John Carradine is on record as stating "Bluebeard" was his favorite film role out of well over two hundred movie appearances. Truthfully, I was surprised by the rather intriguing tale coming out of this Publishers Releasing film, rising a few notches above it's humble Poverty Row origins.
The film opens with a woman's body being retrieved from the Paris River Seine by uniformed French State Police, quickly cutting to a poster warning of a "Bluebeard" who strangles women, and putting all citizens on notice that it's not safe to travel the city streets alone, especially at night. With this backdrop, we are quickly introduced to puppeteer Gaston Morrell (Carradine), a rather soft spoken Parisian gentleman who manages to charm the ladies with his chosen craft. Morrell however is hiding an unfathomable secret, as an artist with an unattainable ideal, he winds up strangling his feminine subjects after they have posed for their portraits. Morrell's crimes would probably have gone unsolved forever if not for the greed of his agent Jean Lamarte (Ludwig Stossel). Lamarte knows of Morrell's deadly artistic passion, and in an attempt to secure one more generous payday, unwittingly plays into the hands of the local gendarme who sets a trap for the painter.
Some rather lovely young ladies offer supporting roles in this edgy and atmospheric thriller; Jean Parker portrays socialite Lucille who becomes enchanted with Morrell and agrees to make costumes for his puppets. It's her sister Francine (Teal Loring) however, who meets her demise in the trap set by the French police. As Lucille confronts Morrell with her suspicion, and with the authorities closing in, Morrell attempts to flee atop Parisian rooftops, and loses his footing when a plank gives way, plunging to his death in the river below, a graveyard familiar to his prior victims. Had this picture been filmed the same way today, the ending fairly screams "sequel".
If there is a flaw to be found in the film, it would be the total disconnect between the story and Gaston Morrell's title as the Parisian "Bluebeard". Clean shaven and well attired as Morrell was, the movie offers no hint as to the derivation of the unusual moniker, even though the police warnings and local citizenry use the term quite naturally.
The film opens with a woman's body being retrieved from the Paris River Seine by uniformed French State Police, quickly cutting to a poster warning of a "Bluebeard" who strangles women, and putting all citizens on notice that it's not safe to travel the city streets alone, especially at night. With this backdrop, we are quickly introduced to puppeteer Gaston Morrell (Carradine), a rather soft spoken Parisian gentleman who manages to charm the ladies with his chosen craft. Morrell however is hiding an unfathomable secret, as an artist with an unattainable ideal, he winds up strangling his feminine subjects after they have posed for their portraits. Morrell's crimes would probably have gone unsolved forever if not for the greed of his agent Jean Lamarte (Ludwig Stossel). Lamarte knows of Morrell's deadly artistic passion, and in an attempt to secure one more generous payday, unwittingly plays into the hands of the local gendarme who sets a trap for the painter.
Some rather lovely young ladies offer supporting roles in this edgy and atmospheric thriller; Jean Parker portrays socialite Lucille who becomes enchanted with Morrell and agrees to make costumes for his puppets. It's her sister Francine (Teal Loring) however, who meets her demise in the trap set by the French police. As Lucille confronts Morrell with her suspicion, and with the authorities closing in, Morrell attempts to flee atop Parisian rooftops, and loses his footing when a plank gives way, plunging to his death in the river below, a graveyard familiar to his prior victims. Had this picture been filmed the same way today, the ending fairly screams "sequel".
If there is a flaw to be found in the film, it would be the total disconnect between the story and Gaston Morrell's title as the Parisian "Bluebeard". Clean shaven and well attired as Morrell was, the movie offers no hint as to the derivation of the unusual moniker, even though the police warnings and local citizenry use the term quite naturally.