Short Take: Waxworks

 

(1924) Directed by Paul Leni; Written by Henrik Galeen; Starring: Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, William Dieterle and Olga Belajoff; Available on Blu-ray and DVD 

Rating: ***½

“Ivan was a blood-crazed monster on a throne, who turned cities into cemeteries. His crown was a tiara of mouldering bones, his sceptre an axe. His council-room was a torture chamber, with the Devil and Death as chief ministers.” – Intertitle for "Ivan the Terrible" Segment 

Horror anthologies (and omnibus movies in general) are a special breed of film, providing several complete segments, linked by a branching story. As a result of their episodic nature, they’re often a mixed bag to watch, frequently varying in tone and quality. The beauty of the format, however, is that if you don’t like one story, you usually don’t have to wait too long for the next. Amicus productions arguably perfected the horror portmanteau in the ‘60s and ‘70s, with a string of macabre offerings, starting with Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965), which was directly influenced by Dead of Night (1945). If Dead of Night was the father of the format, then the grandad was 1924’s Waxworks (aka: Das Wachsfigurenkabinett)* from director Paul Leni (The Man Who Laughs, The Cat and the Canary) and writer Henrik Galeen (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror). Leni, who worked in many aspects of filmmaking, brought his signature visual flair to the film, before moving to Hollywood for the remainder of his all-too-brief career.*/** 

* Not-So-Fun-Fact #1: The original negative burned in 1925. The reconstructed 82-minute version that exists today is derived mainly from a British print, and is 25 minutes shorter than the version that premiered in Germany. 

** Not-So-Fun-Fact #2: Leni’s career was tragically cut short when he died of blood poisoning in 1929, only a couple of years after moving to Hollywood.

 In the framing story, a young writer (William Dieterle) visits a carnival sideshow featuring wax figures of some of history’s most notorious individuals: Harun Al-Rashid, Ivan the Terrible, Jack the Ripper and Rinaldo Rinaldini. After catching the eye of the proprietor’s daughter (Olga Belajoff), he’s hired to write their checkered backstories, which follow in a trio of segments. */** 

* Fun Fact #1: Why only three segments? Plans for a fourth story, concerning the Italian gentleman thief Rinaldo Rinaldini, were scuttled when the filmmakers ran out of funds. 

** Fun Fact #2: when the film premiered in its native Germany the order of the stories was completely different, starting with Ivan the Terrible, followed by Jack the Ripper, and concluding with Harun Al-Rashid.

The first (and best) story concerns Harun Al-Rashid (Emil Jannings), the capricious Caliph of Bagdad. When Assad, a lowly baker (William Dieterle, in a second role), inadvertently raises the ire of the Caliph, the ruler sends his Grand Vizier (Paul Biensfeldt) to dispatch the offending baker. After hearing a description of the baker’s wife Zarah (Olga Belaioff, also in a second role) from his vizier, the Caliph decides to roam the city incognito to catch a glimpse of her for himself. Meanwhile, in an effort to prove his worth, the baker schemes to steal the Caliph’s “Wishing Ring,” a magical ring that can grant any wish by the turn of its jewel. This segment is a visual delight, featuring a fanciful, expressionistic version of Bagdad that appears almost organic, with no straight lines or right angles.

Compared to the lighter tone of the first segment, the second, with Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt), is noticeably darker. The focal point of the story is Ivan’s hourglass, which marks the time a poisoned victim has to live – it’s fittingly ironic that the device becomes the instrument of his eventual comeuppance. Veidt shines as the Russian despot, who keeps the population ensnared in a web of fear. Despite Veidt’s imposing performance and unique set design, the pacing is inconsistent in the second story, making it seem subjectively longer than the preceding (and objectively longer) segment.   

The third segment, by far the shortest,* focuses on Jack the Ripper (or “Spring-Heeled Jack” in the English-language version). It’s not big on story or plot, but a nightmare come to life. The writer falls asleep, dreaming he’s relentlessly pursued through the back streets and alleys by the ignominious killer (played by Werner Krauss, who also appeared as the titular Dr. Caligari).   

* Fun Fact #3: According to Julia Walmüller, who was involved with the film’s restoration, the Jack the Ripper story was always the shortest segment.

Waxworks isn’t easily classified into one genre – not exactly horror, but horror-adjacent.  While largely an exercise in style over substance (the superior Harun Al-Rashid segment notwithstanding), it’s undeniably gorgeous to look at. Although the sum is less than it could have been, Waxworks deserves its place as a revered classic that belongs on anyone’s list of must-see silent films. 

 

Sources for this article: Flicker Alley Blu-ray commentary by Adrian Martin; “In Search of the Original Version of Paul Leni’s Das Wachsfigurenkabinett: Interview with Julia Walmüller (Deutsche Kinomathek)” (2020)