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House of Wax | Year: 1953 Classification: Horror Directed: - André De Toth Actors/Actresses: - Vincent Price - Frank Lovejoy a brilliant horror film Vincent Price gives a brilliant character study {even though he probably didn't mean to} of a man pushed into insanity when his life goes up in smoke, literally. as the film opens we see Jarrod {Price} at work, his greedy partner later arrives. after happily going over his plans for more sculptures, Price is in for a shock when his partner asks how much insurance the place is worth. the guy later sets the place on fire, and gets into a fight with Jarrod. The man escapes, leaving Jarrod to watch his "family" melt away and the museum going up in smoke. Jarrod, presumed dead, is actually alive. His assistant is a mute man named Igor {played by the action movie legend Charles Bronson in a very early role}. Jarrod is now wheelchair bound and he plots revenge on his assistant; but soon he begins to use dead bodies as wax sculptures. The "incredibly real" look to them amazes many except the woman played by Phyllis Kirk. The opening night of Jarrod's new museum is memorable for the paddleball man scene...hamming it up as the barker. Jarrod's face isn't real {he made one to look like his old face; his real one is hideous due to all the burns}. dressed all in black, he has a memorable street chase scene where he strolls around as if he were Quasi Moto from the Hunchback film. Vincent's radio peer, Frank Lovejoy, co-stars as the policeman on the case of several murders in town {the victim's likenesses all amazingly appear the next day as wax figures in Jarrod's museum}. Paul Cavanaugh, Paul Picerni, Angela Clarke, and Roy Roberts also make appearances. Carolyn Jones {Morticia Addams} has a memorable role in the beginning of the film. this is the role that forever linked Vincent with bad-guys, villains, and horror. OLD-FASHIONED CHILLS AND THRILLS.... Five stars don't do this DVD justice. It's more than I hoped for. "House of Wax" is a wonderful time capsule of what going to the movies were about in the 50's. Technicolor and 3-D. The print is gorgeous on this disc and the sound is great---allowing the "terror music" full impact. A remake of 1933's "Mystery of the Wax Museum" (also included on the flip side), it's a full-blooded chiller done right. Never a dull moment. When an unscrupulous partner burns his prized wax collection for the insurance money, Prof.Jarrod (Vincent Price) survives and seeks revenge to recreate his creations. Set in turn-of-the-century New York, the gaslit streets never looked so sinister as a horribly burned black-cloaked man wrecks murderous mayhem and stalks the heroine Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk) whom Jarrod wants for his wax recreation of Marie Antoinette. The men are one in the same, of course, as Jarrod has used his considerable skill to fashion a new face of wax and assembled an equally skilled crew of ex-cons to aid him in rebuilding his collection in a new show place called the "House of Wax". Charles Bronson is featured in an early role as a mute assistant to Jarrod and Carloyn Jones is memorable as Cathy, Sue's roommate, who falls victim to Jarrod and becomes his "Joan of Arc". Jones is delightful and shows the comic skill she would use later as Morticia Adams in TV's "The Addams Family". But of course, it's Price's show all the way. You can see why he was a natural for horror films...honing his florid style as Jarrod. The famous 3-D effects show through with the action aimed straight at the camera and that paddle ball man. But of some interest also is the "Intermission" that pops up on screen. This was never in any print of "House of Wax" I've ever seen. I loved it. But it's "Mystery of the Wax Museum" that I found a treat also. The print is remarkable---a few scratches here and there but overall a truly excellent print. I had never seen it before, it's been so rare. "House of Wax" follows it faithfully with only a few minor changes. Lionel Atwill and a lovely Fay Wray enact the mad wax artist and potential Marie Antoinette. It's in a clever early Technicolor process and features wonderful, cavernous sets and some racy dialogue like Glenda Farrell (as an aggressive reporter) asking a cop, "How's your sex life?" Just a hoot. Enjoy them both--"House of Wax" and "Mystery of the Wax Museum". A fabulous DVD package. Great flick! Has anyone ever portrayed the Nice Man Gone Crazy as well as Vincent Price? Of course not, and in House of Wax, Price is in top form as a loving sculptor who emerges from a fire with a different, errr, method for creating his wax sculptures. I don't know about you, but just the thought of being alone in a wax museum after dark gives me the creeps. Add a dose of homicidal mania, and there's your recipe for terror. Most people will find this movie creepy even today; those who love camp will enjoy the prolonged ping-pong paddle scene catered to the orginal 3-D audience. All in all, one of Vincent Price's best films, proving once again that nobody goes horribly insane quite like Vincent Price. Buy House Of Wax at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on House Of Wax Search with the Priority Search Engine on House Of Wax This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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