Máscaras de Cera (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 (as Andre de Toth)

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (screenplay), Charles Belden (story)

Stars:

Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vincent Price	...	Prof. Henry Jarrod
Frank Lovejoy	...	Det. 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:

national film registry | reference to anna held | reference to joan of arc | reference to cleopatra | reference to marc antony | 

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Taglines:

The Wax Figures Also Looked Like Other People - People Who Had Disappeared..........

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1953 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Máscaras de Cera

Filming Locations:

1 King Street, Saint Augustine, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$23,750,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,750,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryan Foy Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (WarnerPhonic/RCA) (3 channels)

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Bela Lugosi did not appear in the film, he did help promote it. The film's world premiere was held at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles on April 16, 1953. As a publicity stunt, Lugosi was invited to attend the big event. Clad in a vampire cape, he emerged from his limousine with a chain link leash, which was attached to an actor in an ape costume-a clear homage to Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952).

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Goofs

Prof. Jarrod tells how Anne Askew was tortured on suspicions of treason, and he erroneously says that she confessed. She was ultimately burned in 1546 because she would not confess.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

Released in Japan in the short-lived VHD format in 3-D. This disc has been widely copied to make bootleg tapes and DVDs.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.25 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Battle Hymn of the Republic
(uncredited)
Music by William Steffe
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe

User Reviews

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")