Hot Dripping Facts from the House of Wax

HOUSE OF WAX (1953) was an important film in the career of Vincent Price, arguably THE single most important one of his entire career.  Released in the new technique of 3D, House of Wax would go on to become a box office sensation and help make Price's name synonymous with horror.

Here are fifteen fun facts you may not know about HOUSE OF WAX:

1. HOUSE OF WAX (1953) was filmed under the working title THE WAX WORKS, and is a remake of the 1933 film MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, which, incidentally, was directed by Michael Curtiz, with whom Vincent Price had previously worked on the film THE PRIVATE LIVE OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX in 1939.

2. Both MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM and HOUSE OF WAX were made by Warner Brothers Pictures, and both films were based on a three-act play called THE WAX WORKS, written by Charles Belden. 

3. Even though it is a 3D movie, HOUSE OF WAX was directed by Andre De Toth, who was blind in one eye, and therefore unable to reap the benefits of the 3D process.  

4. HOUSE OF WAX was not the first 3D movie. That honor went to the film BWANA DEVIL a year prior, from writer/producer/director Arch Obler (best remembered for the Lights Out old-time radio series). But it was the first 3D movie from a major studio, and the first 3D HORROR movie.

5. Though most famous for its 3D, HOUSE OF WAX was also the first widely distributed film using the new process of Sterophonic Sound.

6. House of Wax had two premieres, one for each coast. The East Coast premiere was held in New York April 10, 1953, and the West coast premiere was held in Los Angeles CA on April 16, 1953, and kicked off with a midnight spookshow. 

7. Bela Lugosi appeared at the LA premiere in a cape and tuxedo, with a gorilla on a leash. It was the only time Bela and Vincent would meet. 

8. HOUSE OF WAX was re-released in 3D in 1971, and again in 1982.

 9. Vincent Price almost turned down the role of Professor Jarrod, as he was offered the lead role in the Broadway play MY THREE ANGELS at the same time. He said it was a decision that “changed his life.”

10. This was Vincent’s first true horror film. He would go on to make many more over the years (6 more in the 50s alone), including THE MAD MAGICIAN the following year, which was a loose reinterpretation of HOUSE OF WAX. In fact, it even shared a number of crew members, including the same writer (Crane Wilbur), producer (Bryan Foy), and cinematographer (Bert Glennon).

11. Dr. Jarrod’s mute assistant Igor is played by a young Charles Bronson, credited as Charles Buchinsky. Price and Bronson would meet again in the 1961 film; MASTER OF THE WORLD, but this time Bronson would play the lead (Price is the villain).

12. During the fight between Bronson and actor Paul Picerni, Bronson got a little over-enthusiastic, and lifted and slammed Paul onto his back, injuring his tailbone. Picerni had to go to the hospital for x-rays.

13. Actor Nedrick Young plays Jarrod’s alcoholic assistant Leon Averill. He appears uncredited in this film because he was blacklisted at the time during the McCarthy red scare. His character is a heroin addict in MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, but was changed to an alcoholic due to Production code restrictions for HOUSE OF WAX. 

 

Interestingly, Price had played a drug addict just eight years earlier in DRAGONWYK, and would play a character experimenting with LSD just six years later in THE TINGLER.

14. The guillotine used in the film in Jarrod’s wax museum was a real working guillotine, procured from a French museum, with an actual sharp blade. Director Andre De Toth initially wanted to do the shot, where actor Paul Picerni is knocked unconscious and placed in the guillotine (then pulled out at the last moment), in one take while the blade was falling toward him. He refused and after a heated argument was kicked off the set. The following day studio head Jack Warner ordered De Toth to bring Picerni back and continue filming, and extra precautions were put in place.

 

15.  The movie poster for House of wax can be seen in the music video THRILLER by Michael Jackson, along with the posters for the Price films THE MAD MAGICIAN and THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (as well as director John Landis’ SCHLOCK). Price, of course, recites his famous “rap” during the middle of the song.

DRACULA Photoplay book

Ran across this really cool edition of Dracula and thought I'd share it here - this is a photoplay edition, illustrated throughout with scenes from the film. Very cool! Love the cover illustration!

Scary Monsters #84

Here's the cover for the upcoming Scary Monsters Magazine #84, a HUGE 160 page mag hitting news stands soon! Features two White Zombie articles by yours ghouly...!

Murder Legendre

Here's a promotional shot of Lugosi as Murder Legendre from White Zombie, featuring makeup by Jack Pierce. Lugosi refused to let Pierce work on his makeup in Dracula, and clashed with him on the makeup for the Frankenstein Monster in the infamous test shoot for FRANKENSTEIN - but fate kept throwing the two together. In 1932 they worked together first on MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, then WHITE ZOMBIE, and would go on to work together on a total of 11 pictures!

Click photo to ENLARGE

List of films they worked together on:

Dracula 1931
Murders in the Rue Morgue 1932
White Zombie 1931
The Black Cat 1934
The Raven 1935
The Invisible Ray 1936
Son of Frankenstein 1939
Black Friday 1940
The Wolf Man 1941
The Ghost of Frankenstein 1942
Frankenstein 1943

Kerry Gammill Classic Horror Actors Illustrations

Below are illustrations of three of Universal's great monster actors, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. These were done by Kerry Gammill, one of the nicest guys in the business and a major Monster-kid. Kerry gave me these years ago, at either the Wonderfest or Monster Bash convention. I ran across them recently while going through some of my stuff and thought I'd share them here. Kerry really captured the likeness of each in a clean pen and ink style.

Kerry has had a long career in the comic book field, as well as done a ton of other great stuff. You can check out his work on his website at: http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterart/

 He's also put out a couple of terrific books, one on comic book illustrating and the other on the art of Basil Gogos, a must-have for any monster fan. Pick them up directly from his website here:

http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterart/book.htm

Bela Lugosi 80 years ago

1932 was an interesting and busy year for Bela Lugosi. He had, of course, starred in the amazingly successful DRACULA the year before, then Universal passed on him in the role of the Monster in FRANKENSTEIN. He would go on to make five films in 1932, three of which are still highly regarded to this day.



MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE

Lugosi and director Robert Florey were reassigned to MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, a sort of consolation prize for missing out of FRANKENSTEIN. Filmed in late 1931 (the final scenes shot in December) the movie was released on February 21, 1932, a year and one week later than DRACULA.

WHITE ZOMBIE

In March of '32 Lugosi filmed WHITE ZOMBIE. What is interesting about this film is it's an independent production but was filmed on Universal lots. Director/Producers Victor and Edward Halperin leased space at Universal, and this movie reuses sets from several Universal pictures including DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN. It seems Bela's fate was hopelessly entwined with those two films, as he once again stalked the scenery of those two classic productions, one he knew well and the other he had just missed out on. The film wasn't well received with critics at the time, but is now recognized as one of Bela's great early performances.

CHANDU THE MAGICIAN

Lugosi continued to stay busy in '32, as cameras began rolling in July of that year on a big screen adaptation of a radio show called CHANDU THE MAGICIAN. Lugosi plays the villain Roxor, and this film was released in October of 1932.

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS

In October of 1932 Lugosi was on the set of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, shot partly on location on Catalina Island just off the coast of California. Shooting ran through November and the film was released in January of '33 (although IMDB and other sources list it as premiering in December '32). It is, of course, based on the H.G. Wells novel THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. Lugosi plays a manimal, one of the half man-half creatures roaming this island of misfits created by Dr. Moreau (Charles Laughton). This one was just finally released on DVD last year, and I truly believe this is in part because it was voted several times as "classic most in need of a release" in the Rondo Awards.

THE DEATH KISS

November was a busy month for Lugosi that year as he began shooting the independent film THE DEATH KISS later that month. Based on a novel of the same name it is a murder mystery about an actor killed while filming the final scene of a movie also called 'The Death Kiss.' This movie is interesting in that it reunites three of the stars from DRACULA - Lugosi, David Manners, and good old dependable Edward Van Sloan. Dracula and Lugosi were forever joined... this movie was released early the following year.

The Frankenstein That Might Have Been...

The 1931 film FRANKENSTEIN, released 80 years ago this month by Universal Studios, is rightfully regarded as one of the classics of horror cinema. Directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff and Colin Clive, it is a tale of mad science run amok and the consequences of man’s attempt to play God. The story has stood the test of time and remains the greatest adaptation of the Shelley novel (despite it’s wide variance from the plot of the novel).

This film was very nearly a different movie, however, if Universal had followed through with its original plans for this adaptation. Director Robert Florey originally brought the Frankenstein story to Universal, and in fact wrote a screenplay for the film along with Garrett Fort. This was after the wild success of DRACULA months earlier, with Universal attempting to cash in on the horror bug while it was still biting. According to Gordon B. Shriver, in his book BORIS KARLOFF, THE MAN REMEMBERED, he interviewed Robert Florey in 1973 and asked him about his original film treatment. Here is what he said:

             “While writing the adaptation of Shelley’s story, my idea was to give the role of Dr. Frankenstein to Lugosi.”

Interesting. It was natural for Florey to have Lugosi in mind, as he was the biggest horror star of the day. Universal ordered Florey to shoot a test reel of Frankenstein. Perhaps curious or nervous about how it would look, they had Florey shoot the test footage on the castle set of Dracula, which was still standing. However, Universal didn’t buy Florey’s plan for Bela as Dr. Frankenstein and wanted him in the role of the Monster, undoubtedly thinking about the success of Lon Chaney Sr. years earlier and hoping to duplicate it with Lugosi.

Here’s Florey again:

            “I directed several sequences –about two reels—of the first Frankenstein script with Bela as the Monster. I told Dick Shayer (head of production at Universal) that any tall bit player could play the Monster, but apparently my suggestion was rejected.”

This is backed up by horror scholars Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas, and John Brunas in their book UNIVERSAL HORRORS, THE STUDIO’S CLASSIC FILMS: Florey’s test reel of Frankenstein…photographed by Paul Ivano on the Dracula castle set (which lasted only 20 minutes after editing) starred Bela Lugosi in Jack Pierce’s early makeup design.         

This footage is long lost, sadly. No one knows what Lugosi looked like in those test reels or how it played out, and this bit of film is as highly sought after as LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. There have been reports Lugosi wore an early version of the Pierce design, as well as Lugosi appearing in makeup and wig (a-la the Edison Frankenstein version) But whatever the case, after Florey turned in the test reels the project was handed over to James Whale. Was it so laughingly bad that Universal felt the need to hand the reins to someone else? Or was it so successful that Whale, a rising force at Universal, inserted himself into the project and took it over?

It is interesting and fun to speculate on what might have been. Had Florey gotten his way, the film might have looked something like this:           

FRANKENSTEIN

Directed by Robert Florey
Seen here with Karloff on the set on the greatest THRILLER episode ever,
THE INCREDIBLE DR. MARKESON, directed by Florey.

 
Cinematography by Karl Freund
(who worked with Florey on his subsequent picture, Murders in the Rue Morgue)

Starring

 
Bela Lugosi

as Dr. Henry Frankenstein

The Monster ?

Insert tall actor – perhaps even Boris. 

According to Shriver Robert Florey had actually met Boris Karloff in the past, while working on a film called OMAR THE TENT MAKER. Shriver asked Florey if perhaps he suggested Karloff play the part of the Monster, but he said no, that wasn’t the case. But the fact he knew Karloff certainly makes the idea of Boris playing the Monster in this scenario still possible. Perhaps it would have been destiny...


 

Sidney Fox as Elizabeth

Florey's leading lady (and Bela's costar) in Murders in the Rue Morgue was the diminutive 4'11" Fox.The nearly 7 ft Monster would have looked HUGE next to her, and rumors abounded later that she was having an affair with studio head Carl Laemmle Jr., which certainly wouldn't have hurt her chances of getting the role...



 

Edward Van Sloan as Dr. Waldman

One of two men to appear in both Frankenstein and Dracula, there is no reason to think he wouldn't have played the role had Florey directed.

 Dwight Frye as Fritz
The other of two men appearing in Frankenstein and Dracula,
he would fit the role perfectly.

Bela and Boris

Thought I'd post this great publicity shot of Bela and Boris, two great actors who's paths kept crossing through the years.

They appeared in 7 movies together:

The Black Cat 1934
The Raven 1935
The Invisible Ray 1936
Son of Frankenstein 1939
Black Friday 1940
You'll Find Out 1940
The Body Snatcher 1945

IMDB also lists them both as having appeared together in uncredited roles as Indians in 1920 in The Last of The Mohicans. I really am not too sure about that one, however. It also lists them both in cameo appearances in a 1940 musical called Gift of Gab, too. Again, one I'm not familiar with.

(from You'll Find Out, shown w Peter Lorre)

Lugosi's Original 1931 Dracula Cape for Sell!

Got a spare $2 million dollars? If so, you could own the original Dracula cape owned and worn by Bela Lugosi in the Universal classic!

 I first heard about this auction at the fine blog Vampire Over London (which if you're not reading you really should check out) and knew I had to share with you guys here. The auction is being held through Profiles in History. I was always under the impression Bela had been buried in his Dracula cape, and that is true - HOWEVER, it wasn't the cape worn in the movie. Rather he was buried in a lighter weight cape he used for personal appearances. Bela gave the official cape to his ex-wife Lillian, to pass along to his son Bela Jr. She did just that when she passed away in 1981. Bela Jr. kept it since then but is now putting it up for auction, along with a number of other items.

This is an amazing item I thought was buried forever, literally - and I personally think it'll go for more than 2 million. The auction takes place December 15 - 16, 2011, and you can place bids online. Can't wait to see what the final selling price is.

But if you can't afford 2 million, never fear - in the very same auction is the much more affordable Al "Grandpa" Lewis' Munsters cape!!

Frankenstein/Dracula Mexican Lobby card

This is a Mexican Lobby card advertising the rerelease of Frankenstein and Dracula from sometime in the 1960s. Appropriate to the posts from the past couple of days here is the fact Dwight Frye appears in the Frankenstein card (as Fritz) from the memorable censored scene "Now I know what it feels like to be God," and Edward Van Sloan appears in both the Dracula card as Van Helsing (as the casket is cracked open revealing the count inside) and the Frankenstein card as Dr. Waldman (trying to calm an overexcited Dr. Frankenstein).

Good stuff - click to enlarge image.

Dracula Movie Herald 1931

This is a Movie herald for the premiere of Dracula, Feb. 12, 1931. I love the line on the back page - COMING TO THE ROXY THURSDAY, LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY, FEBRUARY 12

The artwork on this poster is really terrific but it's interesting to note Dracula really doesn't look like Lugosi here. However the artist nailed all the other actors, especially Helen Chandler, so he was certainly capable of capturing people's likenesses. Could this art have been designed before they settled on a lead for the film? Another interesting thing about this poster is the blacked out section on the back above the date. I took it into Photoshop and was able to lift out the original text. It reads: Next Friday, February 13th.

Looking at a calendar for 1931 there was indeed a Friday, Feb. 13th. So someone made the decision to change the opening date from Friday the 13th to Thursday the 12th, and advertise it as Lincoln's birthday! Could that have been a better sales gimmick than Friday the 13th? Perhaps Friday the 13th didn't hold the superstitious impact back then that it has gathered over the years. Of course Lincoln was shot in 1865, sixty six years before this movie premiered, so it was still fairly fresh in the public consciousness. Heck, there was less time between Lincoln's assassination and this premiere than this premiere and it's 80th anniversary, if that puts it into perspective!! By contrast, it's been forty eight years since Kennedy died and people certainly still remember it well, and I doubt that will change in the next 18 years, (which will be the same amount of time between that event and modern day as Kennedy's death to the Dracula premiere.)

You would never see a movie advertised as premiering on a president's birthday nowadays - it's a real comment on our country as well as the respect our country's leaders garnered back then. Definitely a different time. 80 years is a long time - but then again, it really isn't, in the grand scheme of things.


Click to enlarge pictures:

80 Years Ago...

1931 has always seemed a pivotal year in film history to me. As a matter of fact, when thinking of films I always sort them in my mind as pre-31 and post-31, that year marking the start (to me, anyway) of the modern movie era and moving away from silent cinema. 1931 is also a pivotal year because it saw the birth of not one but TWO horror classics from Universal studios, DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN.

Dracula premiered February 12, 1931 at the Roxy Theater in New York City. Frankenstein premiered ten months later on November 21, 1931 at the Mayfield Theater (also in New York City). These films served as spectacular (and gruesome) cinematic bookends to the year, and both films are still highly revered as genre classics 80 years after their release. Speak the name Dracula and Lugosi's face pops to most folks minds. Mention Frankenstein and Jack Pierce's iconic design of Karloff's monster is the image burned in the public consciousness. It is amazing to me to think that two films as influential as Dracula and Frankenstein were both released in the same year - by the same studio. Not sure what it was about the year 1931 but Universal was definitely on a roll. This was pre-WWII, as the conflict started in 39. It was depression era America, and times were tough. Perhaps real life struggles such as hunger, food and shelter served as inspiration of even darker terrors - and faced with such awful real life problems the escape of a darkened theater was more than welcome.

Whatever the reasons the results can't be argued with. I am going to spend some time over the next few weeks celebrating both films!

BTW - these pics are huge, so click to ENLARGE!

Happy Birthday Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi was born on this date, October 20, in the year 1882. The quintessential Dracula, Lugosi influenced generations of monster kids. I salute you, Bela, and thank you for many years of monsterous movie magic!

An Underappreciated Jack Pierce Classic - White Zombie

Makeup guru Jack Pierce is best known for his Universal Studios creations Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman. These have become icons of horror cinema. But Pierce did other work besides the big three, and my buddy Scott Essman takes a look at one of my favorites, Murder Legendre from WHITE ZOMBIE:

     Though it was not a Universal monster, "Murder" Legendre as played by Bela Lugosi was an early and somewhat overlooked Jack Pierce makeup in United Artists' WHITE ZOMBIE.  It was released the year after FRANKENSTEIN and the same year as OLD DARK HOUSE and THE MUMMY, all of which were Universal Pierce films featuring more noted monsters.  Both Lugosi and original FRANKENSTEIN director Robert Florey were reassigned to MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE when test films for FRANKENSTEIN displeased Carl Laemmle Jr., head of production at Universal, in 1931.  Though Lugosi would return to Universal to make films such as THE BLACK CAT (1934), THE RAVEN (1935) and THE INVISIBLE RAY (1936), he made WHITE ZOMBIE at UA.  Pierce had never actually signed a contract with Universal even though he was makeup department head from 1928-1947.  He had previously left the studio in 1927 to work at Fox to create an ape-man character for THE MONKEY TALKS.  But after WHITE ZOMBIE, Pierce never again worked outside Universal until he was dismissed in 1947 after the merger with International Pictures.  WHITE ZOMBIE was a low budget film even by 1932 standards, having been made for a rumored $50,000, filmed in two weeks in March of 1932 and released that August.  Of course, neither the film or character received the publicity or notoriety of the Universal horror classics of the early 1930s.  But the image of Lugosi in Pierce's makeup should be considered relevant to cinema enthusiasts.