The original Edgar Allan Poe story is based on the real-life murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers, who was found floating in the Hudson River near Weehawken, NJ. Poe transplanted the events to Paris and placed the case in the hands of amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin. In a weird twist, Poe's ultimate conclusion as to the circumstances of the crime were proved correct when the murderers confessed well after "The Mystery of Marie Roget" was published.
This film is supposedly a follow up to Universal's 1932 "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." In that movie, the name of the detective was also changed from the original Poe short story. Leon Ames, then know as Leon Waycoff, played Pierre Dupin.
The 1842 Edgar Allan Poe story was a follow-up to his earlier "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." Writer Michael Jacoby ditched almost everything except the Paris setting and the title. He changed the detective's name to Paul Dupin and moved up the clock 47 years (to 1889) than the time set in the book.
A sequel to Universal's 1932 movie Murders in the Rue Morgue, though this film is set 44 years after that one.
Part of the original Shock Theatre package of 52 Universal titles released to television in 1957, followed a year later by Son of Shock, which added 20 more features.