House of Wax (1953)

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

Charles Belden (story)
Crane Wilbur (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 April 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A horribly disfigured sculptor opens up the House of Wax in New York, using the wax-covered bodies of his victims as his displays. And he's now set his eyes on his Marie Antoinette...

Plot Keywords:

Lincoln Assassination | Blood | Fainting | Explosion | Insurance Fraud

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Prof. Henry Jarrod
Frank Lovejoy	...	Lt. Tom Brennan
Phyllis Kirk	...	Sue Allen
Carolyn Jones	...	Cathy Gray
Paul Picerni	...	Scott Andrews
Roy Roberts	...	Matthew Burke
Angela Clarke	...	Mrs. Andrews
Paul Cavanagh	...	Sidney Wallace
Dabbs Greer	...	Sgt. Jim Shane
Charles Bronson	...	Igor (as Charles Buchinsky)
Reggie Rymal	...	The barker

Also Known As:

The Wax Works (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Stereo (WarnerPhonic/RCA)

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Australia:PG | West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1971) | Argentina:13 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:(Banned) (1953) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 (re-release) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:Approved (PCA #16385)

Company:

Bryan Foy Productions

Trivia:

Warner Bros.' first 3-D movie, filmed by director André De Toth -- who was blind in one eye and hence could not see the effect.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Profesor Jarrod says that William Kemmler was electrocuted on August 3rd 1890 but in actuality he was executed on August 6th 1890.

Quotes:

Prof. Henry Jarrod: People say they can see my Marie Antoinette breath, that her breast rises and falls , look at her eyes they follow you where ever you go.
Bruce Allison: You know her eyes do follow you.
Prof. Henry Jarrod: They're made of glass mores the pity, the exact size and color of the originals, they're inserted from inside by way of the hollow neck before the head is attached to the body
[looking at the figure of marie antoinette]
Prof. Henry Jarrod: forgive me my dear for discussing your intimate secrets, forgive me gentlemen I lose myself at times.
Sidney Wallace: Professor if people knew what you had inside these walls you couldn't accomodate the crowds, what you need here is exploitation more advertising.
Bruce Allison: Thats what I've been telling him.
Prof. Henry Jarrod: I'm afraid my partner wouldn't agree, he's not happy here he wants to invest in something else, mr. wallace would you care to become a partner in this venture would you buy him out?
Sidney Wallace: I just might take you up on that if my lawyers approve and the price is right.
Prof. Henry Jarrod: With your help I could do wonders and I'd make any sacrifice.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XVII (#18.4)" (2006)

The Morgue of Wax

In 1900, in New York, Prof. Henry Jarrod (Vincent Price) is an artist, sculpting masterpieces in wax and exposing them in a small and non-profitable museum. When his partner Matthew Burke (Roy Roberts) proposes a criminal fire to receive the insurance, Henry does not accept and fights with him. Henry is knocked out, left in the burning place and considered dead by the insurance company. When Matthew receives the insurance money, a disfigured man kills him, and later many corpses vanish from the city morgue. The crippled Prof. Henry Jarrod reappears in a wheelchair and destroyed hands, preparing the grand-opening of his wax museum. Meanwhile, Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk) is impressed with the resemblance of statue of Joan of Arc with her friend Cathy Gray (Carolyn Jones), who was killed and her corpse was missing, and she suspects that her body was covered by wax.

"House of Wax" is good, but also an absolutely unnecessary remake of Michael Curtiz's "Mystery of the Wax Museum", which is better resolved. There are many scenes and dialogs that are identical, and this remake does not add any value to the original movie. Vincent Price performs a creepy character and the movement of his body is one of the greatest differences in this remake. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Museu de Cera" ("Wax Museum")