In the early 30s, Hungarian director Michael Curtiz was still considered a recently arrived foreigner working at Warner Bros. after impressing legendary producer Jack Warner with his work in Germany. In those early days of his career in the U.S. Curtiz began to make himself a name as a hard working director who always managed to work effectively under the studio system, and it was with the success of the horror films, "The Mad Genius" and "Doctor X", when he proved to be not only effective, but also able to make box-office hits. It was really the success of "Doctor X" what prompted Warner Brothers to make another horror movie in the same style, with the same same cast, and keeping Michael Curtiz as director. The result was the now classic Technicolor thriller, "Mystery of the Wax Museum".
Ivan Igor (Lionel Atwill) is an extremely talented sculptor of wax figures in London, however, his employer thinks that Igor's business i snot making enough money for both of them, and starts a fire at Igor's Wax Museum in order to collect the insurance money. Thirteen years later, Ivan Igor is tragically crippled and unable to use his hands, but with the help of his students he is finally ready to reopen his museum in New York City. In the meantime, the police is baffled by the case of several corpses stolen from the City's morgue, including the one of a famous socialité. The case attracts the attention of Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell), a young reporter looking for her big story, and immediately she starts to investigate. Her suspicion will lead her to important clues, and Igor's strange obsession with Florence's roommate Charlotte (Fay Wray) will take her to uncover the strange mystery of the Wax Museum.
The key word in "Mystery of the Wax Museum" is "Mystery", as unlike it's better known 1953 remake (which focuses on horror and suspense), this version of Charles Belden's play behaves more like a simple, yet really captivating, tale of mystery where our main character, Florence, must discover who and more importantly "how" is committing the crimes. Adapted by Don Mullaly and Carl Erickson, the movie has a very original plot that unfolds nicely despite the fast pace of the film. The fact that it was written before the days of the Hays code allows the film to include lots of sexual innuendo and situations that later would be considered immoral. The characters are overall very well developed, and the addition of comedy (courtesy of Farrell's wisecracking character) works nicely with the creepy mystery of the story.
On of the lasts movies to be shot in the primitive two-color Technicolor system, it has a marvelous bleached look that works perfectly with the modernist art-deco style of the sets designed for the film. Director Michael Curtiz allows himself to show the influence he received when working in Germany during the years of expressionism, and gives the film an ominous dark look as Florence gets deeper inside the Wax Museum (although not as striking as what Universal Studios did with its horror films). It's worth to point out that while Curtiz may be better known as an effective director for hire under the studio system, he really shows a definite style in this film, and begins to give form to the elements that would later become part of his masterpiece, "Casablanca".
The cast is overall excellent, although it is of course difficult not to make comparisons with the performances of the better known 50s version. Lionel Atwill offers one of his most underrated performances of his career as Ivan Igor, and while he lacks the charm that Vincent Price would give to the role, he is very believable as the tortured artist, victim of misfortune. Glenda Farrell's turn as Florence Dempsey has been harshly criticized due to the comic nature of her character's persona, but honestly she makes a terrific job as the main character, vastly overshadowing the more famous Fay Wray; who while looking stunningly beautiful here, lacks the presence that would make her an icon in "King Kong".
While "House of Wax" tends to get the upper hand when compared to the original version, "Mystery" is by no means a bad movie, simply a different one. As written above, this movie focuses completely on the mystery aspect of the story, and while it does have its fair share of horrific elements, they are minimal when compared with the Gothic horror of "House of Wax". True, it certainly looks dated by today's standards, but the movie has a notorious modernist (in the architecture, designs, etc...) touch that may have looked futurist for the 30s society. The special effects are definitely less impressive than in the remake, but considering the times when they were done are still an excellent work, and some look really impressive thanks to the lavish Technicolor process.
Personally, I find in "House" and "Mystery" a classic example of what a remake should be, as the two are excellent movies that explore the same story under different angles. Fans tend to dismiss "Mystery", but I think it's equally as good as the legendary Vincent Price film. "Mystery of the Wax Museum" is a very interesting movie for fans of "House of Wax", and a definitive must-see for those interested in horror movies of the 30s. 8/10
