House of Wax
You've never been scared until you've been scared in 3-D.
![Video for the film House of Wax — HOUSE OF WAX Trailer [1953]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AvlzqiTLWeY/sddefault.jpg)
Country
Production
Budget
$1 000 000
Box office
$23 750 000
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Composer
David Buttolph
Artist
Audition
Editing
Short description
A New York sculptor who opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures runs into trouble with his business partner, who demands that the exhibits become more extreme in order to increase profits.
What's left behind the scenes
- The first film from Warner studio shot using 3D effects.
- It was not difficult for Vincent Price (1911-1993) to portray alarm in the scene of the museum burning. Before the start of filming, director André De Toth (1912-2002) ordered the placement of “ignition points” in three specifically chosen locations, and then filming began, with the flames quickly getting out of control. The initially scattered ignition points merged into one large blaze, burning through the roof of the soundstage and singeing Price's eyebrows. The wax figures began to melt quickly, but De Toth continued filming anyway (since replacing the wax figures was not difficult), even after the firefighters arrived.
- Nedrik Young (1914-1968) played the role of Leon's assistant, but he was not credited because he was blacklisted during the "witch hunt" era, or McCarthyism, in Hollywood.
- The scene in which the character played by Frank Lavdjoy (1912-1962) saves the hero Paul Picerni (1922-2011) from the guillotine blade was filmed in one take, and the guillotine was real. Picerni and director André De Toth had a falling out when the stuntmen working on the film dissuaded Picerni from filming the scene, stating it was too dangerous (an assistant held the guillotine blade out of camera view and was supposed to release it after giving a warning so Picerni could pull away). André De Toth was reprimanded by Jack L. Warner (1892-1978), head of the film company, and ordered the guillotine to be made safe. Picerni, who De Toth had already fired in the heat of the moment, returned to the cast, inspected the blade and said he would only perform in one take. Fortunately, no more were needed.
- In the scene where the museum is burned, it was not difficult for Vincent Price (1911-1993) to act anxious. Before filming began, director André De Toth (1912-2002) ordered "fire pockets" to be placed in three specifically chosen spots; once filming started, the flames almost immediately spiraled out of control. The initially separate fires merged into one large blaze, which burned through the roof of the studio and singed Price's eyebrows. The wax figures began to melt rapidly, but De Toth continued filming anyway (since replacing the wax figures was simple), even after the firefighters arrived.
- The role of Leon's assistant was played by Nedrick Young (1914-1968), but he was not credited because he was blacklisted in Hollywood during the "witch hunt" era, or McCarthyism.
- The scene in which Frank Lovejoy's (1912-1962) character saves Paul Pitzerani's (1922-2011) character from the blade of a guillotine was filmed in a single take, and the guillotine was real. Pitzerani and director André De Toth had a massive falling out after the film's stuntmen talked Pitzerani out of filming the scene, claiming it was too dangerous (out of the camera's view, an assistant held the blade and was required to release it after giving a signal so that Pitzerani would have time to pull away). André De Toth was reprimanded by studio head Jack L. Warner (1892-1978) and ordered the guillotine to be made safe. Pitzerani, whom De Toth had fired in a fit of rage, returned to the cast, inspected the blade, and stated he would do it in only one take. Fortunately, no more were needed.
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4.9/10
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