Double assassinat dans la rue Morgue

-- The Book:

An very involving read. An intelligent murder mystery (albeit not too complex, as it is a short story) in which the reader can't do anything but tag along for the ride. Lots of clever deductions and conclusions will have you both scratching your head and smiling when the killer's identity is finally revealed.

-- The Movie:

This made-for-TV adaptation does stay true to the nature of Poe's short. It's an adequate adaptation, both in look, feel and atmosphere. David Epstein, writer of the teleplay, did his best to give the characters more depth as well as adding a few. More than decent performances by George C. Scott and Rebecca De Mornay. Val Kilmer, at the time a rather inexperienced actor, gave it his best shot too, one can tell. My only grief is, that the movie was made for TV. In Poe's story, the two murders - or at least the aftermath - are described in gruesome detail. They had to be, because those murders are the core of the plot; the events that jump-start the whole mystery. Sadly, we don't get to see the bloody details in the movie, and we can only guess how brutal the murders were. Revealing the killer at the end, worked a little better in the book (due to the nature of the killer), but the effects were convincing enough. It's a good film, though horror enthusiasts searching for kicks and thrills might find it a bit disappointing.

It isn't terrible, but it's just another mediocre TV movie in spite of the cast and story (the Poe story is ridiculous, but it's fun). The story lurches along until the last 15 minutes, when it falls flat on its face. The ending is abrupt, leaving major story threads flapping in the breeze, and the clumsy attempt to surprise the 1 in 100 viewers that hasn't heard the plot of the Poe story is very distracting. There is also a subplot involving a feud between the detective and the police commissioner that is totally unnecessary. Finally, the cinematography is occasionally muddy. On the plus side there is the good cast and the locations are very attractive, so it's tolerable.

This modest but solid mid-80s TV thriller/horror is the third film version based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story with the same bone-chilling title, but they are all very different. The oldest one, released in 1932, is a delightful contemporary Mad-Scientist movie starring Bela Lugosi. The 1971 version, featuring names like Jason Robards and Herbert Lom, is also typical for its period of release, as it's a slasher set in a flamboyant Grand-Guignol theater. This version, starring the legendary George C. Scott and upcoming young talent Val Kilmer, is perhaps the least spectacular one of the bunch, but it is the adaptation that remains the most faithful to Poe's tale.

Poe's fictional character August Dupin, elegantly depicted by Scott, was actually the first super-intelligent detective. If, during "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", the character of Dupin reminds you of immortal sleuths like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, do realize they were invented by their respective authors much later. At the beginning of the story, Dupin is embittered because he got forced to retire by the obnoxious Prefect of Police. Even a visit from his acolyte Philippe or the engagement of his beautiful daughter Claire can't cheer him up. When the whole of Paris is struck by fear and panic due to the indescribably gruesome murders of two women inside their house, Dupin finally considers focusing on something else than his chess board. Claire's fiancé is the police's only suspect, but Dupin quickly deducts the truth behind the murders is far more unusual.

If you read Poe's tale or seen the previous versions, the climax of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" doesn't come as a surprise, of course, but the film nevertheless remains compelling thanks to the performances and the marvelous decors & scenery. Jeannot Szwarc, a more than competent genre director (and, moreover, French) clearly wanted the recreation of Paris at the turn of the century to be very detailed and accurate. Unfortunately, the pivotal murders occur off-screen. Probably because it's a TV-film production and/or because they are described in Poe's wicked imagination as ultimately savage. Poor us, horror fanatics, we don't get to see anything. Not even any short clips of the ripped apart corpses upon their discovery.

When the basic story of a film is good, you naturally want to like it. But, sometimes, about half of the way through, you realize that it hasn't lived up to expectations. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a fantastic tale, no doubts there. But this film is sadly misguided.

Several factors contribute to this. First, David Epstein's screenplay effectively rips all the subtlety out of the source material. Second, director Jeannot Szwarc makes absolutely no attempt to film this in a way that takes advantage of its low budget and venue. Finally, the casting is utterly random. Accents and nationalities are thrown together with total abandon.

In spite of all that, some the cast members manage to put in good performances. George C. Scott (as Auguste Dupin) is really excellent, with great command of his dialogue. Naturally, he is miscast, but acts as if he is in a far better film. A very young Val Kilmer (as Phillipe) is good, but has almost nothing to work with. He too, is miscast, though the main reason I originally watched this. Ian McShane is certainly entertaining, but his character has no subtlety.

After the acting, there's little to say. The only quality the film has left it owes to its source material. This might have been acceptable for an original script, but as a badly adapted story, it is simply disappointing.

The editing seems haphazard at points, either that important scenes were removed, or never filmed. Dupin's realization of the culprit is never explained, nor the contents of his newspaper ad, or any of his deductive process for that matter. Phillipe's process of discovering Adolphe's unfaithfulness is also never explained.

Finally, the intelligence of the script dips considerably by the final scenes. I won't elaborate, but they have all the brains of a 1950s horror B movie. Really weak.

RATING: 6.2 out of 10

While the basic crime plot of Poe's story is the framework of this color film noir, we have tacked onto it a melange of elements not in the story, not the least of which is having Dupin as a cashiered, or maybe just retired, Inspector of Police. The "real" Dupin was often consulted by the Prefect of Police, but he was a private citizen, a recluse if you will, with marvelous powers of ratiocination. Furthermore, where did the writers get the idea that the Prefect hated Dupin. According to the stories he pretended a supercilious attitude, but knew that often without Dupin he was nowhere. In this film, we see Dupin at work but get no details about his "ratiocination". It's a good cast, though, and interesting seeing them at work. Give it an A+ for atmosphere, but a C- for classic tale telling.