Questions I'd like this film to answer....[SPOILERS]

[deleted]

I found this in another messageboard topic which answers question 2.) "What was that knife fight all about? It seemed somewhat odd to drop a double homicide into the middle of the film without telling what led up to it and never mentioning it again.":

JAPeif wrote:

"Many of the scenes were reshuffled just before its theatrical release...for example, in the original version, the movie opens with the duel on the waterfront with the 2 men over the prostitute, then goes into the scene in Bela's lab where the prostitute dies on the cross, then to the waterfront where the body is pulled out of the river, and then to the scene at the morgue, where Pierre is introduced and asks the morgue keeper for a sample of the lastest victim's (the prostitute) blood. THEN, we have the carnival scene take place, where Erik the ape is introduced & Mirakle makes his theory of evolution speech.

Other, more minor changes included separating Pierre's insipid love scenes on the balcony with Camille. In the version we have now, there are two such scenes...the "Mayday" sequence, and a later one with Pierre telling Camille he saw Mirakle & the ape "talking" to one another, and talks about "my Paris...my city". Originally, both these scenes were combined into one longer scene, rather near the end (if you notice, their clothes and positions are identical in both scenes). There was only ever supposed to be ONE scene with Pierre & Camille on the balcony."

1.) Was Dr. Mirakle a real scientist (like Dr. Frankenstein) or just a lunatic with a monkey and a knowledge of scientific jargon (like Lionel Atwill in "The Mad Dr. of Market Street")?

left unknown on purpose, Mirakle is a mystery, this is not a film for answers but to creep the audience out.

2.) What was that knife fight all about? It seemed somewhat odd to drop a double homicide into the middle of the film without telling what led up to it and never mentioning it again.

odd but just thrown in for some excitment perhaps, the street walker wouldn't go to the police after being a party to that.

3.) Does Dr. Mirakle actually speak Erik's language? It is implied that he does, but when he acts as a translator in the carnival sideshow, Erik isn't heard speaking as Dr. Mirakle translates for him.

left unknown, might be right or crazy.

4.) Gorilla, chimpanzee, or orangutan?

they kept saying gorilla

5.) Italian, Danish, or German?

none of the above, those guys were all wrong.

6.) Who was Janos, and what was his relationship to Dr. Mirakle?

who was Igor to Dr. Frankenstein? Every mad scientist has a servant.

7.) Injecting female humans with ape blood was supposed to prove,... what exactly?

I think it was implied Mirakle wanted Erik to have sex with a human female in order to show they could create offspring.

8.) Why does Erik kill Dr. Mirakle,... to avoid being stuck with a needle again, or to save Camille's life?

unknown, the ape was more dangerous than Mirakle thought. He thought he was in complete control and let his guard down.

9.) In the carnival, when Erik nearly throttles Pierre, Dr. Mirakle blames Pierre ("You FOOL!), but wasn't Pierre just responding to the Dr.'s invitation to examine the ape more closely?

Mirakle is crazy, he would never think Erik was at fault.

10.) Dr. Mirakle informs the woman of the streets that she is about to die. Sixty seconds later, when she dies, he is shocked and drops to his knees in remorse. Why would he react thusly?

He's crazy, he felt bad that she died and then threw her body into the river calling her "it". He some how knows he's wrong to do these things but then puts it out of his mind.

11.) What exactly is rotten blood?

the girl had some disease possibly an STD which made her unsuitable.

Regarding #5, I saw the scene between the police and the eye-witnesses as accomplishing a few goals within the narrative. First, it supplied comic relief within an increasingly tense moment. Second, it made a strong comment on the ineptitude of the government and its paid servants. Third, it heightened the tension for the audience who knew that Camille's life was at stake. Finally, it further characterized Mirakle as an exaotic foreigner; neither the Parisians, Italians, the Danish, nor the Germans could place his accent, and my guess would be that neither could the American audience.

In response to #8, I believe this film's similarities to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari suggest that, like Cesare, Erik was smitten by Camille. He did not want to see her harmed. This thought could be further supported by any influence the movie had on King Kong. There is no doubt that Kong was infatuted with Fay Wray's character; Rue Morgue may have influenced that relationship.

As well, I think beastiality must be considered within this film. Inter-species mating would have aided Mirakle's theory. As well, like Kong, Erik's interest in Camille runs beyond that of typical "animal" behavior.

Was Dr. Mirakle a real scientist (like Dr. Frankenstein) or just a lunatic with a monkey and a knowledge of scientific jargon (like Lionel Atwill in "The Mad Dr. of Market Street")?

Dr. Mirakle is a very real scientist. In the 1840s--many years before Darwin publishes anything on evolution--he has a very good grasp of evolutionary theory. His explanation of evolution is basically the same one given today. He has a much better understanding of evolution than Dr. Moreau.

Unfortunately, Mirakle is a very real MAD scientist. He is deranged, and his psycho-sexual obsessions and perversions overwhelm anything he might do in science.

7.) Injecting female humans with ape blood was supposed to prove,... what exactly?

Injecting blood is a metaphor for cross-species mating. A lot of horror movies about evolution (and almost all those before 1957), deal with cross-species mating. None moreso than "Island of Lost Souls."

In the original cut of "Murders in the Rue Morgue," Mirakle's pronouncement that he will mix the blood of man and ape comes much later in the film--thus the viewer is led down the path of cross-species mating.

If blood injections were the true goal, than why would Mirakle need only women as human subjects?

3.) Does Dr. Mirakle actually speak Erik's language? It is implied that he does, but when he acts as a translator in the carnival sideshow, Erik isn't heard speaking as Dr. Mirakle translates for him.

I don't know if Mirakle's "translation" is literally gibberish or not, but it is not a translation of what Erik says to him, but of Mirakle's own inner voice. The lamentation on loneliness, loss of home, etc. is Mirakle's, not Erik's. Erik is only the cover for Mirakle to verbalize his feelings; just as Mirakle's scientific research is only a cover for his sick desires.

6.) Who was Janos, and what was his relationship to Dr. Mirakle?

Mad doctors often have mentally or physically challenged assistants.

It's outcast meeting outcast: these unfortunate assistants have nowhere else to go, and the mad doctors can find no one else to work for them. The doctors do the horrible things that they do, if not by conscious choice, than by deep desire. The assistants have no choice--do evil or starve.

On a different level: the assistants are often the physical manifestations of the doctor's disturbed minds. The assistants themselves are sometimes in better mental health than their bosses. Thus, their track record for killing the mad doctors before their final strokes (not the case in "Murders in the Ruse Morgue," however).

Also, the presence of the deformed assistant harkens back to old folklore, which often cast such unfortunates as the products of unholy reproduction--incest, adultery, rape, etc. Since the mad doctors are often driven by perverted sexual desires (certainly the case with Mirakle), the presence of the deformed assistant only accentuates their plights.