House of Wax (1953)

Very well executed

Best movie ever!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I never did get to see this awesome classic horror film in 3-D, but I bet it was something to see. This is one horror film I highly recommend, with classic actors; and a great story line you can't fail.The movie begins with Professor Jerrod in his workshop, working on a wax sculpture, he has invited Sidney Wallace( Paul Cavanaugh) to see his work. The time period is in the early 1900's, when Wax museums were very big. When Wallace arrives he is surprised by his work and wonders why he doesn't have a Wax Of Horror's? Jerrod says it his not his type of work, and continues with his new piece. In about 1/2 hour Jerrod's partner Matthew ( Ray Roberts) arrives. He is a stock broker that wants to make a deal with Jerrod. He asks him if he wants to split 25, 000 dollars. He feels he is losing money in the Wax Museum, and want to collect the insurance on the place. Jerrod freaks by the idea of arson, but Matthew strikes a match, and sets fire to the place.Matthew several months later is seen at a festival with his new girlfriend, Cathy( Carloyn Jones). Matthews has received the insurance money and he and Cathy plan to get married. They plan everything from when to where they will go afterwords. He tells her he has to go back to the office but he will see her later. When he returns to his office to get the money he is unaware Jerrod has survived the fire and his there for revenge. Jerrod strangles him, and makes it look like a suicide. Cathy lives with a roommate Sue( Phyllis Kirk) who is down on her luck trying to find a job. Tonight while helping Cathy get ready, she has a interview as a hatcheck clerk. They both live in this boarding house that is run, by a Mrs. Flanagan( Riza Royce). She is tough and believe in giving no one breaks on late rent. Sue returns, but doesn't get the job. She tries to avoid her landlady, but no dice. She catches her and tells Sue get the rent now, Cathy is there and she wants the rent. Sue opens the door and finds Cathy murdered, and a strange looking man in the room. Sue freaks , and runs to Scott Andrew(Paul Picerni) and his mother's place Mrs. Andrews( Angela Clarke's) house. Paul is also a sculpture and she tells him what happened. The three of them go to the police, and talk with Det. Lt. Tom Brennan( Frank Lovejoy) and Sgt. Jim Shane( Dabbs Greer). The officers inform Cathy and the Andrews that several bodies have be stolen from the morgue.Since his accident Professor Jerrod has decided to open up a new wax museum, with a chamber of horrors. He has hired 2 pupils to help him, Leon(Nedrick Young) and ex-con; and a deaf mute, Igor( Charles Bronson). Jerrod is now bent on vengeance and murder. Since the accident he is unhinged and doesn't care about anything except revenge on anybody. Instead of working with wax he steals bodies from the morgue, and forms a wax base over them.One day Sue and Scott visit the wax museum. There Sue notices something odd about the Joan of Arc piece. The wax figure seems to look so muck like her roommate to a T. When Professor Jerrod notices her examining the figure he approaches her. He tells her that he saw pictures of Cathy after her murder, and that's where his vision of Joan of Arc came from. He tells him his work is is passion and every detail has to be perfect. Sue and Scott think nothing off it at first. Then Jerrod becomes obsessed with Sue. He wants to make a figure of Marie Antoinette from her. Sue then starts to become suspicious of him. That night Jerrod breaks into her room, but fails.The police go back to the museum , and realize some of the wax figures resembles some of the people that have been stolen. They then become very curious of the figures and one day find out Leon is an ex-con. They bring him in for questioning. Leon finally breaks, and tells them about how Jerrod does his figures. He explains everything and the police realize they have to act quickly before someone else becomes a victim.When Sue goes to met Scott at the museum, he isn't there. She looks at the Joan of Arc figue again and discovers the truth. Just when she is leaving Jerrod finds her along with with Igor. She is captured and put into a box, where she is about to become a wax figure, a Marie Antoinette figure to be exact. When Scott doesn't her from her he returns to the museum, there Igor is waiting for him. He realizes he has to fight off Igor to save Sue. Igor gets the upper hand and captures Scott and puts him in a guillotine. The police arrive in five minutes release Scott from the guillotine and stop Jerrod from his madness.This film is great, I recommend it to anyone especially horror fans. You will be glued to this gem from beginning to end.

Vincent Price makes wax figures of people.Generally speaking, I don't review horror films but this one is just so special and the horror-element is just one part of the movie...so here we go.Vincent Price has a touch of his campy "Egghead" character from the Adam West Batman (1966) series here! I guess that is a large part of the appeal of House Of Wax to me.But more importantly than that, the grand energy charged music in the opening part of the movie, during the fire scene. That is what I remember about House Of Wax. The music captures the disaster and tragedy of the moment so perfectly.

A horror classic.A wax sculptor's wax museum is burned down by his business partner, with him inside. He survives and sets about creating a new wax museum, only with much more macabre scenes. Plus, his wax figures may be more based on actual humans than people think...Intriguing, thrilling drama. Plot is engaging and quite solid, especially for a horror movie. Good set up with a good progression of tension, all with a decent air of mystery to the events. Stars Vincent Price in one of his earlier horror roles. This movie may well have been the one that set him up as the horror actor of the era. He certainly delivers a perfectly sinister yet restrained performance.Good support from Phyllis Kirk, Frank Lovejoy and Paul Picerni.

Attempting to start his career over, a wax sculptor returns several years away to use a group of low-lifes around him to be the models for his next display and forces an inspector and his girlfriend to stay on top of him to halt the madman's rampage.This is a prime slab of early classic horror that is extremely interesting and packs a couple more thrills than it should for its time. With this one single film, we are introduced to the wondrous Vincent Price as a horror icon, and this is one assured debut. Price is in top form here, and the fact that we can see his work for the first time in a horror film makes this one an extra special film. Even without that recognition, it's an entertaining 50's cheese-fest that features a lot of great moments. The beginning of the film is one of the film's best features, as a fire destroys a wax studio in a nice action set-piece that normally doesn't have these big scenes in movies and it's a wonderful, eye-opening first sequence. There is also a long and extended chase scene through the dank, fog-laden streets of London that really drives home some suspenseful moments. The murders are cool and violent for the time being while not overly stepping over any bounds of decency in place then. The other chase sequences are just as striking, with the last one being the top one in the film. That leads up to a spectacular conclusion that is so incredibly action-packed here with plenty of full- on struggling and brawling around in the wax lair that's fun on its own even before the utterly spectacular fire that spreads throughout here leaving the entire building in flames that makes the film all the more fun. The final revelation of Price's character is also one of the classic moments in the history of film, and it's just as shocking today as it was then. It gives some great chills, and the method used is pretty creative and unique. These here are all more than enough to hold this up over what is basically just one really lame and utterly bland flaw. Basically, most of the 3D sequences in here were pretty cheesy. That's not to say they didn't work in the film, just that they were pretty cheesy, easy-to-spot and not at all that convincingly done either. For the time, they might've worked but for the most part the gags haven't aged well. It's a toss-up as to which ones don't, but they're so noticeable and replayed throughout nearly every single 3D installment that they're not all that difficult to find faults with them. The only other small flaw is we saw the skin of Price's after burns much too early and often. It works wonderfully and has some fantastic abilities to shock, but too much is seen of it for it to be of much use in the scare department. It should've been hidden better to have an effect. Otherwise, for the film that introduced Vincent Price to the horror community it deserves some recognition.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.