Bluebeard

It wasn't often that poverty row studio PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation) came up with a film worth watching, but it did give the highly talented director Edgar G Ulmer some low-budget artistic freedom. Here he coaxes a beautifully restrained performance from the flamboyant character actor John Carradine, in one of his few starring roles, as the artist and puppeteer in 19th-century Paris who has an irresistible urge to murder his models. With strong support from Jean Parker and Nils Asther, and production values that transcend the low budget, this is a small miracle of polished film-making.