Mystery of the Wax Museum

1933

1h 17m

Horror

List

92%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Ivan Igor (Lionel Atwill) is the sculptor at a famous wax museum in London. When his partner, Joe Worth (Edwin Maxwell), burns down the museum for the insurance money, Igor is trapped inside. Years later he re-emerges in New York as the curator of a new wax museum, which boasts incredibly lifelike statues. When model Joan Gale (Monica Bannister) goes missing, however, reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell) follows the clues to Igor's museum, where she discovers a terrible secret.

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Matt B

Excellent early 30s horror thriller, done in a 2 strip technicolor process that gives the film an eerie atmosphere. Atwill is an excellent warped antagonist and highly prolific and talented Michael Curtiz does a commendable job directing. Watch it!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

Alec B

Wonderfully creepy and I appreciate that the fast talking dame reporter is the actual hero of the movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

CodyZamboni

Movie is a fun, compelling genre mashup. Part horror, part newspaper story. I was surprised that the big epic showcase sequence, the wax museum fire meltdown happens at the beginning of movie. The newspaper detective story that follows has the right amount of comic tone. Movie has a strong cast, and lots of surprising pre - code dialogue, drug abuse, and gruseome images. But the MVP is Fay Wray. So appealing, so attractive, charming, and sexy.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/23

Full Review

Dallas H

It is interesting how the story for this movie was repurposed into the 1953 remake starring Vincent Price, which is the version I prefer over all the others. Don't forget there is also a 2005 remake of House of Wax. I enjoyed Mystery of the Wax Museum on its merit. It's a decent movie and an exciting look at hearing the bold dialogue in an era before the Hays Code was shortly enforced.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Rating: 6/10. 65/100

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/26/22

Full Review

BallisticzsGaming

Mystery of the Wax Museum is a classic horror mystery that succeeds at capturing the suspense of the mystery that the story is about. I'm 18 years old so movies from the early 30s aren't really my kind of thing to watch but I wanted to try and get into the classics that inspired a bunch of my favorite horror movies and I can say that this movie still holds up to this day and I'm fascinated by the evolution of where technology in movies have changed. I believe the acting in this movie was really good for the time this movie was made. There were some parts where I felt worried for some characters or didn't know what was going to happen. The movie did drag a little bit towards the beginning of the second act but other than that the movie was well paced. The movie really did shine in the 3rd act near the conclusion and the ending of the movie was satisfying. Overall a great classic that I did have some nitpicks with but still a horror mystery that still holds up to today. I give Mystery of the Wax Museum a B- with 3/5 stars.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/09/22

Full Review

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Michael Curtiz

Director

Lionel Atwill

Ivan Igor

Fay Wray

Charlotte Duncan

Glenda Farrell

Florence Dempsey

Frank McHugh

Jim

Gavin Gordon

George Winton

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

However shocking the film may have been at the time, it has grown not only as a cult object to be cherished by genre aficionados, but as a work that improves with the addition of contexts that underscore its distinct place in film history.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 18, 2022

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

With no musical score to guide the audience, we're often left adrift in Igor's madhouse, conjuring up some truly haunting imagery that has been beautifully restored on the new Blu-Ray from Warner Archive.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 17, 2020

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Mystery of the Wax Museum is notable for a handful of reasons, including the involvement of director Michael Curtiz before he became Warner's top go-to guy (Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy).

Rated: 3/4

May 30, 2020

Full Review

Pare Lorentz

Vanity Fair

Had the director kept his story under control The Wax Museum might have been a good horror production.

Jun 5, 2019

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

One of the punchiest, most watchable '30s horror films made anywhere outside of Universal.

Rated: 7/10

Oct 25, 2014

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A fun weirdo classic pulp horror tale from the 1930s.

Rated: A-

Oct 20, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

Ivan Igor (Lionel Atwill) is the sculptor at a famous wax museum in London. When his partner, Joe Worth (Edwin Maxwell), burns down the museum for the insurance money, Igor is trapped inside. Years later he re-emerges in New York as the curator of a new wax museum, which boasts incredibly lifelike statues. When model Joan Gale (Monica Bannister) goes missing, however, reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell) follows the clues to Igor's museum, where she discovers a terrible secret.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Screenwriter: Don Mullaly, Carl Erickson
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 17m