MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33) in Golden Age Horror Forum

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MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)

Author	Comment
Unregistered(d)	Unknown	#21	[-]
Jun 14 05 5:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Seventeen posts in this thread were destroyed during the EZBoard restoration process after the system-wide hacker attack on 5/15/05.
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BijouBob8mm	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#22	[-]
Dec 23 05 10:23 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In a previous post, mention was made of having a DVD that contained both the B&W and Technicolor versions of DOCTOR X (since a double bill of DOCTOR X and MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM doesn't seem to be in the cards). If anyone remembers collecting 8mm films in the pre-VCR days of the 1970s (or earlier), Ken Films put out a reel of highlights from DOCTOR X that used the B&W version of the film, as opposed to the Technicolor version shot at the same time. (As one poster mentioned, these vary in composition, etc.)
HalLane	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#23	[-]
Dec 23 05 3:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I don't think anyone knew there were two different versions before Richard Harland Smith's Video Watchdog article brought it all to light. Wouldn't it be great to have them both on on DVD?
BijouBob8mm	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#24	[-]
Dec 23 05 4:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was thinking I had heard the information prior to then, but won't swear to that. (No slight intended to R. H. Smith's great article, either way.) And YES!!! It would be great to have both versions on a single DVD. (That would be proper compensation for not having the two Technicolor terrors of DOCTOR X and MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM as a DVD double bill.) Heck, it's almost Christmas; let's be generous and even throw in Humphrey Bogart's RETURN OF DR. X as a bonus feature. (I know, I know...the two films aren't connected, but how often did Bogie play a boogey man?)
thehorrorboy	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#25	[-]
Dec 23 05 5:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bogart seems to have more lines, almost, in the RETURN OF DR. X trailer (available on the MALTESE FALCON DVD, in a special program about Bogart trailers in general) than he did in the film, which seems to have undergone a lot of prerelease editing.
BijouBob8mm	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#26	[-]
Dec 23 05 5:33 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	To date, that trailer on THE MALTESE FALCON is the only footage I've actually seen from the film.
GaryP11111	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#27	[-]
Dec 23 05 11:10 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* In a previous post, mention was made of having a DVD that contained both the B&W and Technicolor versions of DOCTOR X (since a double bill of DOCTOR X and MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM doesn't seem to be in the cards). The B&W version of DOCTOR X can be found here: www.oldtimedvd.com/ For DOCTOR X, go to the Index page and then to Specials. There's a ton of vintage TV shows, unaired pilots and hard-to-find movies available from the site. GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
BixB	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#28	[-]
Dec 24 05 1:54 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I was thinking I had heard the information prior to then, but won't swear to that. (No slight intended to R. H. Smith's great article, either way.) In truth there was. American Cinematographer magazine had a very detailed article circa 1986-87 about the production history of DOCTOR X. However, Richard's VW article was the first indepth comparison of the BW & Technicolor versions that I know of. Joe Busam Producer Monster Kid Home Movies
Imhoteps Ashes	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#29	[-]
Dec 27 05 5:49 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* One thing about MYSTERY (and for that matter, HOUSE) that has always bothered me was that both villians' burned faces were shown in the film long before the final unmasking. I think that the shock value of that scene doesn't deviate from the Atwill's makeup (as gruesomely gratifying as it is), but rather our awesome surprise at realising that Igor is the terrifying monster who's been raiding morgues and scavenging corpses... It's such a violent and perverse image, too - hitting somebody in the face until the skin cracks off to reveal a new one. Apparently the scene provoked shrieks of a magnitude that hadn't been heard since THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA's own unmasking. The "unmasking" scene is surely one of the great strengths of the horror film. Consider (in addition to PHANTOM and MYSTERY): the Monster in FRANKENSTEIN (and the BRIDE and the SON), Edmond Bateman in THE RAVEN, the glowing Janus Rukh in THE INVISIBLE RAY, Jack Griffin in THE INVISIBLE MAN, the Creeper in THE PEARL OF DEATH, KING KONG storming through the jungle... Dozens more abound. I suppose it can also be a huge letdown, too, when the monsters are poorly executed. MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM might well have the greatest variation on the theme in classic horror cinema. It at least wears the crown for the 1930's. "I'll show you what horror means!" - Fredric March, DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (1932)
HalLane	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#30	[-]
Dec 27 05 9:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the variant Doctor X tip, Gary. And I love the man in the holiday/beaver hat!
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GaryP11111	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#31	[-]
Dec 29 05 12:21 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You're welcome and thanks! GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
Chesterbelloc	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#32	[-]
Dec 29 05 12:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	MYSTERY is a great flick to watch this week, considering the New Years in Times Square stuff.
BijouBob8mm	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#33	[-]
Dec 31 05 10:40 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* In truth there was. American Cinematographer magazine had a very detailed article circa 1986-87 about the production history of DOCTOR X. To quote Charlie Brown, "That's it!" I think it was animator/author Tom Triman that tipped me off that the old Ken Films reel of 8mm highlights was taken from the B&W print. *Quote:* MYSTERY is a great flick to watch this week, considering the New Years in Times Square stuff. Excellent suggestion! After all, today's THE day!
WaverBoy	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#34	[-]
Jan 2 06 10:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* The washed-out quality is a result of the film being imperfectly "restored." The original nitrate print does NOT have that look. Ok, so not even the version released on the double-feature LD with DOCTOR X has the correct color? I do remember hearing that the colors were tweaked for the DVD release, i.e. there are hues there now that simply didn't exist in two-color Technicolor, but I thought that the LD version, which I own, was a good representation of the original nitrate print. If not, what went wrong with the UCLA restoration? And was DOCTOR X improperly restored as well? The print of DR. X on the LD doesn't look as vibrantly colorful as its co-feature.
Unregistered(d)	Re: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)	#35	[-]
Jan 5 06 1:22 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I remember the first time I saw MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM was at a World Science Fiction Convention. The print I saw had saturated colours..it was beautiful to watch! What went wrong later with the wasted out prints I don't know. I loved the film as soon as I saw it and it certainly wasn't any let down for me. Lionel Atwill makes a wonderful transformation from the sensitive artist to crazed maniac! As far as the DVD goes...my fave is MYSTERY,it's far superior to HOUSE OF WAX. I loved Glenda Farrell's patter in the film and the talk about sex and drug usage is refreshing as compared to the sterile House Of Wax. It made the whole story stronger and much more horrific. I also found the 3D stuff in House to be irritating and useless unless you have someway of "seeing" in 3 D. I liked the idea of the audience knowing about the maniac early in the film and felt if they had kept the monster masked until the end that it would have just been another PHANTOM OF THE OPERA imitator. I also got a Black & White print off of television and it's just as creepy...maybe even more so because you then relate it to all the Universal stuff from the same era. I'm glad though we have such an early horror masterpiece in colour!
Scoundrel	Mystery of the Wax Museum	#36	[-]
Jun 26 07 4:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I see that MOTWM is listed as a bonus DVD at Amazon: www.amazon.com/Mystery-Wa...293&sr=8-1 Has anyone purchased or seen this disc and is it a different master than the one included on the Vincent Price HOUSE OF WAX DVD..?
BijouBob8mm	Re: Mystery of the Wax Museum	#37	[-]
Jun 27 07 8:01 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That disk (and cover) were done as a Walmart exclusive, as I recall, for the Paris Hilton HOUSE OF WAX home video release. It was shrink-wrapped to the Hilton DVD when it first came out. (Walmart does a lot of these "exclusives" for the DVD debut of high profile titles.) Pretty sure it's the same transfer used on the Vincent Price HOUSE OF WAX disk.
Monsterpal	Re: Mystery of the Wax Museum	#38	[-]
Jun 28 07 8:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* That disk (and cover) were done as a Walmart exclusive, as I recall, for the Paris Hilton HOUSE OF WAX That seems appropriate.
Rick	Re: Mystery of the Wax Museum	#39	[-]
Apr 12 08 1:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	As they did with DOCTOR X a few days back, Greenbriar Picture Shows has produced a great feature on MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM. There's nice background info, particularly on the film's once upon a time "lost" status. And the posters, ads, and photos produced are even better than usual from this great site. Most of the ads, and at least one photo, are entirely new to me. Great stuff. Makes me want to watch the movie again, right about...now. http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/
Scoundrel	Re: Mystery of the Wax Museum	#40	[-]
Apr 12 08 5:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This one has always been a "Desert Island" choice for me. The laserdisc is an excellent print. It's unfortunate that some misguided idiot has thought to "help out" MOTWM by compressing the audio and falsifying the color palette on the DVD version. Even the British import that was paired with ISLAND OF LOST SOULS was wrong. The print seemed to be way too "pink"... How I long for a " Two Strip Technicolor" collection along the lines of the Forbidden Hollywood series that would showcase MOTWM in the accurate transfer that it deserves. Thank You to Greenbriar for another excellent post Last Edited By: Scoundrel Apr 12 08 5:03 PM. Edited 1 times.
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MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)