Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1933)

Ivan Igor is a sculptor who operates a wax museum in 1921 London.
He gives a private tour to a friend, Dr. Rasmussen and an
investor, Mr. Galatalin showing them sculptures of Joan of Arc,
Voltaire, and his favorite, Marie Antoinette. Formerly a stone
sculptor who did wax modeling as a hobby, he explains he turned
to wax sculpting completely because he felt more "satisfied" that
he could reproduce "the warmth, flesh, and blood of life far
better in wax than in cold stone". Mr. Galatalin, impressed by
his sculptures, offers to submit Igor's work to the Royal Academy
after he returns from a trip to Egypt.


Unfortunately business at the museum is failing due to people's
attraction to the macabre (a nearby wax museum caters to that).
Igor's partner Joe Worth proposes to burn the museum down for the
insurance money of £10,000. Igor will not allow such a travesty,
but Worth starts a fire anyway. Igor tries to stop him and he and
Worth get into a fight. As they fight, wax masterworks melt
around them. Worth knocks Igor unconscious, leaving the sculptor
to die in the fire.


Twelve years later in New York City, Igor, who survived the fire,
reemerges and opens a new wax museum. His hands and legs have
been badly crippled in the fire and he must rely on assistants to
create his new sculptures. Meanwhile, spunky reporter Florence
Dempsey, on the verge of being fired for not bringing in any
worthwhile news, is sent out by her impatient editor, Jim, to
investigate the suicide of a model named Joan Gale. During this
time, a hideous monster steals the body of Joan Gale from the
morgue. When investigators find that her body has been stolen,
they suspect murder. The finger initially points to George
Winton, son of a powerful industrialist, but after visiting him
in jail, Florence thinks differently.


Charlotte, visiting Ralph at the museum, is trapped there by
Igor, who it is revealed can still walk. When Charlotte tries to
get away, she pounds away at his face, breaking a wax mask that
he has made of himself, to reveal that he had been horribly
disfigured. He also shows her the dead body of Joe Worth, whom
Darcy had been tracking down for some time. When she faints, he
straps her onto a table, intending to douse her with molten wax
and make her his lost Marie Antoinette sculpture. Florence leads
the police to the museum just in time: for a man supposedly
crippled by fire, Igor moves with surprising speed and agility,
successfully fighting off the police, but is finally gunned down.
He falls into the giant vat of molten wax which was intended for
Charlotte. Charlotte is saved when Ralph pushes the table to
which she is strapped away just before the wax is to pour onto
her.


When Florence reports her story to her editor, Jim, he proposes
to her. Having to choose between money (Winton) and happiness
(Jim), she picks the latter.