Steineded How sad is this?

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

JohnHowardReid I'd be the first to admit that "Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum" offers a remarkable strain of noir atmospherics. It's real hard to beat a spooky wax museum for a murder mystery setting. Unfortunately, while the movie is certainly long on weird effects, and is most competently directed by the mysterious Lynn Shores (just try to find out something about the man and see how far you get!) it falls somewhat short of an action climax. The mystery itself is not all that attention-grabbing either. One reason is that too much attention is paid to people (like delightfully dotty Charles Wagenheim and the attractively sleek Joan Valerie), who are obviously not the disguised killer. (I was going to award this splendid Fox DVD only 8/10 due to a quickly repaired image break-up during an unimportant Sen Yung sequence, but let's give it 9/10 because what we have here is the complete Australian version of the movie, not the USA theatrical or TV prints, both of which were censored by 2 or 3 minutes).

bnwfilmbuff Very atmospheric entry in the Chan series with Charlie trying to set the record straight in a case that has been falsely judged. Marc Lawrence gives a standout performance as a murderer set for the death penalty by Chan's testimony but subsequently escapes seeking plastic surgery at the wax museum run by Henry Gordon. The storyline is that Chan is to square off with Berlin detective Dr Otto Von Brom (Michael Visaroff) on a radio broadcast from the museum to reassess this case in which Von Brom pinned the murder on innocent Joe Rocke. Chan accepts the challenge suspecting Gordon of harboring Lawrence at the museum. The cast turns in uniformly good performances. However, the viewer must contend with the irrepressible Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan and his silliness. This is a decent mystery but it is the filming and setting of this movie that makes it a cut above the other Chan films.

dbborroughs Possibly my favorite Charlie Chan film. This has Chan showing up at a wax museum in order to be part of a radio program where an unsolved murder will be discussed. Unknown to Chan is the fact that the museum is actually a front for a plastic surgeon who changes the faces of wanted criminals, including one that Chan just helped to send away, or would have had he not been shot and "killed" in an attempt to escape. As the night progresses Chan will have to not only deal with the murder on the radio, but the potential murder of the great detective himself. Creepy in an old dark house sort of way, things remain nicely light and airy thanks to Chan's son Jimmy who as always is an equal mix of help and hindrance. As with many of the Chan's the mystery really isn't that mysterious, its more about watching the characters do what they do best, Jimmy Chan get into trouble, his father save the day and the bad guys prove they are nowhere near as clever as they thought. Its just a great deal of fun.

classicsoncall Sentenced to death for robbery and murder, Steve McBirney (Marc Lawrence) shoots his way out of court by grabbing a deputy's gun, making his way to an accomplice's getaway car. He prevails upon Dr. Cream (C. Henry Gordon), of Cream's Crime Museum to make him a new face so that he can get his revenge upon Inspector Charlie Chan, whose evidence helped put him away. Dr. Cream was once a successful facial surgeon, who now uses the cover of a wax museum to double as a mob hideout."Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum" has great atmospherics; most of the story takes place at Cream's museum with it's macabre displays of famous killers. The set is creepy and creaky, providing just the right tone for a murder mystery. One exhibit in particular portrays mobster McBirney rubbing out a former confederate, Butcher Dagan. Adding to the suspense, Dr. Cream hosts a weekly radio broadcast by the Crime League, focusing on famous unsolved murder cases with prominent guests, hoping to shed new light on old crimes. Chan is invited to participate in one such broadcast, the famous "Rock Case" - Charlie has always believed Rock to have been an innocent man framed for a murder he didn't commit, but convicted upon evidence provided by criminologist Dr. Otto von Brom. Chan accepts the invitation to square off against von Brom - "Knowledge only gained through curiosity".Behind the scenes though, mobster McBirney is pulling the strings, first having his face rearranged by Dr. Cream, and then having a chair rigged to a high voltage wire that will eliminate Chan when the detective participates in the radio broadcast. McBirney's henchman talks the dimwitted night watchman Willie into throwing the switch at exactly 8:20 P.M., but plans go awry when von Brom insists on switching seats with Chan. Von Brom dies, but not by electrocution; he's the victim of a poisoned dart, delivered by a makeshift blowgun, and carrying Tonga poison used by Dayak headhunters of Borneo - huh?The film gradually introduces the usual cast of colorful characters and suspects, notably Mrs. Joe Rock (Hilda Vaughn), out to avenge her husband's execution, Dr. Cream's suspicious assistant Lily Latimer (Joan Valerie), Crime League radio host Tom Agnew (Ted Osborne), and radio engineer Edwards (Harold Goodwin). Victor Sen Yung is also on board, taking a break from his law school studies to assist "Pop" as Number #2 Son Jimmy.As far as Chan mysteries go, this one is entertaining enough, but upon close examination reveals a number of elements that weren't very well thought out, the first of which is criminal McBirney's escape from authorities at the beginning of the film. Then, when he forces Dr. Cream to give him a new face, it's done with Cream's assistant and the night watchman present to know of the details. One would think a criminal mastermind would be a little more discreet. The Dayak tonga poison ruse comes way out of left field as a murder tool, but no more so than the ultimate revelation of the murderer - it's Butcher Dagan, believed to have been dead for many years! It was Dagan who framed Rock for murder, and presumably had a lookalike pumped with thirteen bullets by McBirney - how'd he do that? Now he's turned up as the unassuming radio engineer Edwards to exact his own revenge on Dr. von Brom and McBirney, the films's two victims, and the only parties who might conceivably reveal his identity - other than the ever perceptive Charlie Chan.It's interesting that unlucky number thirteen carries more than passing significance in the movie. As mentioned earlier, thirteen was the number of bullets fired by McBirney into supposed victim Dagan; and the airing of the Crime League's radio broadcast of the Rock Case was the thirteenth episode of that series. And one more - it's mentioned that Charlie Chan's offspring still number thirteen, although that will change as soon as Monogram Studios takes over the Chan series from Twentieth Century Fox after four more Fox films."Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum" moves along at a brisk sixty three minute pace and presents a lot of information to the viewer; keeping a scorecard helps. It does entertain, though one may have to overlook some of the inconsistencies mentioned earlier. But in the end, as Charlie Chan himself would say - "Justice, like virtue, brings it's own reward."