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:

Wax | Sculptor | Morgue | Wax Museum | Fire

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oliver Blake	...	Pompous man (uncredited)
Joanne Brown	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
Leo Curley	...	Portly man (uncredited)
Frank Ferguson	...	Medical Examiner (uncredited)
Darwin Greenfield	...	Lodger (uncredited)
Mary Lou Holloway	...	Millie (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Lodger (uncredited)
Lyle Latell	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Richard Lightner	...	Detective (uncredited)
Terry Mitchell	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Detective (uncredited)
Eddie Parks	...	Morgue attendant (uncredited)
Grandon Rhodes	...	Surgeon (uncredited)
Riza Royce	...	Ma Flanagan (uncredited)
Philip Tonge	...	Bruce Allison (uncredited)
Merry Townsend	...	Ticket taker (uncredited)
Ruth Warren	...	Scrubwoman (uncredited)
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Shirley Whitney	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
Jack Wise	...	Elevator operator (uncredited)
Jack Woody	...	Morgue Attendant (uncredited)
Trude Wyler	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Nedrick Young	...	Leon Averill (uncredited)

Directed by
André De Toth

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Belden		story
Crane Wilbur		screenplay

Produced by
Joe Dreier	....	associate producer
Bryan Foy	....	producer

Original Music by
David Buttolph

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon
J. Peverell Marley		(as Peverell Marley)
Robert Burks		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Rudi Fehr
James Kitchen		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Stanley Fleischer

Set Decoration by
Lyle B. Reifsnider

Costume Design by
Howard Shoup

Makeup Department
George Bau	....	makeup artist
Gordon Bau	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James McMahon	....	assistant director

Art Department
Eric Stacey	....	property master
Red Turner	....	props

Sound Department
Charles Lang	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Julian Gunzburg	....	visual consultant

Stunts
Charles Horvath	....	stunts

Editorial Department
Jean-Pierre Steimer	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Milton Gunzburg	....	3-D supervisor (as M.L. Gunzburg)
Lothrop B. Worth	....	3-D consultant
Kathryn Stuberg	....	wax figures (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Bryan Foy Productions (for)
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1953) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Sherpix (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Victor Company of Japan (JVC) (1985) (Japan) (VHS) (VHD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print and 3D print)
• Warner Bros. (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes

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:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:12 | 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:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Prof. Henry Jarrod is heard screaming when he falls into the cauldron of boiling wax, but his mouth is closed during the fall.

Quotes:

Prof. Henry Jarrod: Here we have two great lovers from the past. Cleopatra Queen Of Egypt and Marc Antony, their last meeting. You'll recall that Antony believing Cleopatra to be dead killed himself with his own sword. When Cleopatra discovered what had happened, she quickly followed her lover.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987)

The greatest 3-D film of all time

House of Wax is a decent film without the three-dimensional effects, but it is a complete riot when viewed in the original 3-D, especially when we get to see the emcee in front of the theater. Vincent Price is at his creepy best in this film about a man who opens up a wax museum that has a secret as to why the figures look so life-like. This was the second time I had seen it in its original format, and I enjoyed it just as much this time, including its over the top melodrama and unbelievably dated dialogue. Do not miss this film if you can find it showing at a classic movie house, because it is extremely entertaining to experience.

--Shelly