''The Murders in the Rue Morgue'' is a 1986

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

directed by

Jeannot Szwarc Jeannot Szwarc (21 November 1937 – 14 January 2025) was a French director known for his work in American film and television. His film credits included '' Jaws 2'', ''Somewhere in Time'', ''Supergirl'' and '' Santa Claus: The Movie''. Szwarc ...

. It is based on

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's 1841 short story of the same name. The film was shot in Paris and shown on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

on December 7, 1986.

Plot

The mysterious and grisly murders of a mother and daughter leave police investigators puzzled. Few clues were left behind. The killer could not have fled via the windows as they were nailed shut. Nor was the killer observed leaving by neighbors. It seems the only person with the skills to solve the crime is Auguste Dupin, who has been released from the police department by the new prefect. After much persuasion from his daughter Claire Dupin, whose fiancé Phillipe Huron is charged with the crime, Dupin begins to investigate the case on his own, and puts together quite an interesting scenario in solving the crime.

Cast

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor. He had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his portrayal of stern but complex ...

Auguste Dupin ''Le Chevalier'' C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional character created by Edgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's 1841 short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", widely considered the first detective fiction story. He reappears i ...

Rebecca De Mornay Rebecca De Mornay (born August 29, 1959) is an American actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred in '' Risky Business''. De Mornay is also known for her roles in '' The Slugger's Wife'' (1985), '' Runaway Train'' (1985 ...

as Claire Dupin *

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

as Phillipe Huron *

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor. His television performances include the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and its 2019 film continuation, and M ...

as Prefect of Police *

Neil Dickson Neil Dickson (born 26 November 1950) is an English actor, who has worked extensively in both American and British film and television. Biography At the age of five, Dickson contracted polio, but made a complete recovery a year later. He attend ...

as Adolphe Le Bon *

Mak Wilson Mak Wilson (born 3 September 1957) is a retired English puppeteer, writer, animation director, and motion capture artist. He is also known as Mac Wilson and Malcolm Wilson. Early life and career Wilson was born in Consett, England, but grew up i ...

as Ape *

Sebastian Roché Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964) is a French-American actor. He is known for his roles as Kurt Mendel in '' Odyssey 5'', Jerry Jacks in ''General Hospital'', Thomas Jerome Newton in '' Fringe'', Balthazar in ''Supernatural'', Mikael in bo ...

as Henri

Production

''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' was shot in Paris. Location shooting included at

Notre Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It ...

, the

Place de l'Opéra The Place de l'Opéra () is a square in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th arrondissement of Paris, at the junction of the Boulevard des Italiens, Boulevard des Capucines, Avenue de l'Opéra, , , Rue de la Paix and . It was built at the same tim ...

and in

Buttes-Chaumont The Parc des Buttes Chaumont (; English: Park of Buttes Chaumont) is a public park situated in northeastern Paris, France, in the 19th arrondissement. Occupying , it is the fifth-largest park in Paris, after the Bois de Vincennes, Bois de Boul ...

, a park that stands in for the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park that is the western half of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by the Em ...

of 1899. About 30% of the film was shot away from the city, such as the prison sequences which were shot in

Corbeil, Marne Corbeil () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Margaret of Naples, daughter of Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary, married Charles de Valois, son of Philip III of France and Isabel of Aragon, on 16 August ...

Release

''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' was first shown on December 7, 1986 in the United States on

at 8pm.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, John J. O'Connor gave the film a positive review finding Scott "persuasive" despite "At times, [

] seems to underplay the part but personallity will out, and it does." O'Connor went on to praise "The wonderful period setting and costumes of Paris" while David Epstein's script "sometimes seems to move a bit slowly, but unerringly carries the story forward." Lane Crockett of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' found that the film "so dourly straight-forward that the mystery has no kick. All you get is a period-looking Paris of the 1800s and hundrum performances, that like the metronome, could lull you to sleep." Crockett described director

's direction "does nothing to enlivent the proceedings" finding he was "more prone to capturing the period flavor and less the essence of a mystery." George C. Scott's performance as "something akin to sleep walking." Crockett commented that

"looks sorely out of place with his fresh boyish American looks and minimal acting talent." Faye B. Zuckerman wrote in the ''

Spokane Chronicle The ''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' is a daily digital newspaper in Spokane, Washington. It was founded as a weekly paper in 1881 and grew into an afternoon daily, competing with '' The Spokesman-Review'', which was formed from the merger of two c ...

'' that the film was an "acting triumph for George C. Scott" and his performance and "a story that will keep you guessing until the final moments" combine to keep you engrossed.". Michael H. Price reviewed the home video of the film referring to it as a "unremarkable made-for-television that is helped along by such fine players as George C. Scott, Val Kilmer and

." Price found, compared to the earlier versions,

Robert Florey Robert Florey (September 14, 1900 – May 16, 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Florey directed more than 50 films, the best known likely being the Marx Brothers first feature ''The Cocoanuts'' (1929 ...

's 1932 version with

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

"remains the best."

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murders in the Rue Morgue, The 1986 television films 1986 films 1980s English-language films 1980s mystery films CBS films Films based on The Murders in the Rue Morgue Films directed by Jeannot Szwarc Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris American mystery television films English-language mystery films Television shows based on works by Edgar Allan Poe