The Man in Half Moon Street


The Man in Half Moon Street is a 1945 American melodrama horror romance science-fiction film about a man who retains his youth and cannot die, living throughout the ages. The plot is similar to that of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray and its 1945 film adaptation, although the source of the main character's eternal youth is medical and not supernatural. The film is based on a 1939 West End play of the same title by Barré Lyndon and stars Nils Asther and Helen Walker with direction by Ralph Murphy.

Plot

Scientist Dr. Karell has discovered a treatment that can indefinitely prolong his life, using glands stolen from human victims. Having kept his achievement secret for more than a century of continuous youth, Karell must contend with the curiosity of his new girlfriend Eve, the increasing guilt of his colleague Dr. Van Bruecken and a police investigation into his most recent murder. Above all, he needs a renewal of his treatment to avoid mortality.

Cast

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Thomas M. Pryor called The Man in Half Moon Street "old stuff" and wrote: "Boris Karloff has been doing the same thing for years, only more flamboyantly. By playing the scientist with a restraint that almost makes him appear normal, Mr. Asther merely points up the incredibleness of the story all the more. Paramount has dressed the production with much better than average settings for this sort of potboiler fare and in his direction Ralph Murphy occasionally succeeds in establishing a measure of ominous tension. But the net result isn't anything to get excited about."

Home media

Never released officially on DVD, the film was released on Blu-ray in 2023 by Imprint Films, Australia from a new 2K scan.