MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM DVD

[Ozzymandias]

Ozzymandias speaks: I recently bought the 1932 film MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM on DVD at a comic book shop. I had seen other used copies floating at Entertain Mart. The film is great pre-code fun; half comedy and half horror.

I wonder is this a bootleg or a proto-type preview copy. It says "This is for promotional use only - not for retail sale." There is no real cover art to speak of. It is two shadows and the title on the cover. The back cover looks like some melted wax. The color on this is putred at best. It is really had to get the full effect of the makeup on Lionel Atwill, which was very controversial at the time. There is also no menu, however I found that by hitting the next button on my remote I could go to the next chapter.

Does anyone know the story on this? Has any of these surfaced in your area? Do you own a copy?

Ozzymandias has spoken!!! 

[Allhallowsday]

I know this film and love it.  I don't have the release you write about. 

Been wondering.  "Ozzymandias speaks."  Hmm, that's a handful for us ol' English majors.  I consider, is the unique spelling an intentional reference to Osbourne?

[CheezeFlixz]

You can find this as a bonus feature on the House of Wax (1953) DVD

http://www.moviesunlimited.com/musite/product.asp?sku=D44569++

[Shadow]

Been wondering.  "Ozzymandias speaks."  Hmm, that's a handful for us ol' English majors.  I consider, is the unique spelling an intentional reference to Osbourne?

It's one of the characters from Alan Moore's 12-issue Watchmen comic book series.

[RCMerchant]

Ozzymandias speaks: I recently bought the 1932 film MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM on DVD at a comic book shop. I had seen other used copies floating at Entertain Mart. The film is great pre-code fun; half comedy and half horror.

I wonder is this a bootleg or a proto-type preview copy. It says "This is for promotional use only - not for retail sale." There is no real cover art to speak of. It is two shadows and the title on the cover. The back cover looks like some melted wax. The color on this is putred at best. It is really had to get the full effect of the makeup on Lionel Atwill, which was very controversial at the time. There is also no menu, however I found that by hitting the next button on my remote I could go to the next chapter.

Does anyone know the story on this? Has any of these surfaced in your area? Do you own a copy?

Ozzymandias has spoken!!! 

I have the same one you do. The color is not very good,mostly shades of blue green and pink,because early in the 1930' the color process was kinda shabby...I saw it on TV a few years ago,and it looked exactly as on the disk. This was ,until about ,oh the early seventies,a lost film...! All copies were pulled out of circulation on the release of Vincent Price in the HOUSE of WAX,in the 50's!

[Allhallowsday]

Been wondering.  "Ozzymandias speaks."  Hmm, that's a handful for us ol' English majors.  I consider, is the unique spelling an intentional reference to Osbourne?

It's one of the characters from Alan Moore's 12-issue Watchmen comic book series.

I see, thanks.  Long before there was ever any "Watchmen" there was a very famous short poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley,  "Ozymandias" with one "z". 

[Shadow]

I guess it is another name for pharaoh Ramesses II, which is what inspired both the Watchmen character to take the name as well as Shelley's poem.

[Ozzymandias]

Ozzymandias speaks: I wondered if it was just the two-strip color or maybe a bad print. It looks like it would have been restored better. It sort of seems like a no-frills DVD.

As for my moniker it is a mixture of the Shelley poem and a nod to Osbourne with a dash of Fu Manchu thrown in.

Ozzymandias has spoken!!!

[Menard]

As for my moniker it is a mixture of the Shelley poem and a nod to Osbourne with a dash of Fu Manchu thrown in.

You forgot to mention at least a few jiggers of alcohol as an ingredient too.

[Raffine]

THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM was filmed in that two-strip Technicolor process, so you're basically going to get variations on orange and blue-green. I don't think the avaliable prints of the film are in very good shape, but the color quality probably wouldn't be much better if a pristine negative was found. DOCTOR X (1932) was also filmed in this early color process.  On the commentary for DOCTOR X they mention Doctor X's cloak was actually purple because purple filmed as a really good black in the two-strip process.

Stream of consciousness posting: Cinecolor was a very cheap two-strip process that was used well into the forties. That's how we got low budget 'color' movies like SCARED TO DEATH and UNKNOWN ISLAND. The Abbott and Costello films JACK AND THE BEANSTALK and ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KID were shot in "Super Cinecolor" which didn't look much better.

[RCMerchant]

THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM was filmed in that two-strip Technicolor process, so you're basically going to get variations on orange and blue-green. I don't think the avaliable prints of the film are in very good shape, but the color quality probably wouldn't be much better if a pristine negative was found. DOCTOR X (1932) was also filmed in this early color process.  On the commentary for DOCTOR X they mention Doctor X's cloak was actually purple because purple filmed as a really good black in the two-strip process.

DR.X...boy,was he a creepy charecter! One of the UGLIEST of the early monster make-up jobs! Fay and Atwill also teamed up for that one too! She got to meet Leslie Banks a year later in the MOST DANGEROUS GAME and on to ...KING KONG,of course...(I just can't seem to stop babbling like a kid when it comes to the old-timers!)

Preston Foster as DR.X !!!