Topic: MYSTERY AT THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) - thoughts?

[falsealarms]

I'm wondering if anyone has seen the 1933 film MYSTERY AT THE WAX MUSEUM? It recently piqued my interest.

The film has an interesting history. For one, it was considered a lost film until a battered print was found decades ago. It was filmed in two-color Technicolor, and was one of the last films to hold that distinction.  It was subject to a major restoration in 2019 (more on that here: https://bit.ly/3tDBI11) - and the results look stunning.

The film has an array of familiar faces of the era - Glenda Farrell, Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill, Frank McHugh, etc.

Another great write-up on the film: https://deepfocusreview.com/reviews/the-mystery-of-the-wax-museum/

[Umbrella Sam]

Funny enough, I actually just saw this for the first time last week on Svengoolie. I liked it; I thought Lionel Atwill was especially great as the villain. I actually thought it was a bit better than the remake, HOUSE OF WAX (that version was fine, but I felt the whole mystery angle with the newspaper reporter in this one was more interesting while the later one almost seemed like it relied too much on the shock value alone).

[metaldams]

Great movie from the Golden Era of Hollywood horror (1931 - 1936). I have the blu ray and the restoration looks beautiful.  The other Warner Color 30’s Curtiz directed Atwill/Wray horror, DOCTOR X is getting a similar restoration released next month.  I have a hopeless old Hollywood crush on Fay Wray, LOL.

The Vincent Price version is good too, not sure if I have a definitive preference.

[falsealarms]

Great movie from the Golden Era of Hollywood horror (1931 - 1936). I have the blu ray and the restoration looks beautiful.  The other Warner Color 30’s Curtiz directed Atwill/Wray horror, DOCTOR X is getting a similar restoration released next month.  I have a hopeless old Hollywood crush on Fay Wray, LOL.

The Vincent Price version is good too, not sure if I have a definitive preference.

Reading about the DOCTOR X restoration is what led me to MYSTERY AT THE WAX MUSEUM.

Here's a great interview about Doctor X with UCLA's Scott MacQueen: http://www.videoattic.com/2021/03/video-attic-exclusive-on-doctor-x-1932.html

[Dr. Mabuse]

A lively mix of gothic melodrama and fast-talking Warner Bros. verve, "Mystery of the Wax Museum" is great fun. Strikingly filmed in two-strip Technicolor, the 1933 production benefits from Michael Curtiz's directorial craftsmanship and Anton Grot's impressive set design. Some truly horrific moments build to a serial-style climax. Lionel Atwill's classic villainy is complemented by fast-talking Glenda Farrell and the inimitable Fay Wray. Decidedly superior to Warner's 3D "House of Wax" (1953).

[metaldams]

I’d have to watch HOUSE OF WAX and MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM back to back, but I can’t seem to recall any real discernible differences in quality. Maybe I’d prefer one over the other slightly, but both have a place in my collection.  As far as the reporter angle making MOTWM more interesting, maybe - but I like straight shock value too.  To each their own.

HOUSE OF WAX I appreciate historically because not only was it an important step in establishing Vincent Price as a horror star, but it is one of the very few, straight up horror movies post 1946 and pre 1957 that has no sci-fi angle to it.  Just a straight forward horror movie, something that era I feel needed a few more of.

[falsealarms]

Speaking of DOCTOR X, Warner Archive has just uploaded these to YouTube.... for those who have seen DOCTOR X and MYSTERY AT THE WAX MUSEUM, which do you prefer?

[Dr. Mabuse]

Mae Busch at the 3:17 mark.

[metaldams]

Speaking of DOCTOR X, Warner Archive has just uploaded these to YouTube.... for those who have seen DOCTOR X and MYSTERY AT THE WAX MUSEUM, which do you prefer?

Wax has a more horrific Atwill role, but Doctor has a better Fay Wray role - she’s in beach wear at one point and packs a gun in another plus she has more screen time.  They both have an equally awesome monster  make up surprise at the end - so I’ll call it a wash.  Love them both.

[falsealarms]

Mae Busch at the 3:17 mark.

Yes! I watched that last night and couldn't place who it was even though I was sure I had seen that actress many times before. I think seeing Busch in color (for the first time) threw me off.

[HomokHarcos]

I’ve been watching some of the Torchy Blane movies with Glenda Farrell as a reporter and read she was cast as the lead because someone was impressed by her role in this movie. I think Mystery of the Wax Museum will be my next movie watch.

[Umbrella Sam]

I’ve been watching some of the Torchy Blane movies with Glenda Farrell as a reporter and read she was cast as the lead because someone was impressed by her role in this movie. I think Mystery of the Wax Museum will be my next movie watch.

How are the Torchy Blane movies anyway? I just found out about them recently while watching a Superman documentary and they sound really interesting. If Farrell performs like she did in this movie, then I imagine they must be good.

[HomokHarcos]

How are the Torchy Blane movies anyway? I just found out about them recently while watching a Superman documentary and they sound really interesting. If Farrell performs like she did in this movie, then I imagine they must be good.

Glenda Farrell is full of energy in the movies. They are similar to the other mystery series of the time.

[falsealarms]

Review of the upcoming DOCTOR X disc - sounds like a winner all around.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Doctor-X-Blu-ray/254829/#Review

[Moose Malloy]

Recorded WAX and X about 2 months back and was stunned to see Fay was the chick pounding on Atwill's kisser. She MUST have been the first bona fide scream queen

I have moved to AZ and now have access to legal Kush oil in vape form and the old movies are much more watchable 

[Moose Malloy]

Jerry Seigel's DC  TORCHY comic book inspired by Farrell (who is totally unknown to me!)

[Dr. Mabuse]

The alternate black-and-white version, with a different closing line from Mae Busch.

[falsealarms]

DOCTOR X was a disappointing film. The pacing was slow, and it all kind of felt creaky and stiff to me. Its 76-minute runtime felt longer.

At least for me, MYSTERY AT THE WAX MUSEUM was the far better film.

On the plus side, DOCTOR X looks and sounds magnificent. The restoration is as good as it gets. It's just too bad the film wasn't better.

[metaldams]

DOCTOR X was a disappointing film. The pacing was slow, and it all kind of felt creaky and stiff to me. Its 76-minute runtime felt longer.

At least for me, MYSTERY AT THE WAX MUSEUM was the far better film.

On the plus side, DOCTOR X looks and sounds magnificent. The restoration is as good as it gets. It's just too bad the film wasn't better.

I’m in the minority, but I enjoy Lee Tracy.  I’m not in the minority, I enjoy Fay Wray.  I also like the castle they stayed in, the characters that were the suspects, Lionel Atwill and most importantly - synthetic flesh.  One of the creepiest 30’s horror scenes.  Plus any film that has Mae Busch running a brothel gets an extra star in the rating from me.  LOL

Hey, to each their own.

[Dr. Mabuse]

I’m in the minority, but I enjoy Lee Tracy.

Lee Tracy is a definite asset in "Doctor X" — he fits perfectly into the fast-talking Warner Bros. groove. Unfortunately, Tracy's film career hit a speed bump in 1933 when he urinated onto a military parade while filming "Viva Villa!" in Mexico City (he was cast as a sarcastic reporter). MGM fired Tracy and replaced him with Stuart Irwin, whose dreadful miscasting hurt the overall film.

[metaldams]

Lee Tracy is a definite asset in "Doctor X" — he fits perfectly into the fast-talking Warner Bros. groove. Tracy's film career hit a speed bump in November 1933 when he urinated onto a military parade while filming "Viva Villa!" in Mexico City (he was originally cast as a sarcastic reporter). MGM fired Tracy and replaced him with Stuart Irwin, whose dreadful miscasting hurt the overall film.

There was a thread on the Classic Horror Film Board recently about the Tracy urinating incident.  People debating the legitimacy of the whole thing, complete with detailed photographic evidence of the building as proof as to whether he could have or could not have pulled it off.  It was as detailed and serious as people debating the source of the bullet in the Kennedy assassination.   

[Freddie Sanborn]

There was a thread on the Classic Horror Film Board recently about the Tracy urinating incident.  People debating the legitimacy of the whole thing, complete with detailed photographic evidence of the building as proof as to whether he could have or could not have pulled it off.  It was as detailed and serious as people debating the source of the bullet in the Kennedy assassination.

Stuff like this is what makes the Internet great!