House of Wax (1953)

Vincent Price stars in one of his first horror film roles as a crippled sculptor of wax statues. His previous gallery of statues was not so accidentally destroyed in a fire which Price was left for dead in (ergo the cripple). Sometime later he mysteriously reappears ready to reopen a new gallery -- this time a gallery that re-enact some recent, unsolved murders. As a horror movie it's not that scarey, but it does have some surprisingly powerful imagery. This was one of the more successful films shot in the 3D process of the mid-50's as seen most obviously when a showman hits a paddleball directly at the camera or when the can-can dancers kick their legs up at the camera. Ironically, underrated studio auteur, Andre de Toth, was blind in one eye and unable to experience his own gimmick. Fortunately, he provides an excellent balance of sex and violence to keep it worth watching. Highlights include Price's dry wit as he guides a tour through gallery of macbre murder scenes; the opening burning of the wax sculptures (it reminded me of the those great death scenes at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark); and the particular irony of watching the sculpture of Joan of Arc being burned in the fire.