The Mystery of the Wax Museum Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Mystery of the Wax Museum Blu-ray Movie Review

Hidden Figures.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 8, 2020

An early career highlight for director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood), the pre-Code horror standout Mystery of the Wax Museum has been remade several times, most notably as Vincent Price's House of Wax. This original film, likewise based on Charles Belden's 1933 short story "The Wax Works", tells the tragic, macabre tale of talented sculptor Ivan Igor (Lionel Atwill) and his failing wax museum in London circa 1921. Although his work is warmly received by an outside investor bound for Egypt, Igor's business partner Joe Worth (Edwin Maxwell) suggests burning down their small museum for the insurance money...which he does only moments later, leaving Igor for dead among his melting masterpieces including Voltaire, Joan of Arc, and Marie Antoinette. Partnership over.

Fast forward to New Year's Eve 1933 in Times Square, and we learn that a new wax museum is opening...with the now wheelchair-bound Igor as its curator. Injuries from the fire have rendered Igor unable to sculpt, so his employees -- including the talented Professor Darcy (Arthur Carewe) -- pick up the artistic slack under Igor's meticulous direction. But it's his wax subjects that seem to be the real mystery...especially once we learn that several bodies, including that of young model Joan Gale (Monica Bannister), have gone missing from the local morgue. This interesting little tidbit is first noticed by reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell), whose roommate Charlotte (Fay Wray) has a fiancee that works at Igor's museum. The trouble deepens once Igor himself comes to the realization that Charlotte bears a striking resemblance to his favorite "lost" work, the beautiful Marie Antoinette, that he'd dearly love to...replace.

Like Igor's fine sculptures, Mystery of the Wax Museum was long considered a lost work...or at least incredibly hard to see for a time. It was originally filmed in Technicolor's two-color process, whose cameras created enough heat to melt wax; this is why human stand-ins were used for occasional close-ups, which can be more than a little confusing for first-time viewers who notice a few subtle movements. As was unfortunately common at the time, Mystery of the Wax Museum's Technicolor negative was thrown away in 1948, but a color print (occasionally screened privately, and likely the source for sporadic TV airings) was found decades later in the personal collection of Jack L. Warner sometime around his 1978 death. This discovery was publicly celebrated with a special midnight screening event at Grauman's Chinese Theatre that even included an appearance by Fay Wray, who shared a few memories from the set.

Whether you're entirely new to this feature or have at least seen one of its remakes, the original holds up well for its strong production values and interesting visual techniques. The dialogue, which is loaded with period-specific slang and euphemisms, dates it severely but that's part of the charm. Its most dominant strength is the pitch black undercurrent that so strongly defines pre-Code horror and makes this 87-year-old classic well worth seeking out.

The last appearance of Mystery of the Wax Museum's original color version on disc was as a supplement to Vincent Price's House of Wax (albeit in standard definition), but Warner Archive has once again stepped up with a sparkling new Blu-ray edition. Not only is this 1933 original finally given the spotlight, it's been treated to a brand-new restoration that wrings out plenty of detail from its fragile source material. If that weren't enough, WAC has also included a few exclusive bonus features -- a rarity for the studio, and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving title.

The Mystery of the Wax Museum Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This brand-new 1080p master of Mystery of the Wax Museum was recently spearheaded by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Warner Bros. Entertainment, with additional funding by the George Lucas Family Foundation. According to Scott MacQueen (head of restoration for this project, who provides an audio commentary and restoration featurette included on this Blu-ray), the primary source for its new master was an original 1933 nitrate print owned by Jack L. Warner with additional pickups from a French workprint discovered in more recent years. These two sources were scanned at Warner Bros.' Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) facility with additional cleanup by Roundabout Entertainment to carefully correct age-related wear and tear including scratches, emulsion digs and damage, inconsistent color timing, dye flecks, stray cue marks, missing frames, and more.

The result is a consistently pleasing image that pays tribute to Ray Rennahan's stunning Technicolor cinematography. This transfer's palette appears accurate to the two-color process and favors greens, reds and beiges with excellent shadow detail and contrast levels that work together to breathe new life into the film's most visually ambitious scenes. Natural grain is also present with absolutely no signs of excessive noise reduction, even though Mystery of the Wax Museum's fragile source material showcases occasional signs of softness during a few scenes and individual shots. Overall, a true five-star effort that will satisfy die-hard fans of the film -- I doubt it has ever looked this good.

The Mystery of the Wax Museum Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much less information is available about the film's audio roots or restoration details, but everything about this DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track suggests equally careful attention to detail. Dialogue sounds crisp and clear, while the original score (composed by Cliff Hess and Bernhard Kaun, and performed by Warner Bros.' Vitaphone Orchestra) is balanced well and provides a moody backdrop when needed. No obvious damage -- at least within the boundaries of its source material -- distracts from the overall experience, nor are there any signs of sync issues or other such defects.

Optional English SDH subtitles are included during the main feature only; these are formatted perfectly (not ALL CAPS) and likewise contain no glaring sync issues -- just one little typo, but I can live with that.

The Mystery of the Wax Museum Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc released arrives in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art and no inserts. The bonus features are exclusive to this release and, for the most part, focus on the film's history and brand-new restoration.

• Audio Commentary #1 - This first commentary features film historian Alan K. Rode, who contributes a very busy but well-organized track. It's a mixture of scene-specific comments and many detours into more historical territory, including the overall careers of Curtiz and several key cast and crew members. Other topics include the expressive camerawork and set design, humans standing in for wax figures, Curtiz's strong work ethic, Warner Bros.' long relationship with Technicolor, drug depiction and the Hays Code's early years, and more.

• Audio Commentary #2 - The second track with Scott MacQueen, head of preservation for UCLA's Film & Television Archive, unsurprisingly takes a more visual approach. Besides for a detailed overview of the Blu-ray restoration (which was summarized in the "Video" section above, and partially repeated in the restoration featurette below), MacQueen also speaks about the film's score, costume designs and color schemes, Curtiz's 1932 film Dr. X, early drafts, the film's lasting influence, and lots more. Actresses Glenda Farrell and Fay Wray also contribute to this commentary on occasion, thanks to a few vintage audio interview clips.

• Remembering Fay Wray (18:49) - This all-new featurette, produced by Constantine Nasr's Rivendell Films, is a loving tribute to the celebrated actress by her daughter Victoria Riskin. Lots of great stories are shared here including Fay's marriage to top Hollywood screenwriter Robert Riskin (It Happened One Night, You Can't Take It With You), the Great Depression, her mother's work ethic, Michael Curtiz, the Hollywood studio system and leaving Paramount in 1933, Mystery of the Wax Museum, later pictures, and much more. Plenty of candid and publicity photos are also seen along the way, including a few of Fay and Robert (screenshot #25).

• Before and After Restoration Comparison (7:11) - A series of clips from the film, both before and after its extensive cleanup and color correction, with comments about the restoration by Scott MacQueen.

The Mystery of the Wax Museum Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michael Curtiz's Mystery of the Wax Museum has been long overdue for a facelift on Blu-ray, and Warner Archive Collection was the most obvious candidate for such a task. Featuring a meticulous new 1080p transfer, largely sourced from an original 1933 nitrate print with extensive cleanup and color correction, the film absolutely sparkles with detail that strongly supports its terrific Technicolor cinematography. This disc also includes a very nice collection of exclusive retrospective bonus features -- a rarity for Warner Archive Collection which I hope becomes much more common in the future. It's a well-rounded release for this deserving pre-Code horror production, and one that's already on the short list for this year's top catalog releases. Very highly recommended, especially for die-hard fans of the film.