In response to a complaint about the increasing number of 3-D movies being made now, an I.M.D.B. member sneered: "Its the future, pal. Get used to it!". He did not appear to know the technology to create 3-D cinema was developed originally back in the 20's. It would, however, not be until 1953 that the first official 3-D blockbuster appeared - 'House Of Wax', a remake of Lionel Atwill's creepy 'The Mystery Of The Wax Museum'. Vincent Price plays Professor Henry Jarrod, a brilliant sculptor who makes life-like wax statues based on actual historical figures such as John Wilkes Booth and Marie Antoinette. Foillowing a row with his business partner, the museum catches fire, and Jarrod is horribly disfigured. Unable to make statues any longer, he takes to kidnapping people and converting them into waxworks. Sue Allen ( Phyllis Kirk ) finds her flighty roommate Cathy Gray ( Carolyn Jones, the Addams family's 'Morticia' ) dead, and is chased by her killer, a sinister figure in a cloak. Soon afterwards, a Joan Of Arc figure appears in Jarrod's museum, and Sue recognises it as being Cathy...
The great thing about 'House Of Wax' is that it is still good even without the 3-D. Andre De Toth, the director, only had one eye so it is even more of a remarkable achievement. Sequences like the man with the paddle-ball must have been tough to shoot. Audiences shrieked in terror as the burning waxworks dissolved in front of their every eyes. It might not have been actual people burning but the imagery was horrific all the same.
For Price, the film changed his career, typing him forever in the public mind as a horror film star. This was also one of the first pictures of its kind to feature nudity - the climax has Sue strapped naked to a table by Jarrod. We don't see anything we shouldn't ( this was 1953, after all ), but don't need to. Kirk looks sexier than other actresses do totally nude. Charles Bronson ( credited under his real name 'Buchinsky' is 'Igor', Jarrod's mute assistant. Why are all mad scientists' sidekicks named 'Igor'? )
The basic plot was later spoofed in the comedy 'Carry On Screaming!' ( 1966 ) with Kenneth Williams in the Price role.
3-D quickly palled with '50's audiences, as it did thirty years later when used on the 'Friday The 13th' and 'Jaws' franchises. While there's no denying it makes a good movie better, it can also be used to prop up some pretty dreadful films. It remains to be seen whether present-day audiences will also tire of 3-D or endorse it as the norm for movies from now on. James Cameron, whose 'Avatar' provoked the current 3-D revival, thinks the latter. We shall see.
The great thing about 'House Of Wax' is that it is still good even without the 3-D. Andre De Toth, the director, only had one eye so it is even more of a remarkable achievement. Sequences like the man with the paddle-ball must have been tough to shoot. Audiences shrieked in terror as the burning waxworks dissolved in front of their every eyes. It might not have been actual people burning but the imagery was horrific all the same.
For Price, the film changed his career, typing him forever in the public mind as a horror film star. This was also one of the first pictures of its kind to feature nudity - the climax has Sue strapped naked to a table by Jarrod. We don't see anything we shouldn't ( this was 1953, after all ), but don't need to. Kirk looks sexier than other actresses do totally nude. Charles Bronson ( credited under his real name 'Buchinsky' is 'Igor', Jarrod's mute assistant. Why are all mad scientists' sidekicks named 'Igor'? )
The basic plot was later spoofed in the comedy 'Carry On Screaming!' ( 1966 ) with Kenneth Williams in the Price role.
3-D quickly palled with '50's audiences, as it did thirty years later when used on the 'Friday The 13th' and 'Jaws' franchises. While there's no denying it makes a good movie better, it can also be used to prop up some pretty dreadful films. It remains to be seen whether present-day audiences will also tire of 3-D or endorse it as the norm for movies from now on. James Cameron, whose 'Avatar' provoked the current 3-D revival, thinks the latter. We shall see.