The Cinefamily (Venue Partner)
611 N Fairfax Avenue
323.655.2510
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Film: Double Feature
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) + The Phantom of the Opera (1943)
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Mystery of the Wax Museum
- When
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Saturday Oct 3, 2009 (7–10pm)
- Where
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- Price
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$12
- Links
WATCH CLIP FROM "MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM"!
This classic Technicolor thriller set in a wax museum combines the eerie atmosphere of the silent German Expressionist classics, elaborate and intimidating Art Deco set design, and classic '30s horror tricks –- dark, rainy London streets, lengthy periods of silence, long shadows on the wall -– to make one of the creepiest mystery films of its decade. The third and final Warner Brothers feature filmed in the improved two-color Technicolor system, which enhanced both the color and clarity of the film, Mystery of the Wax Museum features gorgeous, sensual pastel tones in its rendering of 1921 London and 1933 New York City. From prolific Hungarian director Michael Curtiz, of The Mad Genius and Doctor X (not to mention later classics like Casablanca) fame, Mystery of the Wax Museum is a landmark of early color, and early-'30s pre-Code horror films.
Dir. Michael Curtiz, 1933, 35mm, 77 min.
This grand version of Gaston Leroux’s classic is as much a grand romantic opera as it is a horror film, which may be why it got the Technicolor treatment usually reserved for westerns, musicals, and other spectacles. And while perhaps not as beloved among horror fans as other versions of the tale (the emphasis here is on the word OPERA), it has a real and understandable following among music lovers and classic film fans. Claude Raines (beloved for his work in Casablanca & The Invisible Man) delivers a sympathetic performance as the Phantom, and real opera singers like Nelson Eddy and 18-year-old songbird Suzanne Foster were hired to play the leads and sing its Oscar-nominated music. This million-dollar risk for Paramount paid off; crane-shots, massive and spectacular sets (including a full-scale re-creation of the Paris Opera house), and gorgeous photography make this the most lush adaptation of the tale set to celluloid.
Dir. Arthur Lubin, 92 minutes, 35mm, 1943
Co-presented by Arbogast On Film
