BLUEBEARD (1944)

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Art dealer Jean Lamarte ( Ludwig Stössel) is aware of Morrell's homicidal tendencies, but keeps his secret, as Morrell's paintings fetch high prices. However, the normally discreet Lamarte makes a mistake in selling Morrell's last work to a duke. When the duke exhibits his collection, a policeman on guard recognizes the portrait as being that of one of Bluebeard's victims. At home, Morrell is confronted by a jealous Renee (Sonia Sorel), who performs in Morrell's puppet show and is his lover. When she wonders what became of the models who had posed for him, he strangles her, then dumps her body in the Seine River. Inspector Lefevre ( Nils Asther) of the Sûreté calls in one of his best undercover agents, Francine ( Teala Loring), who happens to be Lucille's sister. She and her "father" go to Lamarte to have her portrait done. Lamarte is on his guard, but her father is willing to pay a very large commission to find the man responsible for the duke's painting, and Lamarte's greed overcomes his caution. Bender, Aimee (28 October 2011). "A Writer of Slasher Books Finds More Than a Muse". The New York Times.

Warner, Marina (Autumn 1989). "Bluebeard's Brides: The Dream of the Blue Chamber" (PDF). Grand Street. New York: Grand Street. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2023 . Retrieved July 23, 2023. Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons, a 1960 British thriller directed by W. Lee Wilder and starring George Sanders 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". Marías, Javier (2013). A Heart So White. Translated by Margaret Jull, Costa. New York: Vintage. p.122. ISBN 978-0-307-95076-5. Adams, William Davenport. "A dictionary of the drama: a guide to the plays, play-wrights, players, and playhouses of the United Kingdom and America", Chatto & Windus, 1904, p. 176Apostolidès, Jean-Marie (1991). "Des Choses cachées dans le château de Barbe bleue". Merveilles & Contes. 5 (2): 179–199. JSTOR 41390294. dead link] "Mr. Fox (an English tale)". Sur La Lune Fairy Tales.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-20 . Retrieved 2018-06-13. The 2013 fantasy horror comic Porcelain: A Gothic Fairy Tale (by Benjamin Read and Chris Wildgoose) employs the Bluebeard story element with the bloody key to a secret room of horrors. [82]

In The Blue Castle, a 1926 novel by Lucy Maude Montgomery, Valancy's mysterious new husband forbids her to open one door in his house, a room they both term "Bluebeard's Chamber". In Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox is a writer of slasher novels, with a muse named Mary. Mary questions Mr. Fox about why he writes about killing women who have transgressed patriarchal laws, making him aware of how his words normalize domestic violence. One of the stories in the book is about a girl named Mary who has a fear of serial killers because her father raised her on stories about men who killed women who did not obey them and then killed her mother. [58] Gaslight, Rebecca, and Suspicion are classical Hollywood cinema variations on the Bluebeard tale. [63] [64] Lurie, Alison (2005). "One Bad Husband: What the 'Bluebeard' story tells us about marriage". The American Scholar. 74 (1): 129–132. JSTOR 41221385.

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Technically Bluebeard looks better than most ultra low budget horror cheapies of the period so at least it has that going for it, having said that it's still not going to win any awards. The acting is better than one might expect from a film of this budget & of this vintage, apparently this was John Carradine's favourite performance that he gave in a rare starring role.