CBSRMT Episode Information Next Episode

Title

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Plot

In order to solve the case of a vicious attack on a young girl in a locked room, an ambitious police investigator enlists the services of a newbie detective. The man makes a unique suggestion.

Episode

0198

Air Dates

  • First Run - January 7, 1975
  • Repeat - March 15, 1975
  • Repeat - June 9, 1979

Actors

Writer

Listen

Rating

190
144     46


18 Responses to Episode 0198

Corinne Orr was the voice of "Trixie"- Speeds girlfriend in the animated series "Speed Race".

JaY

She kinda looks like speed racer. :-))

Jackson

A young detective wishes to earn his wings and impress his fiance by solving a difficult murder mystery. He enlists the assistance of a gifted "unofficial" master detective who has analyzed some very difficult cases for the police. The techniques he employs are simple but effective. E.G. Marshall wonders if the detective in this story was the inspiration for the creation of the most famous fictional detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes.

Javier

The lowdown: A couple stumble upon a terribly gruesome murder scnene in The Rue Morgue. One victim is decapitated, the other one is dead and stuffed up the chimney. Pretty simple, they must solve the crime, but they rely on an older gentleman to help the younger guy realize what he arleady knows from the clues.

Jeremy Bushong

I'd rather see the Vincent Price movie that Roger Corman directed. Poe's works must be seen, and not merely heard.

Benito Michaels

"I'd rather see the Vincent Price movie that Roger Corman directed. Poe's works must be seen, and not merely heard." Benito Michaels. Ha ha ha ha! What?! You must be joking, Poe MUST be read!

Pedro

More Poe. I don't know much about early mystery stories but Poe may have invented the detective story as we now understand it. And as stated in the closing narration; A.Conan Doyle may have been indebted to Poe. This episode accurately depicts the crime and the solution as written by Poe BUT some of the most significant clues are omitted. For some reason, there is almost nothing of the strange voice heard by persons during the murders - mistaken by various people as russian or spanish or german - each witness being totally unfamiliar with the language in question. The strange voice, seeming to speak no human language at all, seems a totally perfect thing to use in a radio drama. Of course CBSRMT added characters and their development took up time so there was less time to deal with the details of the crimes. It's true the nature of the murderer is pretty improbable and the characteristics attributed to it are not wholly accurate (Did I hear the CBSRMT version refer to "black hairs"? I don't recall Poe making that mistake.) but it's still a memorable example of detective fiction with a grotesque turn. I like the actors, and the characters added for the CBSRMT version are not unpleasant. Overall it's a good episode.

Paja Jr.

A second class gendarme is first on the scene to the apartment of his fiancé to investigate a double murder which has occurred next door. One victim has her head ripped off, the second is stuffed up the chimney with apparent inhuman strength. With the door bolted from the inside and the windows apparently nailed shut, the policeman is stupefied at how the perpetrators could have escaped. He sees this as an opportunity to make his mark on the force, get a promotion, and earn enough money to finally marry his loved one, but the sergeant refuses telling him to leave it to the more experienced, and smarter detectives. He seeks the help of a Sherlock Holmes type person (E.G. suggests that this character was the inspiration for Holmes) to solve the case, win his promotion, and ‘get the girl’. The dialogue and acting was rather stilted, I think because they were trying to simulate what they thought was French people speaking English. (Would that be a Freedom Accent?

Robert

The Edgar Allen Poe stories are the only episodes I actually remember from listening to RMT during the original run and I listened faithfully for about 5 or 6 months in 74/75; then came HS graduation and collage. Unfortunately, RMT wasn't something I continued, due to other interests at the time. But those few months made a permanent impression and when I thought of RMT, I thought of the Poe stories. Since rediscovering the show recently and listening to the favorites of others, there are many episodes that I've enjoyed much more than the Poe stories. My top 10 favorites no longer include them, but they will always be special for the sake of nostalgia. Aside from the story, something I found interesting in this one was the commerical break after the 3rd act for "Western Appliance TV & Stereo" and their 4th of July "price blast" promoting Mitsubishi VHS Hi-Fi (for $598) and big screen TVs... "6 months, same as cash, with no payments until 1990"; the commercials are part of the fun.

Roger

I love the commercials. The ads transport back to the 70's, 8 track tapes, Brim coffee and Threes Company. The news bulletins are also great, particularly the Watergate related stories from the early part of the decade. I enjoy the Poe adaptations more than Fred. "Berenice" and "The Oblong Box" are two of my favorite episodes and "The Fall of the House of Usher" is good as well. This show was decent but nothing spectacular. I prefer the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Mr. Dukes

The reason I mentioned the details in the Western Appliance commercial is because I was taken off guard by the inconsistency with the technology available during the original airdates of "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and the technology being advertised. Rue Morgue was originally broadcast in 1975 and repeated in 1979... several years before VHS "Hi-Fi" VCRs were available (or VCRs in general). Except for the Himan Brown narrations in 1998, I didn't realize RMT was rebroadcast after it ended in 1982. It would have been interesting if this one had included a news broadcast; I'm guessing it may have been aired sometime around June 1989..(?)

Alex Popanes

It's possible it could have been broadcast in the late 80's. I know some of the episodes in my collection were acquired in the late 80's -- early 90's, because WHAM ,out of Rochester, N.Y., brought it back on the air-- in reruns-- as simply "Mystery Theater" minus the previews of the next night's broadcast (They sneaked in an extra commercial break, instead). As for this episode itself, It's not the best RMT adaptation of An Edgar Allan Poe, I think "The Fall of the House of Usher" qualifies as that, but it is enjoyable. The romance between Paul Hecht and Corine Orr is a little too corny, but otherwise this is a very fun listen. Guy Sorel creates an excellent Dupin. As he lectures Pierre-- all the points of deduction Poe was trying to illustrate-- are well represented-- the sifting of facts which are pertinent from those trivial. Until Next Time...............

A. Redota

I agree, Poe's work is something else to be seen, but that's not how they were originally meant to be interpreted. These were written stories and they still leave frightening images in one’s own mind. This is one of my favorite adaptations of this story. I have listened to is several times and I will listen to it again. Ah, but that's the trouble with the modern age. We want everything now and we refuse to allow our mind do the work. Sometimes you have to learn to "imagine."

1nicolem

A good listen even if it didn't follow the story as closely as I would've liked. Of course, it is difficult to get some of the details in any story into a 40 minute radio show, so it's understandable. I do really like this story of Dupin and wish Poe had written him into more than 3 stories, but I enjoy the ones that were written. I always think more of Hercule Poirot rather than Sherlock Holmes (due to the French sounding name) when I think of Dupin, but they all have the same type of thinking processes (starting with Dupin).

Alec

Pierre Muset wants to become a Gendarme First Class in the Paris police force so he can marry his sweetheart, Yvette. When a grisly double murder takes place, Pierre, a slow thinker, resolves to catch the murderer and win the promotion. To do so, he reluctantly enlists the aid of C. Auguste Dupin, an amateur crime solver, who kindly agrees to help only if all the credit goes to Pierre. (198/368)

John

Worst French accents I've ever heard ! Also, the sexual innuendos and laughter were poorly executed . Love CBSMT but this episode was a D- .

Pete Sonneburg

This is the week I began listening all those years ago. It is also what turned me on to Poland Sherlock Holmes.

Christine

You can't go wrong with Poe! Enjoyed this and remembered from my childhood reading of his stories who the real killer was! Poe knew how to stir the imagination and its nice to hear the audio even in a shortened version. Movies are okay but its nice to use your mind. The commercials and news add to the fun of listening to radio. E. G. Marshall also makes it more entertaining! Thanks for something fun to do! Until next time!

Nancy


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