Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

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: Florence’s scarf goes from being buttoned in the editors office to unbuttoned in the police station, and the button on her scarf changes sides at least once.

Quotes:

Joe Worth: [talking about their financial situation] I don't hope to impress you, but I've got to tell you we haven't a farthing.
Ivan Igor: That is unfortunate.
Joe Worth: You're right it's unfortunate, 15,000 pounds it's cost me and you say it's unfortunate as though I've spilled soup on my vest.
Ivan Igor: Your money may have been very well invested you never know, something important may come of all this.
Joe Worth: Something important has got to come of all this, you know the rent on this place isn't paid?
Ivan Igor: Is that a fact?
Joe Worth: No I'm lying to amuse myself.
Joe Worth: I've got an idea that will get us out of all this, you and I have absolutely no money but we have got this
[hands Ivan the fire insurance]
Joe Worth: .
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Carry on Screaming! (1966)

Soundtrack:

Agitato

A Minor Classic, But Fun

This film, which was remade as "House Of Wax" 20 years later (as if you didn't know), might not enjoy quite the reputation it does today had it not been the basis for the better-known later film and, more importantly, believed lost for over 30 years, which made it something of a legend for many people who'd never even seen it. Legendary status can be rather difficult to live up to, and unless a viewer is approaching it with no advance knowledge of its history, MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM may not be quite what one expects.

It is, nevertheless, an energetic and entertaining amalgam of genres: horror film meets newspaper crime drama. Dropping a rather Gothic tale of body-snatching, a mad sculptor and a museum of wax-covered corpses into the streamline-moderne milieu of fast-talking, wise-cracking reporters on the trail of a hot story makes for interesting contrasts.

Lionel Atwill, as Ivan Igor, the artist driven to insanity and murder by the destruction of his wax "children" in an arson fire, was an immensely enjoyable performer whose best work came a bit later (see "Son Of Frankenstein" for his portrayal of the one-armed Insp. Krogh). His natural screen presence carries him through, though he never quite generates either the pathos or the smooth menace that Vincent Price displayed in the remake. But from the moment of her entrance, it's Glenda Farrell as Florence Dempsey, the reporter out to save her job by bringing in a scoop - barreling onto the screen with a full head of steam - who propels the story all the way to its finish.

There's an awful lot going on here beyond the basic premise; bootlegging, a "dope fiend," a suicide and a falsely implicated millionaire playboy are thrown into the mix, packing quite a lot into the 77 minute running time (the remake improved the story by eliminating extraneous characters and subplots). A pre-"King Kong" Fay Wray (in her naturally red hair sans the "Kong" blond wig) is the damsel in actual distress, but despite her billing, she's basically a supporting player and has little to do - beyond enduring roommate Florence's snide comments about her penniless boyfriend - until the climactic confrontation between all the bad guys and good guys (and girls).

MYSTERY is well-served by the direction of Michael Curtiz ("Adventures Of Robin Hood," "Casablanca"), who was something of a jack-of-all-genres, and there's plenty of snappy dialogue, some of which (Florence asking a cop, "How's your sex life?") wouldn't have made it to the screen a year later under the newly re-written Production Code. Depending on one's point of view, it could be said that the very effective production design either benefits, or suffers, from the pale pastels of the two-strip Technicolor photography. For my part, I'm guessing that the subdued tones we see today result from the lack of first-rate film elements available. Having seen far superior two-strip from years earlier, I'll wager that the original prints were much more vivid.

If you're any kind of a fan of the remake, you do owe it to yourself to see this one, if only once. There are many things to enjoy in MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, not the least of which are the fabulous ensembles worn by Farrell. Just how does a newspaper reporter one step away from the breadline afford a wardrobe like that?