The history of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM is a fascinating one. A huge success on its initial release in 1933, the film was forgotten after the Production Code came in a year later. Warner Brothers had little interest in horror films and never bothered to re-issue it. By 1953 when they remade it as the hugely successful HOUSE OF WAX, WB discarded all the old color prints and only dupe B&W copies survived. Unlike DOCTOR X, there was no official B&W version to show on TV. It didn’t really matter as only a few insiders even remembered the film until the discovery of an original color nitrate print In Jack Warner’s private vault in 1970. It was unfavorably compared to HOUSE OF WAX at the time but its reputation has risen considerably since new restoration techniques in the last 10 years have restored it to its former glory.
For those who haven’t seen HOUSE OF WAX or don’t know the story it goes as follows. A London wax sculptor (Lionel Atwill) is double crossed by his partner (Edwin Maxwell) and left to die in a fire which was deliberately set for insurance purposes. 12 years later the sculptor, a burned cripple, resurfaces in New York and opens a new wax museum. At the same time a series of unsolved disappearances is being investigated by an intrepid reporter (Glenda Farrell) who has a love/hate relationship with her boss (Frank McHugh). Her roommate (Fay Wray) is the girl friend of an employee of the museum (Allen Vincent). Gradually the story threads are brought together ending in a climatic confrontation in the museum involving a cauldron of boiling wax. A pre-CASABLANCA Michael Curtiz directs with his usual flair giving the movie a sense of style and drive.
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM was the first significant sound horror film to have a contemporary setting (1933) and the last major film to use the old two strip Technicolor. The Technicolor everyone knows first appeared in 1935. The movie gives character actor Lionel Atwill his best role and provides a showcase for wise cracking reporter Glenda Farrell. Fay Wray gets to utter her patented scream on a number of occasions while supporting players Arthur Edwin Carewe, Frank McHugh, and Edwin Maxwell give memorable performances. If you’ve never seen this movie before then you’re in for an old school treat. If you have seen it before then you’re in for a bigger treat as this new restoration is breathtaking. It really is like seeing the film for the first time.
It has taken almost 80 years to finally see MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM the way audiences first saw it. Not only does this new Blu-Ray provide a spectacular picture with improved sound, it also has subtitles so that you can catch some of the rapid fire dialogue in the newsroom scenes and the throwaway sexual innuendos. The disc features two background commentaries from noted film historian Scott McQueen and Alan K. Rode who wrote an extensive biography on the film’s director, Michael Curtiz. There’s also a short feature on the movie’s restoration which shows just how much work is required to bring an old film back to life. If you’re into old movies, get this Blu-Ray along with the new Blu-Ray of DOCTOR X and have yourself a fantastic double feature.
The Capsule Critic 