Murders in the Rue Morgue [Robert Florey, 1932]:
A poor adaptation of one of Edgar Allen Poe's most astounding short stories, but surprisingly not a poor film by its own merits. While this version of Murders in the Rue Morgue makes a nonsense out of Poe's remarkable text (which as well as being a great work of spine-tingling horror is also a fantastic mystery/detective story), it does succeed on a level of pure aesthetics. Cinematographer Karl Freund and production designer Herman Rosse give the film an extraordinary touch of German expressionism, with jagged angles and a heavy emphasis on shadows and fog ensuring the film is visually striking. In the lead, Bela Lugosi brings a tremendous presence to the film, which is undoubtedly flawed, but still remarkably disturbing.
