Wax Figures Figure in the Murderous Mayhem of the "Mystery of the Wax Museum"-Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV, we bring back a creepy tale whose story may seem somewhat familiar, thanks to its later “remake”- but this is the original version, presented in close to its original state, thanks to some skillful remastering! In all its two-strip Technicolor glory, we proudly present a masterpiece of body sculpting, body snatching, and somebody’s revenge of the most gruesome kind- as we ponder the “Mystery of the Wax Museum”!

This 1933 horror classic begins on a dark and stormy night in London- as sculptor Ivan Igor halts his artistic endeavors for a welcome interruption- a visit from a patron of the arts, who is so moved by Igor’s incredibly lifelike wax sculptures of historical figures (including his personal favorite, Marie Antoinette) that he plans to submit Igor’s works to the Royal Academy! He plans to do so as soon as he returns from a trip to Egypt-but this happy occasion turns tragic, when, later, Igor’s business partner Worth arrives with bad news. The wax museum is actually in financial trouble, due to the public going to other such establishments that specialize more in crime and horror than history. The scheming Worth has a simple solution- burn the place down for the insurance money! Igor naturally refuses-unwilling to sacrifice his creations for money, especially with the promise of fame and appreciation of his art within his grasp. The impatient Worth could not care less about the artworks, and starts the place ablaze- as he and Igor tussle! Igor is knocked out, and Worth escapes the fire, heartlessly locking his partner in the museum as it becomes an inferno.

We pick up the story twelve years later in New York- where, surprisingly, Igor is alive and preparing to open an all-new wax museum. He has survived the fire, but has paid a terrible price- he is confined to a wheel chair, and his burned hands can no longer sculpt- so he has hired artists to do that in his place.

A new character enters the scene- a brassy female reporter, Florence, whose career isn’t exactly on fire (no offense to Igor for that one). Her editor is ready to fire her (sorry again) but gives her another chance, sending her out to investigate the suicide of a lovely young model.

Something strange is going on at the morgue, though, as a mysterious misshapen figure prowls among the dead bodies, and makes off with one- coincidentally, that of the model! The heisting of the body makes the local authorities start to think this could mean her death was murder- not suicide, and that a major suspect would be her boyfriend, a wealthy playboy named Winton. While he is in custody, Florence comes to interview him for her story- and smells a scoop as she begins to think he is innocent!

We meet Florence’s roommate, the beautiful Charlotte, whose boyfriend Ralph just happens to be among the sculptors working for Igor. The two women drop by to visit with Ralph before the museum’s grand opening- and Igor is struck by Charlotte’s resemblance to his ideal vision of Marie Antoinette. Meanwhile, Florence is struck by the figure of Joan of Arc’s amazing resemblance to the deceased model whose case she is investigating. This leads her to sneak into the museum basement- where she sees that monstrous being we saw in the morgue earlier- but she can’t get the police to believe what she saw!

Things get tense as Igor pursues Charlotte to become his new Marie-entombed in wax- as he and his unsavory cronies endanger the lives of both Charlotte and Florence- and horrible secrets are revealed!

You probably realize that this is the original version of the story we see in the Vincent Price 3-D hit from the 1950s, “House of Wax”- and, although many of us know the story, we AGAIN ask that no one post spoilers to ruin the surprise for those who have not seen either film. This is another show done during COVID in the top secret Sven cave, but with new segments added. We’ll be explaining a little about the early version of Technicolor used for this movie, and about the film’s restoration; introduce the incredible cast, including Lionel Atwill and the woman who made “King Kong” famous, Fay Wray; present a song and another edition of “Too Drawn Out”; and have visits from Toony the Tuna from “Toon In With Me” and our Sven Squad. Plus, we have some vintage Sven bits including another look at Kerwyn through the years!

“Mystery of the Wax Museum” begins tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central on MeTV, which invites you to live-Tweet during the program on Twitter, using the hashtag #svengoolie . Our Chicago area fans can enjoy one more look at the Vincent Price favorite “House on Haunted Hill” at 11am this morning on our main local station, CW26 (We regret the local confusion last week, when our show actually aired on “The U” due to high school football on CW26).

Now is the time to check out our store ( I have a…? Oh, never mind…) for the return of the “Sventa Claus Shoppe” with holiday items, right down to the new Sven wrapping paper! Plus new hoodies and other favorite items that make great gifts. Order as soon as you can to avoid items being sold out, or not delivered in time for your holiday gift giving.

We invite you to join us tonight for an early horror classic -with a wise-cracking dame and a wax-working fiend!