Murders In The Rue Morgue (1971)

Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1971 American horror film directed by Gordon Hessler, starring Jason Robards, Christine Kaufmann, Herbert Lom, and Lilli Palmer. It is a loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story of the same name, although it departs from the story in several significant aspects, at times more resembling Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. In an interview on the film's DVD, Hessler said that he felt it necessary to reinvent the plot as he believed the majority of audiences were too familiar with Poe's story.



Plot
In early-20th century Paris, a theatre troupe is specializing in gory, naturalistic horror plays plays in the fashion of the Grand Guignol, under the direction of Cesar Charron.

The director, Cesar Charron (Jason Robards), is presenting Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Cesar's wife, the actress Madeline (Christine Kaufmann), whose mother (Lilli Palmer) had been murdered by axe, is haunted by nightmares of an axe-wielding man. Then, suddenly, Rene Marot (Herbert Lom), a former lover of Madeline's mother thought long dead after being horribly disfigured on stage, mysteriously returns and begins murdering members and ex-members of the acting troupe, confounding the Paris police, who initially suspect Cesar.