Mystery of the Wax Museum?
 

I recently discovered that on the dvd version of the 1953 film "house of wax" which I saw quite some time ago originally, was contained the "mystery of the wax museum" film that was made in the 30's.
Interesting thing to discover, as far as I knew, the 50's version was it. Of course finding out you have one more movie than you thought you did, always cool.

So, has anyone seen this ancient film?
How is it?
Is it the same storyline at all or just elements?
what's your preference of the two.

Its the second horror film to be in color and it is a great film. In comparison to the Price remake it is'nt as good but the stories are the same with a few minor changes. For the time it was released though it is a masterpiece.

I have seen it.
Its Good.
It does have the same storyline as the remake.
I think they are about on a par with each other though if I was forced to make a decision Id have to give it to Mystery of the Wax Museum.

I liked this early colour film, actually shot in 2 strip Technicolor.

Starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray, it has a similar plot to House of Wax. It is definitely worth a viewing.

Personally, I preferred House of Wax, but they are both great films.

I agree completely. The thing that puts House of Wax on top for me is Vincent Price, of course.

Wasn't it almost like a hand painted film?





(gasp!!!!) a remake?!!!! :eek::eek:

Unfortunately for this movie, when it was found after being supposedly lost for so many years, it wasn't as good as everyone thought (or seemed to recall). So the remaining copy wasn't as lovingly preserved as one would have liked.

The cheap preservation work resulted in a washed out print that didn't have the vibrancy that the original evidently had. So the copy we have today doesn't look anywhere near as impressive as it would have looked on original cinema release.

Being Warner Bros. second "two strip" Technicolor horror film (after Doctor X), one would assume that the use of colour would have been foremost in the producer's mind (as it was a novelty). So to significantly diminish such an important facet of this film's production must diminish its appeal somewhat.

There seems to be a lot of debate as to when true color came to movies. Some trace it back as far as 1908. Seems nobody really does know what the first might be. Apparently, it really didn't catch on with audiences after Mystery, either, and didn't get popular til Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind.

Some early silent films were in fact hand painted frame by frame. Sometimes only part of the frame was painted, or only a portion of the movie.

Sometimes, scenes were tinted. For example, if there was a fire, the whole scene would be tinted red.

Didn't the Phantom of the Opera (1925) have a short colour sequence for the masquerade ball?

But this was all really novelty until a practical way of producing realistic colour was developed.

Yes, the color scene in 1925's Phantom of the Opera was also in 2-strip Technicolor.