Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Logan Dodd There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

classicsoncall I recall the first time I read Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' how ludicrous it felt that he would have come up with a plot in which an orangutan was a murderer. I still can't get over it.Anyway, here's the story put to film and it seems almost as ludicrous all over again. That's not to say I didn't find it entertaining enough, although I don't think I would have cast Karl Malden as the principal heavy. His character, Dr. Marais, was working on a theory that all living things have a latent killer instinct, while his experimentation in conditioned reflex reaction resulted in using bells to trigger a gorilla's response to kill victims at his command. One of the more comical elements of the story occurred when he pulled out some trinket to hypnotize old Sultan; can you really hypnotize a gorilla? Inspector Bonnard (Claude Dauphin) also struck me as somewhat comical in the exercise of his police duties. It seemed he was always looking for the easy way out to find the guilty party, on the basis that "it's so much easier to find a criminal who looks like a criminal". That reminded me of a line Benson Fong used in the 1945 film "The Scarlet Clue" when he remarks to Sidney Toler's Charlie Chan - "That's easy Pop, the murderer will be the one with the guilty look". If only it should be so easy.At least by researching this picture I'm now aware of the Bela Lugosi version of "Murders in the Rue Morgue" from 1932. I didn't know about that one so I'll have to be on the lookout for it. Lugosi strikes me more of the mad scientist type than Malden, who nevertheless got kind of spooky himself when he eventually turned on the girl who jilted him (Patricia Medina).

Neil Doyle Although not in the same league with Warner's HOUSE OF WAX, at least this version of the Edgar Allen Poe story has some interesting ingredients that make it passable entertainment. First and foremost, the always dependable KARL MALDEN as a sinister man terrifying Paris with his ape and a pleasant supporting cast that includes CLAUDE DAUPHIN, PATRICIA MEDINA and a very young and slim MERV GRIFFIN.David Buttolph's music adds some flavor to the improbable Poe story and the sets and costumes provide additional quality. But the basic story is so silly that none of it seems quite credible. You just have to suspend your disbelief long enough to enjoy the tale, expanded a bit from Poe's original short story with only modest returns.STEVE FORREST, as a man wrongly accused, gives the film's most earnest performance but it's KARL MALDEN and his ape companion that you're most likely to remember.At any rate, a vast improvement over the stilted '32 version directed by Robert Florey with a very young Leon Ames as the romantic lead and Bela Lugosi providing the only thrills.

kyle_furr A total rip-off of Edgar Allan Poe's short story. The plot is a bunch of crap, it has something to do with an animal running around killing woman. This reason why he does it is also a bunch of crap. Karl Malden is a good actor but totally wasted here. Watch house of wax instead.

wurliguy I have read all of Edgar Allen Poe's works, I don't think there is a faithful movie adaptation anywhere, of course if there was, most movies would be about 15 - 20 minutes long. The Phantom of the Rue Morgue is a fun movie especially if you can see it in 3-D as I did twice when I lived in Los Angeles. I have been watching 3-D movies for 40 years, and I search for them constantly.I am also a Karl Malden fan and I think every movie he is in is great, and he overacts almost as well as Vincent Price, whom I consider the King. The color, photography and 3-D effects are absolutely great. Too many people expect a "slasher" type movie, "Phantom" was made before that type of movie was invented, and is very literate compared to today's movies.As with all 3-D movies, "The Phantom of the Rue Morgue" needs to be seen in 3-D, to really appreciate it.Look for a 3-D festival, or revival, and go see it. I wish Warner Brothers would release all of their 3-D movies on DVD in "3-D for shutterglass" versions. I would buy them all.