House of Wax

1953

1h 28m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

362

YOUR RATING

Rate

POPULARITY

Play trailer

4 Videos

69 Images

Horror

Crime

A sculptor opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures, but quickly runs into trouble when his business partner demands the exhibits become more extreme in order to increase profits.

Directors

André de Toth

Writers

Crane Wilbur(screenplay by)

Charles S. Belden(story by)

Stars

Vincent Price

Frank Lovejoy

Phyllis Kirk

See production, box office & company info

Videos4

Photos69

Top cast

Henry Jarrod

Tom Brennan

Sue Allen

Cathy Gray

Scott Andrews

Matthew Burke

Mrs. Andrews

Sidney Wallace

Shane

Igor

Barker

Man Checking His Watch (uncredited)

Larri Thomas

Can-Can Dancer (uncredited)

Joanne Brown

Girlfriend (uncredited)

Steve Carruthers

Museum Patron (uncredited)

Leo Curley

Portly Man (uncredited)

Dan Dowling

Museum Patron (uncredited)

Frank Ferguson

Medical Examiner (uncredited)

Directors

André de Toth

Writers

Crane Wilbur(screenplay by)

Charles S. Belden(story by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews1

Review

Featured review

9/10

In any format it's a genre highlight. Henry Jarrod is a very talented sculptor of wax figures for a museum. But as the museum starts to flounder, Jarrod's partner, Matthew Burke, insists on taking a new direction, a row ensues and Jarrod is knocked unconscious. Burke seizes the opportunity to torch the museum and get the insurance money, with Jarrod still in the premises. Thought long since dead, Jarrod resurfaces, apparently wheel chair bound and with horribly burned hands. Opening up a new museum, his new figures (made by his protégé under his instruction) look ever more lifelike than before, could he be responsible for some despicable crimes in the area? This marvellous film is a remake of the 1933 chiller, The Mystery Of The Wax Museum, directed by Michael Curtiz. Here this film is taken on by Andre de Toth, originally filmed in 3-D with the then bonus addition of Warner Phonic Sound, it's a picture that thankfully holds up real well even in its basic flat format. The reason it does hold up well is because director de Toth didn't get carried away with the gimmick, it's used sparingly so the narrative never gets lost amongst any trickery, and thus House Of Wax's excellently creepy story comes to the fore. Having the ever supreme Vincent Price as your leading man (Jarrod) will always help your horror genre picture, and here he two folds the performance brilliantly. At first his Jarrod is charming and carrying a grace about his dedication to his craft, but then, devilment takes control as Price pumps creepy ardour into Jarrod's fractured mind. Quite a turn from Price who most definitely suffered for his art during the shoot, forced to do his own stunts (the 3D process needs more than one camera), he was involved in an accident that set him on fire and almost saw him crushed!Then there was the long and often painful make up sessions to get the desired effects of a burns victim, layers of rubber strangling his skin to the point of passing out, oh yes Vincent earned his money on this one! We even get one of the earliest credited performances from Charles Bronson (here under his real name of Buchinsky) as Jarrod's assistant Igor, whilst fans of The Addams Family TV series will no doubt enjoy the performance of future Mortica, Carolyn Jones. The film was a big success on its release, and hugely popular with critics, and it's not hard to see why, because today it still stands proud as one of the finest exponents of classic horror, both as a story and as a technical construction. 9/10

John Chard18 Jul, 2019