The sudden death of a drunken participant in his hypnosis act has brooding Lon Chaney Jr. looking for a new gig and moving onto a wax museum where a slew of sinister characters who seem to have something rotten going on the moment you see them. Chaney dumps assistant girlfriend Evelyn Ankers and finds himself torn between two exotic women, alluring Elena Verdugo and her aunt, Tala Birell, but in his state of hypnotic power, he discovers that he seemingly has the ability to kill with just a simple stare.
One of the truly camp moments in film happens when wax museum designer Martin Kosleck goes around to his creations, treating each of them like a spoiled little girl would treat her dolly collection. Kosleck is a disgraced plastic surgeon whose life like statues are treated like his patients might have been. It's obvious where these plot ideas came from, even though a later film version of what inspired this is much more famous.
Joining the series line-up of tough, determined police detectives is the ruthless Douglas Dumbrille whose interest in culture is exposed by lines like "Lead on, McDuff!" Kosleck, as sinister villain as there ever was, proves himself an expert knife thrower as he deals with his involvement in the mystery in evil and sinister ways. The overly convoluted plot line just gets so bizarre that the idea of accepting the fantastic elements just goes way off track. Still, there are enough amusing and thrilling elements to keep you involved, even though all the while, you might be saying to yourself, "Oh, brother."
One of the truly camp moments in film happens when wax museum designer Martin Kosleck goes around to his creations, treating each of them like a spoiled little girl would treat her dolly collection. Kosleck is a disgraced plastic surgeon whose life like statues are treated like his patients might have been. It's obvious where these plot ideas came from, even though a later film version of what inspired this is much more famous.
Joining the series line-up of tough, determined police detectives is the ruthless Douglas Dumbrille whose interest in culture is exposed by lines like "Lead on, McDuff!" Kosleck, as sinister villain as there ever was, proves himself an expert knife thrower as he deals with his involvement in the mystery in evil and sinister ways. The overly convoluted plot line just gets so bizarre that the idea of accepting the fantastic elements just goes way off track. Still, there are enough amusing and thrilling elements to keep you involved, even though all the while, you might be saying to yourself, "Oh, brother."