Waxworks

source: Waxworks

This silent German film is one of the first -- if not the first anthology films, as it tells multiple stories comprising fantasy adventure, history and horror. The connecting story is about a writer accepting a job from a waxworks proprietor to write a series of tales about the exhibits in his wax museum, which include Harun al-Rashid, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper. As a love of portmanteau, it's a thrill to see this film, which influenced Dead of Night and Black Sabbath, two movies that are thought to be the start of the horror anthology genre. And in the words of someone who knows way more about movies than me -- Troy Howarth -- "Of all the later horror anthologies, it seems to have had the most direct effect on Amicus' Torture Garden, which reused the waxworks motif." There's also a moment in the Ivan the Terrible story where the writer claims that the conquerer turned cities into cemeteries, which made me smile and say, "They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs." The film has a great cast with plenty of history, including: Emil Jannings, the first -- and only German -- recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. A fictional version of him appears and dies in Inglourious Basterds, which is fitting as Jannings' career ending after appearing in Axis propaganda films. He plays Harun al-Rashid from the Arabian Nights. Conrad Veidt, who plays Ivan the Terrible, is probably best known for playing somnambulist Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and as the villain in The Man Who Laughs, which inspired the Joker. He was also a powerful medium and occultist in real life who finally went to Hollywood where he appeared in Whistling in the Dark, All Through the NIght, Abobe Suspicion and Casablanca. Werner Krauss, who is both Jack the Ripper and -- spoiler -- Spring Heel Jack, was called the man of a thousand faces, the greatest actor of all time and a demonic genius, which is probably the most fitting description, as he was an unapologetic antisemite who supported the Nazi Party. William Dieterle, who plays the writer, would come to America and make The Life of Emile Zola, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as movies like the film noir films The Accused and Dark City. John Gottowt, the waxworks owner, also played Professor Bulwer, the Van Helsing role in Nosferatu. As a Jewish man, he was kept from making movies when the Nazis took over. He was murdered in 1942 by an SS officer when his disguise as a Roman Catholic priest was discovered. Speaking of Nosferantu, this movie has the same writer, Henrik Galeen. Co-director Paul Leni would make it to Hollywood, where he'd direct the second Charlie Chan movie, The Chinese Parrot, as well as The Man Who Laughs. The other director, Leo Birinsky, would go on to write and direct Flirtation, a precode film about the romantic adventures of a burlesque dancer. The version that played Fantastic Fest has the score interpreted by PRD Mais, "a collection of young and talented percussionists who combine the rich musical heritage of Brazil with an innovative mindset shaped by a limitless range of contemporary influences." Fantastic Fest @ Home is featuring a series of silent films reimagined with the music of five artists from GroundUp music. Beyond this film, there's also Aelita: Queen of Mars with a score by Snarky Puppy's Chris Bullock, Sirintip rescoring The Lost World, PRD Mais taking on Waxworks, Bob Lanzetti covering Nosferantu and House of Waters playing music for Menilmontant, Le Voyage dans la Lune and Ballet Mecanique.

Usually in these Wax horrors, it's the notion of a life entombed in the body that is meant to unsettle, a life extended even into death (or is it the opposite?). This is the first of these films as far as I know - later came the two Houses of Wax, another Waxwork in '88, the Italian Wax Mask from an Argento story - and so the notion is more outdated, more novelistic. Each life a separate story and world, with clear boundaries between them, and acted out by the same couple that writes the stories back in the level of reality. In Baghdad we get a romantic adventure where the Caliph falls for the baker's girl. Eventually she restores balance by summoning the dead Caliph from beyond the grave for the eyes of his awe-struck vassals. It's a ploy by which the status quo of the Arabian nights is maintained. In Czarist Russia, the cruel czar who thought he would defy even death is faced with his own mortality. Instead of accepting this common fate, thus coming to understand that a king is also a common man and in so doing be rendered free of his own despotic bonds, he goes mad. It's again a ploy, the poison-maker's vengeance from beyond the grave. But he was mad to begin with, so it doesn't quite matter. The final story that blends back into the wrap-around and brings us full circle, is about a notorious killer who stalks a man and his girl. This is the segment that strikes some spark; the urbane setting diffused as dreamy, expressionist poem. It's again a ploy, this time a dream - or nightmare. Both Emil Jannings and Conrad Veidt, stars of what was then a booming film industry, relish the opportunity of playing scheming tyrants. But it's all harmless stuff.

I don't want to be harsh or negative on movies from the silent era because, after all, they were the true pioneers, but some of them are really an ordeal to struggle through. "Waxworks", for instance, is much more fascinating from a 'historical value' point of view than from an 'entertainment' angle. The concept of the film is brilliant, and the names of the people involved are downright amazing! It seems as if everyone who was even remotely important during the German expressionism era was partaking in this film. Director Paul Leni! Cast members Werner Krauss, Emil Jannings, William Dieterle, Conrad Veidt! What a cast! And the plot is so unique I even daresay "Waxworks" was the one and only forefather of the horror omnibus/anthology concept. The genius "Dead of Night" (1945) might have been a much better film, but "Waxworks" must have been the first. The wraparound story is great, too. The resident wax-sculptor of a traveling carnival places an ad in the paper, looking for a writer to fantasize imaginative stories for his creations. The charming young man who presents himself doesn't only invent stories about the statues, but also processes himself and the sculptor's beautiful daughter in them. So far, so good. I truly wished I could say that the three individual segments were little masterpieces, but alas. They actually are rather dull, incomprehensible and - in case of the first two - unnecessarily overlong. The first tale stars the Emil Jannings as the Caliph of Bagdad, and he's trying to woo the lovely wife of a simple baker. The baker, crazy jealous, wants to prove his manhood by breaking into to the palace and steal the Caliph's wishing ring. The premise is interesting enough, but the story lasts far too long. The second tale stars my favorite actor from the silent era, Conrad Veidt, as the Russian Czar Ivan the Terrible. As much as I admire Veidt's charismatic looks and his facial expressions of pure madness, I honestly can't guess what the point of the tale was. It seems like the Czar is just abusing his power at a wedding party, terrorizing all the other guest, but eventually he believes he was poisoned and spends the rest of his days tipping over a (zandloper). Then, you notice there's less than five minutes of running time left, but there supposedly still comes a segment with Werner Krauss as Jack the Ripper. This is, however, merely an insignificant epilogue and I was quite disappointed by that. "Waxworks" features beautiful color schemes and imaginative decors, typical of German expressionism, but the pacing is too slow, and the stories are sadly unmemorable. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this film to people who aren't yet acquainted with silent cinema, especially since there are numerous of other genuine masterpieces to discover ("The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", "Faust", "Der Golem", ...)

"Das Wachsfigurenkabinett" (1924) is Herr Paul Leni's most well-known film during his German period. Its probably the most representative of his artistic virtues, an oeuvre composed of three episodes ( although Herr Leni planned a fourth episode that never was done ) in where an imaginative writer ( Herr Wilhelm Dieterle ) applied for publicity work in a waxworks exhibition in which he is commanded to write startling tales about three different wax figures: Ivan the Terrible, Czar of all the Russias ( Herr Conrad Veidt ), Haroun Al Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad ( Herr Emil Jannings ) und the murderer Spring Heeled Jack ( Herr Werner Krauss ). The young writer and the showman's daughter ( Frau Olga Belejeff ) link the three different episodes. The three episodes are stylistically and technically very different from each other and certainly Herr Leni explored his most imaginative resources and fond subjects ( oneiric décors connected with fantastic subjects ) using them appropriately to fit the characteristics of the story depicted in the episode in question. The first one, which relates the story of the satyr and easy-going Caliph of Bagdad, features the beautiful and evocative décors that apprehend the necessary mood for an episode in which humour and parody over the iconic Western view of an idealized Arab atmosphere. The classic adventures that inspired them, is in the air, benefiting the episode with such exaggerated tastes which are absolutely charming; Herr Jannings certainly enjoys a lot such parody role. The second episode depicts Ivan the terrible as a merciless monarch who ruled the Russian empire with an iron fist by subjecting the citizens to severe cruelty. This time Herr Leni combine drama with fantastic elements, achieving a bizarre and disturbing atmosphere. Again a superb actor, as it happened in the preceding episode steals the picture thanks to his magnetic and fascinating presence. Once again, the décors are outstanding although this time Herr Leni uses these in a "conventional" way. That is to say, in order to illustrate in a careful and more realistic way, the characteristics of the Russian empire of the time, the German director leaves the most fantastic aspects of the story for the torture chamber sequences and its terrible ending. The third episode is Expressionism at its best, or maybe this Herr Graf should say that is a homage to Expressionism (on the other hand, the same that happens with the other two episodes in where the main subject are treated in a hyperbolic stylistic way ). This time, the imaginative writer has a terrible nightmare in which he is chased by Spring Heeled Jack. Herr Leni takes advantage of such an oneiric atmosphere in an episode that technically is more complex than the other two. He uses double exposures and special effects in a continuous nightmarish sequence in which quintessential "Expressionism" is displayed in an effective and accomplished way. "Das Wachsfigurenkabinett" is certainly a condensed version of Herr Leni's artistic achievements. It's an excellent example of his many skillful virtues and stylistic resources, stamped with his particular and fascinating own imaginary. And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must remove in a Teutonic way the depilatory wax from the whole body of one of this Herr Graf's rich heiress.

Paul Leni's movie "Das Wachsfigurenkabinett" ("Waxworks" in English) should not be confused with the 1988 horror flick starring "Gremlins" star Zach Galligan. This one is about a poet (William Dieterle) who writes some stories based on figures in a wax museum. The ones about Harun al-Rashid and Ivan the Terrible are the most developed, while the one about Jack the Ripper is really hard to understand. In fact, I noticed that the baker in the first segment is named Assad, years before the name became associated with Syria's ruling family. So, if you intend to see the movie, you would probably just do best to watch only the segments about Rashid and Ivan. Lacking the thought-provoking expressionism of "Nosferatu" and the epic grandeur of "Metropolis", the movie falls a little flat, but isn't terrible by any stretch. Even so, I do recommend 1988's "Waxwork" over this one (if only for the cool soundtrack).

"Das Wachsfigurenkabinett" or "Waxworks" is a German silent film from 1924, so over 90 years old by now. Apparently, several versions exist as the runtime is sometimes stated slightly over 60 minutes while the version I watched had a little bit more then 80 minutes. In retrospective, I have to say I'd have preferred the 60-minute version. Birinsky, Leni and especially writer Galeen have worked on some pretty famous films from that era, but their collaboration here did not result in anything memorable. I thought the production values looked pretty weak here for the most part and this already destroyed every chance at a good horror movie because it is so essential for the genre, especially as they could not make up for it via great dialogue for example. The copy I watched was not of great quality, but I guess that's not the filmmakers' fault. At least, I have seen stuff from decades earlier that was more refined. So despite the inclusion of some pretty big names, this one here was a disappointment. I do not recommend watching it.

In the 1920s, the German film industry was one of the best producers of films in the world--making many films that were about as good as anything coming out of Hollywood. Because of this, I had relatively high expectations for this film. Sadly, however, despite this and a wonderful idea for a movie, "Waxworks" turned out to be, at best, a mediocre film--mostly because it was written so poorly and the stories all were so unsatisfying. The idea behind "Waxworks" is that the owner of some wax figures wants a writer to come up with some great stories about each of his three figures in order to lure in the public. This anthology notion is pretty good...but the execution left so much to be desired. The first story is about a Caliph in ancient times and this story is by far the longest of the three. It seems that this Caliph has fallen for the baker's wife and he sneaks in to make love to her. At the same time, the baker is sneaking in to the nearby palace to steal the Caliph's magic ring. Unable to get it off the hand easily, he chops off the Caliph's arm! Oddly, the Caliph just lays there--but at the same time he IS at the baker's house--what gives? This Middle Eastern set is interesting because some of the artistic style looks almost like a book by Dr. Seuss. Unfortunately, the story itself isn't particularly interesting even if it starred the world-famous Emil Jannings. Sadly, it's the best of the three. The second story is about Ivan the Terrible. Oddly, the sets are VERY tiny--almost claustrophobic. And the story about Ivan, poison and madness just isn't interesting in the least. The final about Spring Heeled Jack wasn't great but at least it was visually arresting. That's because, like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", it's a wonderful example of German Expressionism--with its crazy art style. It's all supposed to be a dream, so it makes sense that that they used this weird look. Overall, the film looks pretty cool but the stories just bored me to death. I sure expected better writing.

This interesting and generally creative silent horror movie is really not all that tense or suspenseful, but it has some interesting stories and characters, and the distinctive expressionistic settings add considerably to the atmosphere. The three stories told about the "Waxworks" all have their own strengths. It's rather interesting to see Emil Jannings as the Caliph in the first sequence. It's hard not to associate Jannings with the serious characters he played in "The Blue Angel" and "The Last Laugh", yet here he quite successfully portrays the Caliph as something of a buffoon. This story is the lightest of the three, yet it works well due to some creative touches. The Ivan the Terrible sequence features an interesting, if rather far-fetched, story and a pretty good performance by Conrad Veidt as Ivan. The last sequence, with Spring-Heeled Jack, comes the closest to producing real fear, and it's just unfortunate that it was not more fully developed. The biggest strength of "Waxworks" is its settings, which establish the right atmosphere and lend an aura of the bizarre that helps the stories to be more convincing. Overall, while not in the class of the finest silent horror classics, this works quite well as lighter entertainment.

Three stories, perhaps loosely based on those of O'Henry, set within the clever framing device of a man trying to compose the tales of 3 waxwork figures. He imagines himself and the owner's daughter in the stories, one of which is an Arabian Nights-type story in which he is a baker who has angered the Sultan (Jannings). He goes out to steal the Sultan's ring while the Sultan sets out to steal his wife, leaving a waxen copy of himself behind as insurance. The second story, with Veidt as Ivan the Terrible of Russia caught up in his own murderous schemes, is one-dimensional and obvious compared to the relatively witty first story; the last story, which features the hero and his girl being stalked by Jack the Ripper (Krauss) seems like it's over before it's begun. Impressive film techniques, but to me this movie is pretty uninspired compared to the better films in the gothic tradition from the period. The producers were astute in their decision to cast the genre star trio, but they tried too hard to make this movie too much like other films in its class, never letting it breathe its own air.