Dothery Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I never even knew this movie existed. It was surprisingly good, with the actors doing the waxworks because of the heat of the lights, which melted real wax figures. I don't expect it did the actors much good either. Anyway, this original (I suppose) version of "House of Wax" was pretty thrilling. I liked it, even the dated wisecracks. A little hard to keep up with the speed of the dialogue with the principals. I don't hear as fast as I used to. As well, but not as fast ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I've always wondered how some of those 1930s actors could remember all their lines and speak them so rapidly, with no mistakes. It's amazing. Lee Tracy was good at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpompper Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 <I don't hear as fast as I used to. > I'm with you, dothery. I increasingly watch DVDs with the subtitles on. I watched most of "Mysteries of the Wax Museum" before I had to go to bed. I'd never heard of it before, either! And, I was unaware of the two-film color process (red and green). I enjoyed RO's intro and learned something. I think it looked remarkably good, so props to the early pioneers of that technology! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I missed that one, but Doctor X was a hoot, even if the monster was cheesy - liiiiiiiiiquid flesh. Mmmm. Kudos to Max Factor, getting in at the ground floor. Lee and Fay Wray - not so much. But Lee certainly coulda been a contender, his staccato delivery and obvious talent put him up there with the big boys - how did he screw up again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I never even knew this movie existed. Those of us who grew up in the 1960s with "Famous Monsters" magazine and Forrest J Ackerman's repeated references to it could only yearn as the film was thought lost and just about all that we knew about it was that it was "the original version of HOUSE OF WAX." In 1970, a copy was found in Jack Warner's personal collection and the film was screened on both coasts to much fanfare and personally, I thought that the print that I saw back then had more vibrant color than the one presently on DVD and TCM. Not necessarily more accurate, it's hard to claim so after 40 years have gone by and I'm working on memory. But I do recall thinking at the time that the color looked at least as good as some Cinecolor westerns that I had seen that were made 20 years or so later. I not only saw it at a museum screening, but also on WPIX-TV circa 1973 and it looked quite vibrant. If one buys the HOUSE OF WAX DVD, there's a bonus of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM included. Supposedly Laserdisc owners are more fortunate, the print issued in that format was taken from the Jack Warner copy and is not the same as the washed out facsimile that we are presented with these days. I'm sure that some other board regular is better versed in the history of the preservation and transfers of this title. I can only go by my own recollections of various times that I've been exposed to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonDeWitless Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=willbefree25 wrote:}{quote} > > But Lee certainly coulda been a contender, his staccato delivery and obvious talent put him up there with the big boys - how did he screw up again? Allegedly he got really wasted on the set of Viva Villa!, stood on a balcony rail and peed on a bunch of extras. Personally, I think it's got to be something more than that, but that's the story that's out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonDeWitless Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I dunno, I think both are solid enough- the 1954 version corrects some things I think it was right to correct (there's no need to start in London then switch to NY; there's no need for the 10 year time lapse, the revenge on the guy who burned the waxworks originally is much clearer in the 1954 version (and there seems to be a foggy angle in the original implicating he's a bootlegger? a drug dealer? what was up with that?), and it's a bit foggy as to who exactly is the "lead" in the 1933 version- (Fay Wray seems to have a particularly pointless role, although there are a lot of pointless roles in the 1933 version.) And I'm sorry, but I prefer Vincent Price. But the 1933 version is scarier, less constrained, far more stylish, and more brutal- the references to narcotics, the corpse sitting up in the morgue, the no warning reveal of the bad guy's hideous face in the first scene- as well as the very funny jokes about bootlegging and the strong turn by Glenda Farrell in a great role...as well as that strange romantic twist at the end. Plus, it helps that there is no obvious 3-D, Count Floyd-like gimmickry where things are constantly being tossed out to the audience in the 1933 version- that's the one thing that dates the 1954 version badly. I dunno, both are solid, both have weaknesses. ps- did they use the *exact same* opening shot of the rainy street corner from the 1933 version for the opening credits to the 1954 version? Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on Oct 4, 2012 9:49 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonDeWitless Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 copy and pasted from wikipedia:the edition [Turner Classic Movies|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Classic_Movies|Turner Classic Movies] uses is an utterly inaccurate and alarming rendering of the film in shades of blue and pink that bears no relationship to the original color scheme. (ouch) copy and pasted from the "errors" section of the film's listing on imdb:The wax statues are played by real people (see trivia). Marie Antoinette, Joan of Arc, and [Queen Victoria|http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0703075/] breathe, twitch, flinch, and blink at several points throughout the movie. One statue, knocked over in the London brawl, withdraws her legs from the fighters' path. The worker who unloads the Voltaire statue in New York is played by the same actor who poses as Judge Ramsey in the press photo, even though the Voltaire statue is supposed to be Judge Ramsey's corpse. pss- who the hell was Judge Ramsey? That was another fault in the 1933 version, it seemed like there were some story continuity issues due to scenes being cut (or something.) Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on Oct 4, 2012 10:04 AM Edited by: AddisonDeWitless on Oct 4, 2012 10:07 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I'd forgotten how funny Glenda Farrell was in this. I wasnt paying close attention during parts of it as I was doing other things and found myself laughing out loud at her remarks when I wasnt even focused that closely on what was going on........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The 1954 film repeats the "gag" about the corpse that sits up. I'm not sure about the opening scene being the same, they would have had to do whatever is necessary to make it 3D. so it was probably just a similar shot. I haven't looked at the 1954 version in some time as my last three viewings of it were all on a big screen in 3D, so I'm not tempted to look at it in 2D. I even have the DVD, but I bought it for the bonus of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM. Then again. I have too many DVDs that I've yet to look at, but that will be rectified as usual during the Oscarfest month on TCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonDeWitless Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=clore wrote:}{quote} I'm not sure about the opening scene being the same, they would have had to do whatever is necessary to make it 3D. so it was probably just a similar shot. A *very* similar shot. Really, check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Thanks, Addison, I forgot. I agree, I am sure Cooper and Grant probably did worse in their day, but were protected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonDeWitless Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Nobody stayed up for Mark of the Vampire? Look: you hurt Bela's Feelings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfUniversalHorror Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=Re: Mysteries of the Wax Museum}{quote} The title is MYSTERY of The Wax Museum, not "Mysteries". > {quote:title=dpompper wrote:}{quote}I watched most of "Mysteries of the Wax Museum" before I had to go to bed. Same thing...it's MYSTERY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfUniversalHorror Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=clore wrote:}{quote}The 1954 film repeats the "gag" about the corpse that sits up. > > I haven't looked at the 1954 version in some time as my last three viewings of it were all on a big screen in 3D, so I'm not tempted to look at it in 2D. It was actually *1953* , not 1954. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I've seen it several times. Not worth losing sleep over. (especially if you know how it weirdly ends...) Some of us have to get up and go to work in the morning........... Edited by: Hibi on Oct 4, 2012 3:23 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedya Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > I'd forgotten how funny Glenda Farrell was in this. "Go someplace warm -- and I don't mean California!" She has an even more shocking line in *Girl Missing*, when she and her fellow gold-digger read the "Dear Jane" letter Guy Kibbee wrote them: "It's addressed to us all right. 'To the G.D. Sisters.' I wonder if he means 'gold-diggers'... or that other well-known word." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfUniversalHorror Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=clore wrote:}{quote} > > If one buys the HOUSE OF WAX DVD, there's a bonus of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM included. Supposedly Laserdisc owners are more fortunate, the print issued in that format was taken from the Jack Warner copy and is not the same as the washed out facsimile that we are presented with these days. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I'm sure that some other board regular is better versed in the history of the preservation and transfers of this title. I can only go by my own recollections of various times that I've been exposed to it. > I'm fortunate then, because I have that laserdisc of DOCTOR X/MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM. The problem with the transfer since then is that WHV made the movie too blue-looking in the dark scenes....there's none of that overdone "bluishness" on the laserdisc. I think the laserdisc actually looks BETTER overall than the DVD master, not just on the color but also the sharpness of the transfer. I believe when the film was preserved, it was UCLA's film archives which did the preservation, mostly making a modern copy onto safety film stock. The thing is...the movie was also released in black & white for theaters which couldn't afford to show the Technicolor print. Because back then you simply couldn't make a blak & white print from the Technicolor version, the movie was filmed TWICE....filmed a second time in black & white. For years before the color print was preserved and then distributed, the black & white prints were the only ones available for theatrical showings and 16mm rentals. People have stated for years that the movie needs its own special edition DVD release containing BOTH prints of the movie...because it was filmed a second time there are actually little differences not only in the camera setups but also in the way dialogue is delivered by the actors. Both versions need to be released together on DVD or Blu-ray...and the Technicolor version needs a serious remastering to correct the color imbalance. Note: I happen to like MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM better than HOUSE OF WAX, although I enjoy both. I just like MYSTERY as the better of the two films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonDeWitless Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=SonOfUniversalHorror wrote:}{quote} "House of Wax" was actually made in *1953* , not 1954. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 LOL! Yeah, that was a good one. She had another put down of Fay Wray and her boyfriend, something like Well, I'm Glad We Settled That or something similar when he was saying he liked her dress. Is it new?......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfUniversalHorror Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=Fedya wrote:}{quote} > > I'd forgotten how funny Glenda Farrell was in this. > "Go someplace warm -- and I don't mean California!" LOL...that's my favorite line of hers (to Gavin Gordon), but she actually says: "Okay then, brother...you can go to some nice warm place and I don't mean California!" :^0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonDeWitless Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The Prohibition jokes were *the funniest*. LOVE when she told the cops after finding the liquor stash (and I'm paraphrasing) "I'm just taking my finder's fee, you can get yours later." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfUniversalHorror Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 > {quote:title=willbefree25 wrote:}{quote} > > Kudos to Max Factor, getting in at the ground floor. > Max's work on both of these films is nothing short of astonishing...amazing work....and he went on to become most famous for his women's beauty makeup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Yeah, that scene was great. Wish TCM would do a Glenda day/night........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfUniversalHorror Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 No, what is actually said as she's grabbing the bottles of booze: "Hey! Put that back!" "Not on your life! This is my percentage!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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