Garv’s Pick of the Week: Mystery of the Wax Museum (Warner Archive)
For the release week of May 12th:
Garv’s Pick of the Week: Mystery of the Wax Museum [Blu-ray / Warner Archive]: Many film fans are unaware that the popular 3-D horror film House of Wax (1953), starring Vincent Price, was actually a remake of 1933’s Mystery of the Wax Museum, starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray. The pre-code original, shot in the two-strip Technicolor process was thought lost until 1969, when a single damaged print turned up. While that print had been scanned in standard-definition for home video, the presentation was far from optimal, as the print contained damage and was missing a few seconds of footage here and there. Recently, with the help of a second discovered print, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation have restored the missing footage and cleaned up the film to look like new. Now the once-lost film is available on Blu-ray in near-pristine condition.
Additional Titles of Interest —
The Great Escape [Blu-ray / Criterion]: John Sturges’ P.O.W. escape actioner gets a new 4K scan and the full Criterion treatment.
Inside Daisy Clover [Blu-ray / Warner Archive]: Natalie Wood navigates the darker side of Hollywood, with a bizarre mousy haircut.
The Barbara Stanwyck Collection [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Three of Babs’ lesser-known films — Internes Can’t Take Money (1937), The Great Man’s Lady (1942), and The Bride Wore Boots (1946) — are collected in this 3-Blu-ray set.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema II [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Kino’s Film Noir box sets continue with a trio of 50’s thrillers — Thunder on the Hill (1951), The Price of Fear (1956), and The Female Animal (1958).
The Man from the Alamo / They Came to Cordura [Blu-ray / Mill Creek]: A couple of lesser-known Westerns are offered on this Mill Creek bargain Blu-ray. The Man from the Alamo was directed by Budd Boetticher, so it’s probably worth checking out.
Hollywood Story / New Orleans Uncensored [Blu-ray / Mill Creek]: Who knew that gimmicky horrormeister William Castle made a few films noir? Here are a couple.
Gordon of Ghost City [Blu-ray / VCI]: Strap in for twelve chapters of Western action with forgotten matinee idol Buck Jones. This is supposed to be an above-average sagebrush serial.
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