Mystery of the Wax Museum

"The supreme thriller!"

1933 1h 18m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 159

HorrorMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A wax sculptor opens a new museum years after he is severely injured during a fire that destroyed his original collection. The disappearance of both people and corpses coincides with this grand reopening and leads a reporter to start investigating.

“The supreme thriller!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Lionel Atwill
Ivan Igor
Glenda Farrell
Florence Dempsey
Allen Vincent
Ralph Burton
Fay Wray
Charlotte Duncan
Frank McHugh
Jim
Edwin Maxwell
Worth
Arthur Edmund Carewe
Professor Darcy
Gavin Gordon
George Winton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Don Mullaly, Carl Erickson, Charles S. Belden
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

93 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Ray Rennahan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bernhard Kaun. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lionel Atwill and Glenda Farrell and Allen Vincent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The supreme thriller!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0024368 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Curtiz directs. Ray Rennahan behind the camera. Bernhard Kaun scores. George Amy cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
293 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Ray Rennahan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Bernhard Kaun. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Lionel Atwill and Glenda Farrell and Allen Vincent carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The supreme thriller!".
8IMDB entry: tt0024368 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ray Rennahan
Original score: Bernhard Kaun
Editing: George Amy
Costume design: Orry-Kelly
Makeup / hair: Ray Romero
Runtime: 78 min · 1h 18m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

Also by

Michael Curtiz

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-01-09
★ 8/10
My dear, why are you so pitifully afraid? London 1921, and brilliant sculptor Ivan Igor struggles to keep his museum open due to lack of interest in his beautiful historical characters. His partner Joe Worth feels it's time to call it quits, a row over finances ensues and a fire breaks out and burns the museum to the ground, almost killing Igor in the process. On to 1933 and New York, where the wheelchair bound Igor has a new museum open, the figures sculpted by others under his guidance due to his horribly disfigured hands preventing him from crafting himself. When a female socialite dies and her body is stolen from the morgue, ballsy reporter Florence Dempsey starts to investigate. Could it be that the stealing of the body is linked to the opening of Igor's new museum? Mystery of the Wax Museum was long thought to have had it's elements lost in a (ironically) fire, so with no Technicolor negative or prints available, it was a cinematic godsend that a used print was discovered in Jack Warner's private vault. The UCLA Film and Television Archive restored the film, and now the film can be seen in all its former glory. Riding in on a high reputation, the restored film was met with less than favourable results by the critics, possibly due in some part to the rightful regard that the remake, House Of Wax 1953, was held. What it is safe to say is that the film is more of a mystery (the clue is in the title!) than an outright horror. Something I don't think many were prepared for. The critics derision back then is now on reflection, stupid. For it's a truly fine film from an interesting era in film making. The sets from Anton Grot are brilliant, Gothic pieces of work. While the performance of Lionel Atwill as Igor is superb, and arguably his best work. The actress' do well enough, Fay Wray (reuniting with Atwill again after their work in Dr X in 1932) as Charlotte Duncan hones her scream queen method, and Glenda Farrell is ebullient and sharp tongued as Dempsey. There's also daring themes involved in the story, necrophilia, drug addiction, insanity and bootlegging. With the horror elements of the piece born out by the grizzly secrets of Igor's museum. It's also not just an important film in the pantheon of colour pictures, but also in that it has a modern city setting. Helping to bring horror to the streets instead of some ye olde village or faraway castle. It's a smashing mystery/horror film that is now thankfully widely available on various DVDs, so see it if you can. 8/10

Production companies