Rent Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven (1935)
3.4 of 5 from 63 ratings
3h 9min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
This trio of classic 1930's horror films - 'Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Black Cat', and 'The Raven' is also distinguished by a trio of factors regarding their production. Most notably, each film is based on a work by master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe. Part of the legendary wave of horror films made by Universal Pictures in the 30's, all three feature dynamic performances from Dracula's Bela Lugosi, with two of them also enlivened by the appearance of Frankenstein's Boris Karloff. And finally, all three benefit from being rare examples of Pre-Code studio horror, their sometimes-startling depictions of sadism and shock a result of being crafted during that brief period in Hollywood before the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code's rigid guidelines for moral content. Director Robert Florey, who gave the Marx Brothers their cinema start with 'The Cocoanuts' in 1929, worked with Metropolis cinematographer Karl Freund to give a German Expressionism look to 'Murders in the Rue Morgue' (1932), with Lugosi as a mad scientist running a twisted carnival sideshow in 19th-century Paris, and murdering women to find a mate for his talking ape main attraction. Lugosi and Karloff teamed forces for the first time in 'The Black Cat', a nightmarish psychodrama that became Universal's biggest hit of 1934, with Detour director Edgar G. Ulmer bringing a feverish flair to the tale of a satanic, necrophiliac architect (Karloff) locked in battle with an old friend (Lugosi) in search of his family. Prolific B-movie director Lew Landers made 1935's 'The Raven' so grotesque that all American horror films were banned in the U.K. for two years in its wake. Specifically referencing Poe within its story, Lugosi is a plastic surgeon obsessed with the writer, who tortures fleeing murderer Karloff through monstrous medical means. Significant and still unsettling early works of American studio horror filmmaking, these three Pre-Code chillers demonstrate the enduring power of Poe's work, and the equally continuous appeal of classic Universal horror's two most iconic stars. - Actors:
- Sidney Fox, Bela Lugosi, Leon Ames, Bert Roach, Betty Ross Clarke, Brandon Hurst, D'Arcy Corrigan, Noble Johnson, Arlene Francis, Ted Billings, Herman Bing, Joe Bonomo, Agostino Borgato, Iron Eyes Cody, Christian J. Frank, Charles Gemora, Harrison Greene, Charlotte Henry, Harry Holman, Edna Marion
- Directors:
- Robert Florey, Edgar G. Ulmer, Louis Friedlander
- Producers:
- Carl Laemmle Jr., Stanley Bergerman
- Writers:
- Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Florey, Tom Reed, Dale Van Every, John Huston, Ethel M. Kelly, Edgar G. Ulmer, Peter Ruric, Tom Kilpatrick, David Boehm, Guy Endore, Florence Enright, John Lynch, Clarence Marks, Dore Schary, Michael L. Simmons, Jim Tully
- Studio:
- Eureka
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Horror, Romance, Thrillers
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 20/07/2020
- Run Time:
- 189 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- 'Murders in the Rue Morgue': Audio commentary by Gregory William Mank
- 'The Black Cat': Audio commentary by Gregory William Mank
- 'The Black Cat': Audio commentary by Amy Simmons
- 'The Raven': Audio commentary by Gary D. Rhodes
- 'The Raven': Audio commentary by Samm Deighan
- 'Cats in Horror': A video essay by writer and film historian Lee Gambin
- 'American Gothic': A video essay by critic Kat Ellinger
- "The Black Cat" episode of radio series 'Mystery in the Air', starring Peter Lorre
- "The Tell-Tale Heart" episode of radio series 'Inner Sanctum Mysteries', starring Boris Karloff
- Bela Lugosi reads "The Tell-Tale Heart"
- Vintage footage
- Stills Gallery
- Disc 1:
- This disc includes the following:
- Murders in the Rue Morgue - Disc 2:
- This disc includes the following:
- The Black Cat
- The Raven
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