Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Don Mullaly (screen play) &
Carl Erickson (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 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:

Reporter | Morgue | Corpse | Fire | Wax Museum

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 - Professor Darcy
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Detective (as Thomas Jackson)
DeWitt Jennings	...	Police Captain
Matthew Betz	...	Hugo
Monica Bannister	...	Joan Gale
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bull Anderson	...	Janitor (uncredited)
Frank Austin	...	Winton's Valet (uncredited)
Max Barwyn	...	Museum Visitor (uncredited)
Wade Boteler	...	Ambrose (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Wallis Clark	...	Autopsy Surgeon's Assistant (uncredited)
Frank Darien	...	Autopsy Surgeon (uncredited)
William B. Davidson	...	Detective (uncredited)
James Donlan	...	Morgue Attendant (uncredited)
Frank Fanning	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Otto Hoffman	...	One of Igor's Assistants (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Perry Ivins	...	Copy Editor (uncredited)
Edward Keane	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Margaret Mann	...	Wax Figure of Queen Victoria (uncredited)
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Joe - Cop (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Walter Percival	...	Winton's Attorney (uncredited)
Lon Poff	...	Tall Thin Henchman (uncredited)
Dick Rush	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Guy Usher	...	Detective (uncredited)
William Wagner	...	Morgue Attendant's Assistant (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz

Writing credits
Don Mullaly		(screen play) &
Carl Erickson		(screen play)
Charles Belden		(from the story by)

Produced by
Henry Blanke	....	producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ray Rennahan		(photography by)

Film Editing by
George Amy		(edited by)

Art Direction by
Anton Grot

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns by)

Makeup Department
Ray Romero	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
William Koenig	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lee Katz	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Frank Shaw	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Herbert Plews	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Everett Alton Brown	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Rex Wimpy	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Bonner	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
Thad Brooks Jr.	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Chuck Davis	....	chief grip (uncredited)
Frank B. Good	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
W. Howard Greene	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
Claude Hutchinson	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Floyd Lee	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
Roy Musgrave	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Arthur Pierson	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
Richard Towers	....	additional camera operator (uncredited)
Scotty Welbourne	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra
Cliff Hess	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: end title music (uncredited)

Other crew
Fred Applegate	....	continuity (uncredited)
Clay Campbell	....	assistant wax figures (uncredited)
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director (uncredited)
L.E. Oates	....	wax figures (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (present) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc,)
• Vitaphone Corporation, The (presents) (as The Vitaphone Corp.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1933) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (extra on "House of Wax")
• Warner Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2009) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Technicolor  photographed by

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1934) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1933) | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Although the title had been changed to "Mystery of the Wax Museum", the leaders on the original release prints still gave the title as "Wax Museum".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Ivan Igor says that Jean Paul Marat's assassin, Charlotte Corday, was his mistress. Not so - they had never met until she came to his office posing as a courier and quickly stabbed him to death. After her execution a few days later, she was found to be virgo intacta.

Quotes:

Florence:[talking about a case] Can I handle this my way?
Jim:You cannot, I'm still editor of this newspaper.
Florence:Fine you said I was fired... well I quit, you give the assignment to somebody else.
Jim:Wait a minute, come here.
Florence:[crying] No, I'm through.
Jim:Come here sob sister, alright go ahead do it your own way.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in House of Wax (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Prisoner's Song

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?