HOUSE OF WAX 3D [1953 / 2013] [3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray] [USA Release]
The Ultimate Dimension in 3D TERROR!
Warner Bros. proudly presents the most successful 3D movie of the 1950s and now, for the first time in 3D Blu-ray! Screen legend Vincent Price stars as Henry Jarrod, an intense master sculptor who thinks of his wax creations as his “children.” Terribly disfigured in a fire started by his greedy business partner Matthew Burke [Roy Roberts], Henry Jarrod schemes to rebuild the museum as a macabre chamber of horrors, filled with lurid figures that eerily resemble those of murder victims, stolen from the local morgue. This horror classic comes complete with bonus features and including how director André de Toth was able to produce this brilliant 3D masterpiece, with just one eye and no depth of perception. Presented in both 3D and 2D versions.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1953 San Sebastián International Film Festival: Nominated: Best Film for André De Toth (director).
FILM FACT No.2: To accompany its Stereoscopic 3D imagery, the ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ was originally available with a stereophonic three-track magnetic soundtrack, although many theatres were not equipped to make use of it and defaulted to the standard monophonic optical soundtrack. Previously, films with stereo sound were only produced to be shown in specialty cinemas, such as the Toldi in Budapest and the Telecinema in London. Apparently, only the monophonic soundtrack and a separate sound-effects-only track have survived. As of 2013, no copy of the original three-channel stereo soundtrack is known to exist. A new stereo soundtrack has recently been synthesised from the available source material. The film also included an intermission, which was necessary to change the film's reels, because each projector of the theatre’s two projectors was dedicated to one of the stereoscopic images.
Cast: Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni, Roy Roberts, Angela Clarke, Paul Cavanagh, Dabbs Greer, Charles Bronson (Igor), Reggie Rymal, Oliver Blake (uncredited), Joanne Brown (uncredited), Steve Carruthers (uncredited), Leo Curley (uncredited), Frank Ferguson (uncredited), Darwin Greenfield (uncredited), Stuart Hall (uncredited), Mary Lou Holloway (uncredited), Jack Kenney (uncredited), Mike Lally (uncredited), Lyle Latell (uncredited), Richard Lightner (uncredited), Philo McCullough (uncredited), Terry Mitchell (uncredited), Jack Mower (uncredited), Eddie Parks (uncredited), Grandon Rhodes (uncredited), Riza Royce (uncredited), Norman Stevans (uncredited), Larri Thomas (uncredited), Philip Tonge (uncredited), Merry Townsend (uncredited), Ruth Warren (uncredited), Ruth Whitney (uncredited), Shirley Whitney (uncredited), Jack Wise (uncredited), Jack Woody (uncredited), Trude Wyler (uncredited) and Nedrick Young (uncredited)
Director: André de Toth
Producers: Bryan Foy and Joe Dreier (uncredited)
Screenplay: Crane Wilbur (screenplay) and Charles Belden (story)
Composer: David Buttolph
Cinematography: Bert Lawrence Glennon (Director of Photography), John Peverell Marley (Director of Photography) and Robert Burks, A.S.C. (Director of Photography) (uncredited)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Stereoscopic 3D)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
German: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Italian: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Spanish: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Português, Japanese, German and Italian
Running Time: 88 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Warner Bros.
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With the sci-fi horror classic 'THE FLY' already available on Blu-ray and a great collection of other Vincent Price films arriving just in time for the best time of the year, it pretty much goes without saying that I'm as giddy as a schoolboy this Halloween season. Needless to say, I'm a devoted Vincent Price fan, as his horror features have occupied the nightmares and wild imaginations of this reviewer's childhood. But even for those who have never seen one his movies, he remains a familiar and beloved cultural icon whose face and voice is commonly associated with the genre. And it's for good reason; he is "The Master of Menace" with a throng of films that have influenced countless around the world through the generations.
Of course, Vincent Price did not become an overnight success right away, which is true of almost all actors. He started his career in the late 30s and 40s as a character actor, making appearances in 'LAURA,' 'The Invisible Man Returns' and film-noir classics 'THE WEB' and 'THE BRIBE,' along with various others. Although it's not his first time in a horror film, that honour belongs more or less to Rowland V. Lee's 'Tower of London' with Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone, Price's breakout performance, considered as the move that initiated a successful and lasting career in the genre, is the ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ 3D [1953]. It is a deliciously wicked and twisted tale about a highly talented wax sculptor with a disturbing secret hidden within his exhibits of the macabre and historical murder scenes.
Officially, it's a remake of Michael Curtiz's 1933 mystery thriller ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum,’ but Hungarian-born filmmaker André de Toth and screenwriter Crane Wilbur of the films 'THE BAT' and 'Mysterious Island,' place more emphasis on the story's horror elements. And why shouldn't they. The plot involves a monstrous-looking weirdo dressed in black stealing the corpses of murder victims from the city morgue. What's done with the bodies doesn't come as much of a surprise, especially after an action-packed opening where Professor Henry Jarrod [Vincent Price] and his wax museum burns to the ground, but that doesn't stop the filmmakers from keeping those details a secret until the final moments. Other than Vincent Price's elegant, gentleman-like performance, the horribly disfigured man is the film's highlight as he creeps in the ominously dark shadows and the dimly-lit streets of New York like a crazed, menacing ghoul.
Much of the story of the film ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ 3D, follows the naturally inquisitive but unemployed Sue Allen [Phyllis Kirk] who is the only person to see the deformed weirdo and who grows increasingly suspicious of the Joan of Arc wax figure in Professor Henry Jarrod's new wax museum because it's a creepy likeness of her dead friend Cathy Gray [Carolyn Jones]. Her incessant curiosity eventually draws the attention of two police detectives Det. Lt. Tom Brennan [Frank Lovejoy] and Sgt. Jim Shane [Dabbs Greer], who also suspects something odd after discovering Professor Henry Jarrod's assistant Leon Averill [Nedrick Young] is a recently-released convict. A very young but intimidatingly brawny Charles Bronson also shows up as the Professor Henry Jarrod's other assistant, the deaf and mute Igor, who like the scary man in black, plays his role with a frightful eeriness and a foreboding presence.
And if that was not enough to satisfy horror audiences, the filmmakers also decided to take advantage of the latest in projection technology. This was the period when theatre attendance was dropping while the popularity of television was steadily growing, so studios were taking steps to remain competitive and attract moviegoers back. Although not the first 3D film to be released theatrically, but the film ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ 3D was the first full-length feature from a major Hollywood studio, along with Lew Lander's film noir ‘Man in the Dark.’ It used what at the time was seen as revolutionary in the polarized 3D process, and André de Toth did a magnificent job of utilising the "stereo window" effect to immerse his audience while also including a few comical gimmick shots, like the famous paddleball sequence immediately following the intermission. The 3D surprisingly complements the film and adds another engaging layer of enjoyment.
HOUSE OF WAX MUSIC TRACK LIST
ON THE RUE DE LA PAIX (uncredited) (Music by Werner R. Heymann) [Danced by the can-can dancers]
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC (uncredited) (Music by William Steffe) (Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe)
* * * * *
3D Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ 3D was filmed in the two-strip 35mm stereoscopic format that required two separate prints be projected through two interlocked projectors. Audiences would then enjoy this polarized 3D image while wearing grey-lensed polarized glasses, not unlike the 3D glasses we still use today when watching a modern 3D film. This intricate and rather cumbersome process, which required an intermission halfway into the runtime so that a projectionist could change reels, was created by M. L. Gunzberg with others and was revolutionary for the period. Dubbed "Natural Vision 3D," many 3D films in the early 1950s heyday of 3D mania were shot in this format, and while André de Toth's horror classic may not have been the first to utilise it, it is one of the best examples of the process. With that, I'm happy to report that the film shocks and amazes on Blu-ray 3D with a simply fantastic 1080p encode image, marking the very first time the movie has ever been made available in 3D on the Blu-ray home video format. Parallax, at first, may seem a bit exaggerated, but thankfully, it's not straining on the eyes and even more surprisingly feels natural. Presented in its original Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1, the rest of the picture displays a myriad of vibrant, animated colours which only complement the 3D image further. Luxurious, richly-saturated primaries practically bleed with enthusiasm while softer pastel hues pulsate with warmth and energy. Blacks are true and accurate, showing terrific gradational details in the shadows and adding to the video amazing layered effect. Contrast is comfortably bright with crisp whites, allowing for excellent visibility and clarity of background information. Definition and resolution are highly-detailed for the most part, but a few moments are poorer and blurrier than others, which have more to do with the filmmaking process of the period than a fault in the encoding. Some mild ringing around various objects in many scenes is also a result of this, and I detected a bit of ghosting here and there, which I suspect will be more of an issue on some displays than on others. In the end, however, this is a fantastic high-definition presentation of a great 3D horror classic.
3D Blu-ray Audio Quality – Along with being a revolutionary 3D film, André de Toth's beloved classic was also a ground-breaking feature in the sound department. 'House of Wax' was one of the first films to introduce stereophonic sound which required two 35mm fully-coated magnetic prints containing audio for separate Left-Centre-Right channels. It was another complicated process, which the studio company conveniently dubbed "WarnerPhonic," but more accurately and better produced an engaging stereo soundstage and wonderfully complemented the 3D image. Arriving on Blu-ray for the first time, this 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio stereo soundtrack accurately reflects and faithfully reproduces the original design to great effect. Although the majority of the action feels as if coming through the centre of the screen, activity does bleed into the other two channels, subtly widening the image with mild atmospherics. The crackling of flames at the beginning, for example, spread across the entire screen, and David Buttolph's score fills the soundstage with great clarity in the orchestration. The low-end understandably doesn't dig very deep, but there's plenty of bass and weight to appreciate in a 60-year-old film. Dialogue is very well-prioritised and intelligible. A drawback in this magnetic sound process is a limited dynamic range, and sadly, it does show here, as the few moments of higher frequencies clip slightly and come off a tad too bright. All things considered, however, this is an outstanding and highly-engaging lossless mix for ‘HOUSE OF WAX' 3D.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by David Del Valle and Constantine Nasr: Film historians David Del Valle and Constantine Nasr join forces in providing a wealth of insight, background information, and amusing analysis. The participants take a very academic and scene-specific approach to the discussion, but their comments on the cast, the director, the production and the 3D technology of the time makes for a good and informative listen. The two film historians cover just about everything the running time allows them. This is a very thorough audio commentary that fans of the ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ 3D will want to listen to immediately after a viewing of the feature film.
Special Feature: HOUSE OF WAX: Unlike Anything You’ve Seen Before! [2013] [1080p] [1.78:1] [48:00] This is a special documentary piece on the history behind the 3D film and its cast, with contributions from current filmmakers including Rick Baker, Wes Craven, Joe Dante, Sam Irvin, Eric Kurland, Martin Scorsese and Victoria Price [Vincent Price's daughter]. The film's story is discussed as well as the 3D phenomenon it created which begs the question – why wasn't this extra shot in 3D? It certainly would have been a nice touch. House of Wax's original theatrical trailer is also included, which is mainly comprised of title cards promoting "The real, the true MIRACLE of Third Dimension" as "like NOTHING that has ever happened to you before!" There's also some newsreel footage of the premiere, which in larger cities consisted of showings beginning at midnight and continuing throughout the following day. It's a great short documentary for fans. Directed by Constantine Nasr. Screenplay by Constantine Nasr. Produced by Constantine Nasr and Emily Moore.
Special Feature: Newsreel [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:14] Here we get to see is a black-and-white newsreel footage (sometimes silent and has the occasional music interlude) entitled "Round-the-Clock Premiere: Coast Hails ‘HOUSE OF WAX’. This is film of patrons outside the Paramount theater for a midnight premiere of ‘HOUSE OF WAX.’ You will see Bela Lugosi (in Dracula garb) with a guy in a gorilla suit, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Danny Thomas, Shelley Winters and others at the film's star-studded theatrical premiere.
Special Feature: Mystery of the Wax Museum [1933] [480i] [1.37:1] [77:00] This is the original Warner Bros. 1933 film directed Michael Curtiz mystery thriller film on which the Vincent Price ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ classic is based upon. Starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Allen Vincent, Gavin Gordon, Edwin Maxwell, Holmes Herbert, Claude King, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Thomas E. Jackson, DeWitt Jennings, Matthew Betz and Monica Bannister. ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ is a 1933 American Pre-Code mystery-horror film released by Warner Bros. in two-color Technicolor. This film is notable was the last dramatic fiction film made, along with Warner's ‘Doctor X,’ in the two-color Technicolor process. While it's much appreciated to have this on the same disc, it also seemed like a missed opportunity to offer it in high-definition video. Produced by Henry Blanke (uncredited) and Written by Carl Erickson, Don Mullaly and Charles S. Belden (story).
Theatrical Trailer [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:00] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the ‘HOUSE OF WAX.’ which is more like a "teaser" and not showing any actual scenes from the 3D film.
Finally, to have the ‘HOUSE OF WAX’ 3Dfinally released onto a 3D Blu-ray is truly something to be celebrated, and is a must-have for anyone with a home 3D system and a fan of 3D like I am. The younger folks who might think 3D began with ‘AVATAR’ will certainly be in for a surprise, and will remind everyone else how 3D can greatly enhance a movie when it's done right. Thus so far only ‘Dial M For Murder’ and ‘Creature From the Black Lagoon’ [initially released with the Universal Classic Monsters Collection and recently made available separately as well] are the only other 3D movies of that era to be released on 3D Blu-Ray hopefully we'll see many more come out in the near future. The 'House of Wax,' a remake of Michael Curtiz's 1933 mystery thriller, is a deliciously wicked and twisted horror classic about a deadly secret hidden inside the wax figures of a "Chamber of Horrors" exhibit. Not only is it a well-made and beautifully filmed spook-fest, but it made cinema history as the film that gave Vincent Price his breakout role and was one of the first full-length 3D features released by a major Hollywood studio. The 3D Blu-ray arrives with an excellent video presentation full of depth and dimensionality and accompanied by a great lossless audio mix. With a couple exclusive bonuses to boot, the overall package makes a wonderful addition to any horror and 3D film collection. That is why I was so excited to purchase this amazing 3D Blu-ray and to finally view the amazing 3D, was a sight to behold and Warner Bros. have done a totally professional job and it looks even more superior than when it was originally released in the cinema, as you had to wear those terrible anaglyptic 3D glasses, as the 3D was very poor and that is why it went out of fashion. Now you can see it in its full glorious 3D as it should be seen and it has gone in proud of place of my ever increasing Vincent Price Blu-ray Collection and a definite must have purchase. What is also another great bonus is the beautiful designed 3D slip cover, that gives you a fantastic 3D effect and it is an even a greater excuse to purchase this awesome 3D Blu-ray. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
