1953 Directed by André de Toth
A New York sculptor who opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures runs into trouble with his business partner, who demands that the exhibits become more extreme in order to increase profits.
Vincent Price Frank Lovejoy Phyllis Kirk Carolyn Jones Paul Picerni Roy Roberts Angela Clarke Paul Cavanagh Dabbs Greer Charles Bronson Reggie Rymal Oliver Blake Larri Thomas Joanne Brown Steve Carruthers Leo Curley Dan Dowling Frank Ferguson Stuart Hall Mary Lou Holloway Jack Kenney Mike Lally Lyle Latell Richard Lightner Philo McCullough Jack Mower Eddie Parks Waclaw Rekwart Grandon Rhodes Show All…
The Wax Works, L'homme au masque de cire, Paniek in het wasmuseum, Muzeul figurilor de ceara, Vahakabinetti, Kuća od voska, Къщата на восъчните фигури, Canavarlar Sarayi, Niku no rouningyou, Terror en el museo de cera, Kerines maskes, De man met de wassen beelden, Vokskabinettet, Els crims del museu de cera, Dům voskových figurín, Das Kabinett des Professor Bondi, Los crímenes del museo de cera, Museo de cera, L'Homme au masque de cire, בית השעווה, Panoptikum - A viaszbabák háza, La maschera di cera, 肉の蝋人形, 밀랍인형의 집, Gabinet figur woskowych, Museu de Cera, Máscaras de Cera, Музей восковых фигур, Dom voskových figurín, Vaxkabinettet, Будинок воскових фігур, 恐怖蜡像馆
USA
New York City, New York
USA
USA
UKPG
Brazil16
France
PortugalM/14
Netherlands12
Brazil
France
Netherlands
Portugal
UK
USA
The problem with all these films where Vincent Price plays a villainous character is that he's always so much more charismatic than the protagonists that you can't help but want him to come out on top.
Is that really a problem, actually?
This film is less than 90 minutes long, and still has a 10 minute intermission. I was truly born in the wrong time.
Enjoyable career revitalizer for Price but not one of my go to watches when it comes to his huge catalogue of macabre, still though, House of Wax has a lot going for it—nice camera work, an amazing setting, shadowy street chases, long takes, and the great ending reveal that we all know is coming. Plus the cultural significance of 3D and what this meant for career of Vincent Price.
Speaking of the third dimension, the fact that this was filmed in 3D by a man who was blind in one eye fascinates me, as does young Charles Bronson’s muscles and the future Morticia Addams.
Creepy, stately, but remarkably spry for a mid-century horror film, Andre De Toth's "House of Wax" begins with bang before settling into drier yet engrossing horror beats. Starring Vincent Price as a sculptor of wax figures, the film is a capable thriller that may not have a lot of narrative depth but makes up for that with atmosphere, entertainment value, and a mostly committed tone.
Its plot revolving around revenge, sinister sculptors, and wax-dipped corpses, "House of Wax" takes its color-by-numbers story and elevates it with Price's robust magnetism and a spirited energy. The narrative does not offer much beyond man-is-wronged and man-seeks-vengeance plot points, but it serves as a sturdy foundation for wax museum mayhem.
Price is entertaining, but…
1st André de Toth
Still holds up on a second watch as one of the great horrors and a significant improvement on its predecessor. A deeper and more unsettling film not simply because of the brilliant central performance by Price (giving such a preposterous villain real depth and tragedy) but in the way it constantly plays with ideas of what is real and what is grotesque parody. Unlike the original, the figures here are very clearly wax replicas, but that only adds an extra level of discomfort, so close are the waxworks in skin tone to the live actors. That's the wonders of Three-Strip Technicolour; smooth flesh looks like wax, and when the statues are meant to be humans covered…
There's no such thing as a bad or even boring Vincent Price performance. No matter the production or the state of the script you can bet your entire savings that Price will give it his all. The sheer level of commitment to, at the time, a frowned upon genre is something that should be revered. "House of Wax" is probably one of his most famous films and for good reason. It's a delicious slice of macabre, gothic mischief.
Price stars as Henry Jarrod, a wax sculptor, in 1900's New York. His partner tries to convince him that he shouldn't bother with historical exhibits and instead cash in on the gruesome, sensationalised horror figures. Jarrod, sticking to his principals of having…
An entertaining 50s classic Vincent Price film, with an unsettling premise leading to an ending that we all see coming but still gets a gasp when it finally arrives.
After a dispute with his wax museum business partner and subsequent fire, artiste Henry Jarrod recreates his lost figures, only this time they seem much more lifelike.
Full of beautiful cinematography and a cracking score from David Buttolph, House of Wax is a solid entry in Warner Bros. thriller collection and their first foray into the wonderful world of 3D.
---
HorrorX52 2022 - 39. 1950s
Murder and May-hem, Day 30, challenge #25 - Watch a film featuring one of your favourite actors or actresses
I try not to be too much of a basic horror bitch but yes, my favourite actor is Vincent Price, my favourite slasher is Halloween, my favourite author is Stephen King and I consume barrels full of pumpkin spice every October. Look, some things are basic for a reason!
I say every Price performance is my fave (and it's still House on Haunted Hill), but I love this so much because he gets to be equal parts tragic and sinister and NO ONE ELSE will ever fit that mood so exquisitely. That museum partner had it coming - he was an…
This was fun! But, really, any movie with Vincent Price is going to be pretty ok with me.
Here he plays a wax sculptor who is killed in a fire and mysteriously returns to reopen a new wax museum where the exhibits bear a striking resemblance to recently deceased locals! It’s really not hard to see where the plot is going from the beginning but it’s also not trying to hide anything...and does manage a good surprise or two in spite of that predictability...so I guess you probably won’t see everything coming. Even if you do, it’s still a lot of fun. I should add that I have seen the remake (with a certain Paris Hilton) a few times so…
wait, so we were supposed to NOT root for vincent price's evil character? i might have missed the memo.
what a horrific classic to quench my thirst for my current halloween mood! if this kickstarts my spiral into discovering more pre-70s horror films, you heard it here first. ha.
(okay, i'm pretty sure i watched the 2005 remake but the only thing i remembered from it was paris hilton. lmao.)
The degree to which artifice and theatricality are infused into the very marrow of House of Wax is striking and utterly delightful. Everything is constructed, in one way or another, intentionally blurring the line between the horror-fantasy of the wax museum and the "reality" outside of it.
Cathy (Carolyn Jones) is, undoubtedly a real, flesh and blood woman. But when we meet her, she's aggressively, painfully reshaping her body in order to turn it into something that might appeal to the man with whom she has a date. Professor Jarrod (the great and powerful Vincent Price) is a living man, but he's one who, like Cathy, presents a carefully crafted surface to the world in order to win its favor.…
