ThiefHott Too much of everything

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Antonius Block I was not a fan of 'Mystery of the Wax Museum'. It was meant to be a horror film, but got more than a little confused with a mix of awkward comic relief and romance added along the way. It tries to do too many things at once, and ends up doing a mediocre job at all of them. An example of this early on was a dopey comedic bit when the morgue robber sits up under a sheet and the orderlies stupidly shrug it off as the effect of embalming or the nature of women (double 'ugh', and this loses all opportunity for tension in the scene).Fay Wray plays a streetwise, fast-talking, tough reporter who varied between grating and interesting to me. Its pre-Code which allows her to bust off lines like "Hi sweetheart, how's your sex life?", to a male colleague, and after seeing the risqué cover of his copy of 'Naughty Stories', saying "uh-oh". Later she tells a guy to "go to a warm place, and I don't mean California." Unfortunately for all that, her 'detective work is quite simplistic'; she's on to the secret of the Wax Museum far too easily, finding morgue tags still on one of the exhibits.There is no real suspense or sophistication here, just a hodge-podge, and while there are creepy scenes, they're few and far between. I liked the fact the film was shot in the emerging 'Two-tone Technicolor' technology, which in some ways adds to the eeriness of some of the early scenes, before the script starts getting in the way of the whole thing.This one may have camp appeal and provide some entertainment, but for a truly great horror film from the time period, try 1932's 'Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde' instead.

mike48128 Fay Wray (that gal from "King Kong") plays the hard-boiled blonde newspaper reporter, looking for a story so she can keep her miserable job. She adds an element of humor to what would otherwise be a tedious telling of this now familiar story. In primitive 2-strip Technicolor, which has mostly faded to pastel shades of blue, green, and red. (Often shown in black and white.) Carefully restored by Warner Video, it is clear that they didn't have much of a print to work with. Added TV "breaks" actually help the "view-ability". Many scratches and reel-breaks. It must have been in terrible shape! Pretty-good sets for 1933, it has a "Frankenstein" feel to it in the villain's "mad lair". Some scenes closely copied in the 1953 remake "House of Wax". Here, Igor (Lionel Attwil-who always played "mad" scientists) is the name of the burned sculptor, not the speechless assistant! Only available on the backside of the "House of Wax" Warner DVD, I believe.

binapiraeus Since Warner Brothers' big venture of making the first two-color talkie a horror movie, "Doctor X', had been very successful, it was only logical that the first THREE-color movie, with the colors further developed and more natural, would also be a horror film - and they also went with the slogan 'never change a winning team': again, Michael Curtiz, one of Hollywood's most able directors ever, took on the direction, and cute, pretty Fay Wray and gentle, but somehow sinister-looking Lionel Atwill played the leads. And there also was a curious reporter again - but the female edition this time: Glenda Farrell, who would prove lots of times (most notably as 'Torchy Blane') that she was just IDEAL for the role of the fresh girl reporter! It all begins in London in 1921: uniquely gifted, but also quite eccentric Ivan Igor has created a wonderful House of Wax - which unfortunately is doing pretty badly financially, because he only depicts historical figures like Voltaire, Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette instead of murderous anti-heroes like Jack the Ripper that the other Houses of Wax expose, making lots of profit from the curiosity of the visitors. So, his partner, a complete ignorant of real art, proposes to 'just' set the whole place on fire in order to collect the fire insurance - and he actually does. Horrified, Igor watches his beloved masterpieces melting and tries to save them; but they're all destroyed - and his hands forever crippled...12 years later, in New York, Igor opens a new Wax Museum; with the help of young artists, since he himself is unable to work anymore - he clearly disapproves of his assistants' 'talents'; and yet, the first great pieces, his Joan of Arc and his Voltaire, are extraordinary works of art again... And at the same time, bodies are being stolen from the morgue, which makes cheeky reporter Florence suspicious - especially since one of them resembled Joan of Arc very much, and another one Voltaire...So she starts sniffing around in the museum, with the help of her friend Charlotte, whose boyfriend is one of Igor's assistants - and when Igor sees Charlotte for the first time, he immediately sees her in his mind's eye as his lost favorite 'Marie Antoinette'...This unforgettable movie, apart from the color-technical innovation that practically led straight to the movies that we are used to nowadays, has literally got EVERYTHING: an unusual, creepy story (which would be imitated quite some times later on), a PERFECT cast and crew, a most 'real' kind of horror (not scientific this time, as in "Doctor X", but dealing with the sometimes narrow borders between genius and insanity, even leading to criminality...) - and, as a contrast, a most lively, realistic and funny depiction of the crazy world of reporters and newsrooms! And besides that, it can be clearly identified as a pre-Code movie, with features like Igor's drug-addicted helper and Florence's quite open talking about men (a year later, the film would never have been granted a seal...) - "Mystery of the Wax Museum" is certainly one of the greatest, most perfect and most memorable of ALL classic Hollywood movies.

trashgang This came as an extra on the new 3D Blu Ray of House Of Wax (1953). It was already available on some old House Of Wax DVD's and I must say that this is a must see for so many reasons. First of all, you can see the original story on which House Of Wax is based. But you can also see that back then classics could be made and even could look scary. The acting was remarkable strong for the time being. No exaggerated performances and just have a look at Fay Wray (Charlotte) just before her big breakthrough in King Kong (1933).A must see for all horror buffs.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0,5/5