House of Wax (1953)

An associate burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous.

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (screenplay), Charles Belden (story)

Stars:

Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Professor Henry Jarrod is a true artist whose wax sculptures are lifelike. He specializes in historical tableau's such a Marie Antoinette or Joan of Arc. His business partner, Matthew Burke, needs some of his investment returned to him and pushes Jarrod to have more lurid exposes like a chamber of horrors. When Jarrod refuses, Burke set the place alight destroying all of his beautiful work in the hope of claiming the insurance. Jarrod is believed to have died in the fire but he unexpectedly reappears some 18 months later when he opens a new exhibit. This time, his displays focus on the macabre but he has yet to reproduce his most cherished work, Marie Antoinette. When he meets his new assistant's beautiful friend, Sue Allen, he knows he's found the perfect model - only unbeknown to anyone, he has a very particular way of making his wax creations.

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Plot Keywords:

wax | sculptor | fire | wax museum | morgue | 

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Taglines:

You've never been scared until you've been scared in 3-D.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wax Works

Filming Locations:

Stage 12, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$658,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$23,750,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryan Foy Productions, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo (WarnerPhonic/RCA)

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The alcoholic sculptor was a heroin addict in the original version of the film, Mystery of the Wax Museum, but that had to be changed for the remake because the Production Code forbade any mention of drug addiction. (Ironically, a character played by Vincent Price had got away with confessing to drug addiction in Dragonwyck, made seven years before "House of Wax.")

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Goofs

Jarrod implies that corrupt French official Jean Paul Marat, when assassinated, was taking an ordinary bath. In fact, Marat was suffering from a tropical skin disease and being in water could ameliorate his suffering, so he spent most of his time in his bathtub.

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Quotes

Prof. Henry Jarrod: Here's President Lincoln and his assassin John Wilkes Booth. One of my few concessions to the macabre.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are in 3-D

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Connections

Featured in The 54th Annual Academy Awards (1982)

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Soundtracks

"On the Rue de la Paix"
(uncredited)
Music by Werner R. Heymann
Danced by the can-can dancers

User Reviews

Classic Fun-Filled Horror!

House of Wax was one of the few films made in 3D which was a huge success. This may have more to do with the fact that it had a good, strong story and great acting and did not rely solely upon it's 3D special effects.

The late great Vincent Price is Henry Jarrod, a sweet and dedicated artist who creates lifelike mannequins for a wax museum. His statues - depicting everyone from Marie Antoinette & Joan of Arc to John Wilkes Booth - are loved by Henry as much as if they were his own children. When he objects to creating more horrific sculptures to attract more paying customers, his partner sets the museum on fire, hoping to collect a tidy sum in insurance money. Henry supposedly perishes in the flames, trying in vain to rescue his beloved wax friends in a scene which is truly heartbreaking. Some time later, Henry reappears, wheelchair bound and just a tad bitter. He has opened a new wax museum which features realistic scenes of murder and horror, many of them taken from current headlines. Unfortunately, some of them are just a little TOO realistic: one looks like Henry's ex-partner, who was found hanging in an elevator shaft. Was it really a suicide, or something more sinister? Joan of Arc bears a striking resemblance to Cathy Gray, a young girl who has gone missing from her room. And Cathy's friend Sue looks exactly like the lost Marie Antoinette, the pride and joy of Henry's former exhibit. Soon, a horribly scarred monster is chasing Sue through the foggy night time streets. Can the police, and Sue's artistic young suitor, solve the mystery in time? Or will Sue wind up as yet another display in the House of Wax?

This is a wonderful, creepy scare-fest with great sets, beautiful colors and strong performances. Vincent Price as Henry Jarrod is both lovable and horrifying as the kind man driven mad. Charles Bronson, in a very early role, is super freaky as Henry's mute and morbid assistant. Carolyn Jones (in her pre-Morticia Addams days) is blond, pretty Cathy, the squeaky opportunist with the heart of gold. Phyllis Kirk is the sensible Sue, a slightly uptight but genuinely believable victim. The scene where she must run through the deserted, fog-soaked streets is very, convincingly creepy. When Sue actually stops long enough to remove her noisy and cumbersome high heeled shoes, which give away her every step on the cobblestone road, I very nearly applauded. The 3D effects are an added bonus to an already wonderfully fun movie - watch for the classic paddle ball scene!

This is one of Price's best starring role films. It is everything that a good horror film should be - funny without being ridiculous, scary without the gore and fantastical without being far fetched. 10 stars!!! Don't miss it!