By Stephen Pytak 

     No doubt this classic inspired a giallo or two. 
     It's got a phantom killer. There are cool make-
up effects. And this carefully sculpted thriller also
has a decent plot.  
     I borrowed it from a friend the other night. I was
curious because the remake, also titled "House of
Wax" is due on screens soon. 
     The 1953 film is actually a remake itself, based
on the 1933 thriller "Mystery of the Wax Museum"
starring Fay Wray. I haven't seen that one, but
heard it was all right. 
     The 1953 incarnation was shot in 3-D, and 
reportedly was the most successful 3-D film of the 
period. The gimmick no doubt brought people to 
the theaters, but, as I said above, the film in 2-D
is still a bit of a masterpiece.
     It's the tragic story of sculptor "Prof. Henry 
Jarrod (Price)," whose entire life (social life included
it seems) is centered in the workshop of a wax
museum he manages in early 20th Century New
York City.
     He's fascinated by historical figures, from John
Wilkes Booth to Joan of Arc to Marie Antionette (his
personal favorite). And he talks to the life-sized,
and life-like wax versions of these characters, which
populate his gallery.
     Jarrod's world is rocked when one of his 
investors, a money-hungry bastard, decides to set fire 
to the place to collect about $25,000 in insurance.
And he impulsively does this right in front of Jarrod's
face. 
     Bad idea.
     The place goes up all right, but Jarrod doesn't
go down without a fight. 
     The entire experience has scarred the sculptor in
more ways than one. The next time we see him, he's
in a wheelchair. He's opening a new wax museum,
     And a plan for revenge.
     Soon a phantom is stalking the streets, strangling 
the unsuspecting, and stealing choice corpses from the 
local morgue. 
     Visitors to the new House of Wax wonder why some
of the creations on display look so lifelike. I wonder.
     Ol' Jarrod's got a staff this time to help him with
these creations.
     One of his crew is a mute named "Igor (Bronson)."
Yes, this is the man who would one day shoot down 
Henry Fonda in "Once Upon A Time In the West
(1968)" and fry "Nirvana (Thomas F. Duffy)" in 
"Death Wish II (1981)."
     I've never seen Bronson do a role like this before. 
He does a bit of comedy here, and there's a tense fight
scene. He's fun to watch because it's so different. He's
pretty good.
     The ending of this flick was fun indeed.  Jarrod 
comes close to creating the Marie Antoinette of his 
dreams, with a local, "Sue Allen (Kirk)," as his model. 
He removes her clothes, straps her down in box and 
prepares to cover her in boiling wax. Kinky.
     I guess this scene was a bit risque for its day. 
If filmed in the 1980s or more recently, it might have
turned out kind of like that famous scene in "Re-
Animator (1985)," where "Megan Halsey (Barbara
Crampton)" is stripped down to zero and menaced
by a talking head, "Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale)."
     This flick was a lot of fun, a decent thriller that
will appeal to not only fans of classic cinema, but
stalk and slash and make-up effects.
     An interesting DVD release for the film is on
the way in late April 2005. It will include the 1933
"Mystery of the Wax Museum" as well. 
     With the release of the new "House of Wax," I 
wonder if collectibles from the other films will become
marketable once again.
     I remember seeing the phantom killer's face on 
one of the covers of  "Famous Monsters" years ago, 
Issue 64 published in 1970. The artwork was 
reportedly done by Basil Gogos. It promoted an 
article on "Terrors of the 3rd Dimension."
     Those covers always really captured the spirit
of those films, sometimes moreso than the movie
posters themselves.