Review #521: 'Waxworks' (1924)

When a young writer (William Dieterle) sees an advert in the paper requesting somebody with a big imagination, he takes the job and finds himself in a wax museum, where the owner asks him to write stories about his three finest works. His models are of Harun al-Rashid, Ivan the Terrible, and Spring-Heeled Jack, and when Harun's arm accidentally drops off, the writer's imagination starts to wander, and he sets about telling his fantastical tales.

Although in essence a horror film, Waxworks is more of an anthology film, juggling genres and tones to fit the mood of the individual piece. While this can be an inventive and successful approach (Creepshow (1982), for example), it can also damage a film's flow if not carefully constructed, risking leaving one story in another's shadow if they also vary in quality. Waxworks suffers for this unfortunately, mainly due to the unevenness in the stories' running times, and the sudden shifts in tone. The stories increase in quality as the film goes on, which is a good thing, but in the case of Waxworks, it leaves a disappointing taste in the mouth given the running time of the final piece is within the blink of an eye.

The first story has German silent screen legend Emil Jannings playing Harun al-Rashid, who is informed by his advisor that the most beautiful woman he has ever seen (played by Olga Belajeff) is married to a baker in the city. Rashid goes to win the love of the beauty, but she has set her husband (Dieterle) off to prove himself as a man by stealing the wishing ring from Rashid. Taking a fantasy approach, this story also has a sprinkling of comedy. Jannings if a colossal beast, as you would expect, and brings his dramatic chops to a rarely-seen comedic role. Yet this section drags, and the beautiful expressionist sets don't manage to save it from becoming a silly pantomime.

Another German silent icon, Conrad Veidt, plays Ivan the Terrible in the second section, which focuses on Ivan's insane obsession with his potion maker, who can seemingly strike death upon anyone he chooses. It has all the wide-eye operatic tones of Sergei Eisenstein's own Ivan adaptations, with Veidt proving the perfect candidate for Ivan's descent into complete madness. And the final story sees the writer fall asleep at his desk and begin a creepy dream about being stalked by a killer (Werner Krauss) in the streets. It is the final story that remains the most impressive, but sadly only lasts about four minutes.

Weimar Germany brought some of the greatest screen icons and most innovative directors in cinema history to the fore during the free-spirited expressionist movement, and although by 1924 the movement was fading away, Waxworks has some fine examples. The winding, claustrophobic staircases of the city streets in the first story evoke the most popular film of the movement, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and in a way, Waxworks almost feels like a homage to Robert Wiene's masterpiece, employing Krauss (who played the titular character) and Veidt who both starred. There is certainly a lot to admire here from a visual standpoint, but even three silent screen giants can't save it from being a slight disappointment, given the promise shown in the final story.


Directed by: Leo Birinsky, Paul Leni
Starring: Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, William Dieterle, Olga Belajeff
Country: Germany

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie