House of Wax is a 1953 American period mystery-horror film directed by Andre DeToth. A remake of Warner Bros.' Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), the film stars Vincent Price as a disfigured sculptor who repopulates his destroyed wax museum by murdering people and using their wax-coated corpses as displays. It premiered in New York on April 10, 1953, and had a general release on April 25.

Plot

Professor Henry Jarrod is a talented wax figure sculptor with a wax museum in early 1900s New York City who specializes in historical figures such as John Wilkes Booth, Joan of Arc, and Marie Antoinette, which he considers his masterpiece. Jarrod is aware that his business partner, Matthew Burke, wants out of their partnership, especially since he refuses to add more sensational exhibits, giving a private tour to renowned art critic Sidney Wallace, who agrees to buy Burke out after returning from a Continental trip. But Burke refuses to wait that long and sets the museum on fire for the insurance money. Jarrod attempts to stop Burke and save his precious sculptures, only to be doused in kerosene and left for dead in the fire. Some time after getting the insurance money, Burke is murdered by a disfigured man in a cloak who stages the murder as an act of suicide.

Awards