Welcome back to Dark Corners Streaming. We have previously mentioned 1924’s "Waxworks" in videos about "The Man Who Laughs", also directed by Paul Leni, in our Conrad Veidt Top Ten, and most recently in our Top Ten Wax Museum Horrors, where it came in at number 3. Not bad considering that little of it takes place in a wax museum.
Inspired by "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari", the film opens in a fairground. A poet, played by future Hollywood director William Dieterle, finds work at the waxworks, challenged to write startling tales about wax figures. These stories revolve around Haroun Al-Raschid, Emil Jannings of "Faust", Ivan the Terrible, Conrad Veidt of "The Man Who Laughs", and Spring-Heeled Jack, portrayed by Caligari’s Werner Krauss. A planned fourth story about Rinaldo Rinaldini was abandoned due to budget constraints.
The film, reminiscent of Fritz Lang’s "Destiny", turns into an anthology with the poet casting himself and the waxwork owner’s daughter, Eva, as romantic leads in the tale of Haroun Al-Raschid. Despite the romantic angle, the poet portrays her as a vain yet clever unfaithful wife while he attempts a robbery on the Caliph, played for comedic effect by Jannings.
Waxworks takes a horror turn with the story of Ivan the Terrible, where the poet and daughter play minor roles. Conrad Veidt captivates as Ivan, ecstatic over his prisoners' deaths while battling paranoia. Veidt’s portrayal brings depth to a potentially one-dimensional character.
The final segment shifts to a nightmare with Spring-Heeled Jack, believed to be a censor-friendly substitute for Jack the Ripper. This extraordinary conclusion enriches the film.
Director Paul Leni’s background as an art director is evident in the film's stunning sets, intended to evoke no sense of reality, influencing other films like Eisenstein’s "Ivan the Terrible". Leni's flair for merging artistic technique with pure entertainment positions him as a unique filmmaker, whose premature death at 44 cut short a promising career but leaves us with masterpieces like "Waxworks" to cherish.
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