House of Wax (1953) - De Toth's colorful classic is a must for Price fans

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A sensationally painted poster for André De Toth's House of Wax

We are back in early 1900s New York, where a greedy wax businessman burns down his building for the insurance money. But his dedicated wax sculptor and his assistant Igor rebuild the emporium.

 

House of Wax is written by Crane Wilbur (The Lion and the Horse (1952)), with Charles Belden (The Gay Cavalier (1946)) contributing story elements, and directed by André De Toth (Wedding in Toprin (1939)). It is a remake of Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933).

Vincent Price (The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)) is intense and Gothically diabolic with trademark morbid humor here, flanked by a gruff Charles Bronson (Never So Few (1959)) as Igor and a series of fantastical effects and sets. The big sails are set in this colorful escapade, which is lavish entertainment and highly straightforward horror fun from beginning to end.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 1 mil. $

Box office: 23.7 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Mega-hit (returned 23.7 times its cost)

[House of Wax premiered 9 April (New York) and runs 88 minutes. The film was devised to profit on the 3D mania stirred up by surprise hit Bwana Devil (1952) as the first major studio 3D movie in color. Shooting took place in California and Florida. Director De Toth was blind on one eye and therefore couldn't see the 3D effects that generated excitement around him. The film ranked #1 for 5 weeks and grossed 5.5 mil. $ in North-American rentals initially as one of the year's biggest hits. Its gross grew considerably through several re-releases over the years. The world gross is regrettably not known. The film was remade with the same title - and almost nothing of the original plot, - in 2005. De Toth returned with The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953). Price returned in 3 TV-series prior to his theatrical return in Dangerous Mission (1954). House of Wax is certified fresh at 95 % with a 7.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of House of Wax?

The Bat (1959) - Minor murder mystery with the great Vincent Price

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Ghoulish, sinister menace hangs heavy over this zealous poster for Wilbur Crane's The Bat

During a thunderstorm, a million dollars are stolen, and a masked murderer with a clawed glove ruthlessly hunts the money in an old mansion.

The Bat is written and directed by Wilbur Crane (The Love Liar (1916)). It is based on Mary Roberts Rinehart's (Dangerous Ways (1919)) novel The Circular Staircase (1908)), which was first adapted into the play The Bat (1920) and later two movies, The Bat (1926) and The Bat Whispers (1930).

For another entry into the hackneyed mansion-set murder-mystery sub-genre, The Bat is alright, and the cinematography by the prodigious Joseph F. Biroc (It's a Wonderful Life (1946)) is very good. Another plus is Vincent Price (The Fly (1958)), who adorns The Bat with the endless ambiguity of his sinister eyes and facial expressions in a sombre doctor part.
The Bat is drawn down mainly by a number of overly annoying female parts.

 

Related post:

 

Crane Wilbur: House of Wax (1953) - De Toth's colorful classic is a must for Price fans (writer)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain

[The Bat was released 9 August (USA) and runs 80 minutes. Shooting took place at Universal Studios in California. The film was shown on a double bill with the British The Mummy (1959). Details on its cost and box office are regrettably not available. Turner Classic Movies reports that the film, at the time, was "not a crowd pleaser." It has since fallen into public domain and can be seen and downloaded free and legally right here. Wilbur as a director only returned with uncredited work on House of Women (1962) but did write more screenplays following The Bat. Price returned in 4 TV-series prior to his theatrical return in House of Usher (1960); Agnes Moorehead (The Virginian (1970, TV-series)) returned in 3 TV-series prior to her theatrical return in Pollyanna (1960)). 5.5k+ IMDb users have given The Bat a 5.5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Bat?