Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Charles Belden (play)
Don Mullaly (writer) ...

Release Date:

17 February 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

IS SHE WOMAN OR WAX??? Solve it -- if you dare!

Plot:

In London, sculptor Ivan Igor struggles in vain to prevent his partner Worth from burning his wax museum...

Plot Keywords:

Corpse | Reporter | Morgue | Wax Museum | Fire

Cast

Lionel Atwill	...	Ivan Igor
Fay Wray	...	Charlotte Duncan
Glenda Farrell	...	Florence Dempsey
Frank McHugh	...	Jim
Allen Vincent	...	Ralph Burton
Gavin Gordon	...	George Winton
Edwin Maxwell	...	Joe Worth
Holmes Herbert	...	Dr. Rasmussen
Claude King	...	Mr. Galatalin
Arthur Edmund Carewe	...	Sparrow (Prof. Darcy)
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Detective (as Thomas Jackson)
DeWitt Jennings	...	Police captain
Matthew Betz	...	Hugo (the deaf-mute)
Monica Bannister	...	Joan Gale

Also Known As:

The Mystery of the Wax Museum (USA) (poster title)
Wax Museum

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This film was produced before the Production Code. When it was re-made only 20 years later, as House of Wax (1953), all references to drug use were removed and a character was changed from a junkie to an alcoholic.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Florence is studying the wax figure of Joan of Arc she glances down and sees a tag laying in a crate, when she picks it up she's not wearing gloves but is wearing them when she puts the tag in her pocket.

Quotes:

Florence: OK, brother, then you can go to some nice warm place, and I don't mean California.

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

Soundtrack:

Agitato

Thirties Art Deco Masterpiece!

The beauty of two-strip Technicolor rendering sensual pastel tones and settings in London (1921) and New York (1933), art direction by legendary Anton Grot, Orry-Kelly gowns, Lionel Atwill at his maddest and Fay Wray in all her splendor, make this one of the finest horror films of not only the 30s but of all time. The pace of this film is fast, the comedy relief enjoyable but not detracting from its story. Atwill imbues his character of Ivan Igor with all the menace and evil he could muster (and that was calibrated in tons!) So far superior to its remake (HOUSE OF WAX with Vincent Price) that it leaves its competitor in the dust. Easily my favorite film to look at after New Year's Eve parties. Fantastic fun and candy for the eyes with all that streamlined Art Deco grandeur!