TERROR IN THE WAX MUSEUM (1973) **

Claude Dupree (John Carradine) is the old proprietor of a wax museum who’s seemingly murdered by one of his own creations.  His niece Margaret (Nicole Selby) inherits the museum and her legal guardian (Elsa Lanchester) takes over the operation.  Harry (Ray Milland), Carradine’s partner is incensed because he believes he was passed over in the will and considers himself Dupree’s true heir.  The killer, possibly the Jack the Ripper wax figure come to life, then sets its murderous sights on Margaret.

Produced by Bing Crosby Productions (who were churning out drive-in hits like Willard and Walking Tall around the same time), Terror in the Wax Museum is a loose variation on House of Wax.  The scene of Milland giving customers a tour of the museum is similar to the one found in that film, and there’s a slight reworking of House’s famous face-cracking scene.  Too bad the costume drama subplots are dull, and the pacing is sluggish.

It doesn’t help that it is all very tame, even for the standards of 1973.  It almost feels like a TV movie as the terror is kept to the bare minimum.  It also looks pretty cheap too, which adds to the Made for TV feel.  That said, Carradine’s wax figure freak-out scene is well done. 

Despite the low budget feel, you have to admit the cast they wrangled together is pretty stellar.  In addition to Milland, Lanchester, and Carradine, we have Maurice Evans, Patric Knowles, and Broderick Crawford.  Maybe the budget went to corralling all these people into one place.

The most memorable part of the movie is the character Karkov (Steven Marlo), a deformed hunchback who lives in the museum as Carradine’s unofficial adopted son.  Unlike most horror films, this hunchback is more pathetic than anything.  He’s a character to be pitied, not feared.  When he has a breakdown at Carradine’s funeral, you feel kind of bad for him

Another thing that makes Terror in the Wax Museum a bit different than its ilk is its Ominous Fortune Teller scene.  Most times in these movies, the Ominous Fortune Teller is an old gypsy woman.  This time out, it’s a Chinese tea leaf reader.  This character, nor Karkov can exactly save the picture, but they do prevent it from feeling completely stale.