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

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MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)

Author	Comment
Tragg		#101	[-]
May 19 12 9:39 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I actually quite like Glenda Farrell in some of her other (non-horror) films of the 30's, but I think her routine in Mystery is just far too strident, and screen-hogging, and actively dilutes/dispells a lot of the eerie atmosphere. If Fay Wray and Lionel Atwill had been centre-stage, and Farrell had been a support character, with maybe 20% screentime I could have accepted her. But the focus she gets in Mystery of The Wax Museum is a bit like pushing Boris Karloff and Colin Clive into the background in Frankenstein, and giving the spotlight to a loudmouth, wisecracking, Clark Gable-style playboy who just happens to be investigating monsters in Europe.
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pulp novelties		#102	[-]
May 21 12 8:02 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tragg wrote: I've always found her 90mph smart-gal routine incredibly wearing, and wish that Fay Wray had been given more screentime instead. I may be in the minority, but of all the, ahem, comedic heroes of the early 1930's I've never minded Lee Tracy in Doctor X, as he may be dopey but he's not grating in any way (unlike Glenda 'motormouth' Farrell), and he does put up a decent fight against Dr X in the finale. I know it's sacrilege, but Farrell lets out a scream I find more creepy than Wray's.
oneders63		#103	[-]
May 23 12 1:49 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	pulp novelties wrote: I know it's sacrilege, but Farrell lets out a scream I find more creepy than Wray's. To my ears, Glenda Farrell's scream was more of a high-pitched shriek, when compared to Fay Wray's more full-bodied scream. It's more of a "girl next door" scream, since no one else has ever screamed like Fay (Farrell's scream reminds me of the quick scream heard from Donna Reed in "It's A Wonderful Life", when James Stewart accidentally steps on her robe as she runs away). But I will agree with you Farrell's scream is indeed quite effective. Interestingly, one of Farrell's screams in "Wax Museum" is actually a recording of Wray, as Farrell runs up the stairs after Atwill clobbers Wray's boyfriend. oneders63
pulp novelties		#104	[-]
May 23 12 1:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think that's just it. Wray has grand, almost "iconic" scream I guess you'd say. Maybe Farrell's scream creeps me out more because she's such a wiseacre through the film, that when she is scared she seems vulnerable and genuinely frightened. When Wray say "You fiend!" to a pitifully exposed Atwil after the mask-cracking scene, it always give me a little chuckle too. There's something very Victorian Era about it.
Scoundrel		#105	[-]
May 23 12 5:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This should be on Blu ray in a straight transfer from the original surviving two strip Technicolor print with no added "color adjustments "
Wich2		#106	[-]
May 23 12 5:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Except if there has been shifting of the color in those elements over three quarters of a century...
oneders63		#107	[-]
May 23 12 9:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Scoundrel wrote: This should be on Blu ray in a straight transfer from the original surviving two strip Technicolor print with no added "color adjustments " Agreed. The color hues should be predominantly ORANGE and GREEN, as it was on the laserdisc -- NOT the RED and BLUE that's on the current DVD. And none of the damaged frames (at the reel-change point, just before Lionel Atwill stands up in front of Fay Wray) should be eliminated, either. oneders63
pulp novelties		#108	[-]
May 23 12 10:27 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	oneders63 wrote: Scoundrel wrote: This should be on Blu ray in a straight transfer from the original surviving two strip Technicolor print with no added "color adjustments " Agreed. The color hues should be predominantly ORANGE and GREEN, as it was on the laserdisc -- NOT the RED and BLUE that's on the current DVD. And none of the damaged frames (at the reel-change point, just before Lionel Atwill stands up in front of Fay Wray) should be eliminated, either. oneders63 I agree too. I think someone in these parts said that better elements have surfaced since the DVD transfer. I'm pretty sure that true 2-strip is a bit more MAGENTA & "GREEN" than ORANGE and GREEN but yellowed with age, though I'm sure what dyes were selected varied. Last Edited By: pulp novelties May 23 12 10:33 PM. Edited 2 times.
Rakshasa		#109	[-]
Jun 9 12 10:11 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	2-color Tech registration, pure dye hues, R (red) and G (green), from an original print - Uploaded with ImageShack.us Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758 Last Edited By: Rakshasa Jun 9 12 11:27 AM. Edited 3 times.
Babetician		#110	[-]
Jul 7 12 1:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	oneders63 wrote: Agreed. The color hues should be predominantly ORANGE and GREEN, as it was on the laserdisc -- NOT the RED and BLUE that's on the current DVD. And none of the damaged frames (at the reel-change point, just before Lionel Atwill stands up in front of Fay Wray) should be eliminated, either. That's what I keep screamin'! Wait- there was a laserdisc? Doh! Whenever I take frame grabs off my DVD I have to color correct them.
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todmichel		#111	[-]
Jul 7 12 3:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The "color adjustement" on the DVD was the main reason why I didn't buy it, but preferred to purchase the earlier Laser Disc release. Babetician, it was a double-bill LD, the other movie being of course DOCTOR X (color version only).
Babetician		#112	[-]
Jul 7 12 3:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"color adjustement" on the DVD was the main reason why I didn't buy it, but preferred to purchase the earlier Laser Disc release. Babetician, it was a double-bill LD, the other movie being of course DOCTOR X (color version only). I'm such a nut on those films I wonder how I failed to snap that up? I could finally afford a Laser Disc player in late 1994 and then 3 years later they went obsolete along with VHS.
Margarita5.vets		#113	[-]
Jul 7 12 9:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	thumbs up
SM Jacobs		#114	[-]
Feb 4 13 10:04 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here's a behind the scenes shot of Michael Curtiz with Lionel Atwill:
JimPV		#115	[-]
Feb 7 13 9:41 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	todmichel wrote: Babetician, it was a double-bill LD, the other movie being of course DOCTOR X (color version only). Which would make a great blu-ray two-fer - ! Alas, with the studios non-interest in catalog titles on blu (with rare exceptions), probably not much chance.
MYST0		#116	[-]
Feb 11 13 3:00 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If we are doing a Blu Ray here, we should also have the B/W DOCTOR X and a side-by-side scene comparison featurette with Scott MacQueen doing a commentary.
Helrunar		#117	[-]
Feb 28 13 11:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wow, love that shot of Curtiz directing Atwill in this. I've never seen anything like that. Great scan! Many thanks to SM Jacobs for sharing it. H.
ryanbrennan		#118	[-]
Mar 1 13 2:29 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	How does the color in DOCTOR X hold up on DVD vs. the laser disc?
TServo4		#119	[-]
Mar 1 13 3:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A little on the pumped-up side, but correctly balanced in terms of color. J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
ryanbrennan		#120	[-]
Mar 1 13 4:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks, Jack.
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MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM ('33)