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6.8/10
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The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.
Thomas E. Jackson
- Detective
- (as Thomas Jackson)
Bull Anderson
- Janitor
- (uncredited)
Frank Austin
- Winton's Valet
- (uncredited)
Max Barwyn
- Museum Visitor
- (uncredited)
Wade Boteler
- Ambrose
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film was produced before the Production Code. When it was remade 20 years later, as House of Wax (1953), all references to drug use were removed, and a character was changed from a junkie to an alcoholic.
- GoofsIvan Igor says that Jean Paul Marat's assassin, Charlotte Corday, was his mistress. Not so - they had never met until she came to his office posing as a courier and quickly stabbed him to death. After her execution a few days later, she was found to be virgo intacta.
- Alternate versionsThis film was shot in two versions. One camera unit shot the film in two-color Technicolor. A second camera unit shot the scenes at the same time in black and white. The black and white version was meant for theaters who could not afford the higher rental cost of the color prints.
- ConnectionsEdited into Mame (1974)
Featured review
A Thirties Movies Made for the 30s.
Considering the fact that this 1933 movie was produced during the depression, when moviegoers expected pure entertainment, the results were exactly what they wanted. Glenda Farrell's hard-boiled Florence Dempsey was what filmgoers were looking for. Please note that many of the movies of the period had male and female stars who were fast talkers and wise-crackers. Such stars as Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Rosalind Russell, Bette Davis, James Cagney, Mae West, W. C. Fields, William Powell, Myrna Loy, etc. were the norm and not the exception.
This wonderful movie was way ahead of its time. It's two-color look was also something very different for the 1930s and its washed-out looked helped give it a more sinister appearance. The later "House of Wax" used 3-D and having seen it in the movies I can tell you it was probably the best of the 3-D movies. Even better than "The Creature from the Black Lagoon".
Fay Wray was pure candy and she practiced her scream well for the upcoming "King Kong". I have seen most of Lionel Atwill's work and I believe the underplaying of Ivan Igor helped make him a more credible monster. The movie was well cast and one can not help but notice the uncanny fact that most of the actors in "The House of Wax" were chosen because they looked like the earlier actors except for the difference between Charles Buchinsky (Bronson) and Matthew Betz as the loyal mute assistant.
Although enjoyable, "The House of Wax" was no match for the earlier edition. It's understandable that "The House of Wax" did not use the characters of Florence Dempsey and Gavin Gordon. Sidekicks didn't work as well as in the 50s.
I wonder what the movie critics of the 30s thought of the "Mystery of the Wax Museum?"
This wonderful movie was way ahead of its time. It's two-color look was also something very different for the 1930s and its washed-out looked helped give it a more sinister appearance. The later "House of Wax" used 3-D and having seen it in the movies I can tell you it was probably the best of the 3-D movies. Even better than "The Creature from the Black Lagoon".
Fay Wray was pure candy and she practiced her scream well for the upcoming "King Kong". I have seen most of Lionel Atwill's work and I believe the underplaying of Ivan Igor helped make him a more credible monster. The movie was well cast and one can not help but notice the uncanny fact that most of the actors in "The House of Wax" were chosen because they looked like the earlier actors except for the difference between Charles Buchinsky (Bronson) and Matthew Betz as the loyal mute assistant.
Although enjoyable, "The House of Wax" was no match for the earlier edition. It's understandable that "The House of Wax" did not use the characters of Florence Dempsey and Gavin Gordon. Sidekicks didn't work as well as in the 50s.
I wonder what the movie critics of the 30s thought of the "Mystery of the Wax Museum?"
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Mystery of the Wax Museum
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 17 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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By what name was Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) officially released in India in English?
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