of 1841 Mary said she was going out to visit a relative and, once again, never returned. On July 28th her body was found floating in the Hudson River near Hoboken, New Jersey. Her killer was never found, however, many speculated that her fiancé had something to do with her death. Some said she had been raped and killed by a gang of hoodlums. Others said she died from a botched abortion and was murdered to cover up the incident.