Terror in the Wax Museum is more murder mystery than it is a horror film. With plenty of suspects and one red herring at the very end, the movie keeps you guessing whodunit throughout. It's not horribly scary, therefore it's the mystery aspect that will keep you watching.There are definitely some silly moments, such as a couple of dream sequences and wax figures (played by actors) that are accidentally caught on-screen moving and breathing. However, don't let that distract you from the solid work from the cast, especially Ray Milland. The story itself has its moments of suspense, with a few chilling scenes. Overall, however, don't go into this film thinking it will scare you very much. Recommended for lovers of good old-fashioned whodunits.

John Carradine doesn't last long as Claude Dupree, owner of "Dupree's Wax Museum" in turn-of-the century London, who wears coke-bottle glasses and coaches deformed hunchback half-wit Karkov in the art of wax dummy production. Carradine plots to sell his business to Amos Burns (Broderick Crawford), dreams his creations come to life and kill him, wakes up (love that cap!) and one dressed like Jack the Ripper stabs him. His niece Meg (Nicole Shelby) and her bitchy guardian Julia (Elsa Lanchester) show up to reopen the business and everyone fights about who actually owns the place. After a few more murders, police think the killer is angry museum curator Harry Flexner (Ray Milland), but there are many others after the inheritance.This Bing Crosby production has poor period detail, is cheap and very restrained (no gore, nudity, bad language), plus there are several unsuccessful attempts to copy Corman-esque nightmare sequences, but the lovable cast of veteran horror stars (also including Maurice Evans from ROSEMARY'S BABY and Patric Knowles from THE WOLF MAN) helps a little. My favorite moment is when John Carradine snarls, "You know I always insist on perfection!" (Check out his resume!)Score: 4 out of 10.

This is a pretty entertaining little thriller, with nice, atmospheric sets, a reasonably clever story and a certain dry, morbid wit. Honestly, there are flicks much worse than this one that have been labeled "classics", solely because they had Vincent Price or Christopher Lee in their casts. If you can find it, check it out. (**1/2) No song is heard throughout the film.

The basic premise is not far removed from the many remakes of the classic "Mystery of the Wax Museum"...there are some gruesome murders at a famous house of wax featuring the likenesses of such infamous characters as Jack The Ripper, Lizzie Borden, Bluebeard the Pirate, Marie Antoinette, and Ivan the Terrible. Who's responsible? Who's next? Who's real? Who's wax?With a distinguished cast of great actors from Hollywood's Golden Years, this would be a great find for real movie buffs who don't mind a good scare. One scene standing out in particular is one where a woman of ill-repute is stalked by Jack the Ripper. I last saw it 20 years ago, and still get the chills.