User Reviews

The camerawork is nothing special but the lighting is perfect as all of the late 50s-early 1960 shows were due to the best studio technicians working in TV. Robert Bloch taps into the inherent disturbing weirdness of the wax museum, a subject that Alfred Hitchcock used twice in his two TV series as well as an early Superman episode. His script is lean and compact, and takes place completely at night, creepy thanks to the theme, but not frightening like The Grim Reaper or The Incredible Dr. Markesan.

There are the usual cliches. The morgue attendant is the stereotypical unpleasant oddball. The police work is sloppy, the forensic work non-existent. The three cops stumble around, literally in the dark.

There are some head smacking moments. Antoinette Bower doesn't think twice about opening the museum door to someone (French cop Martin Kosleck) banging on it like a maniac late at night. He tells Bower no one knows he's there. (Never tell a killer you're alone.) He uses all 6 bullets to shoot an old doorknob to get into a room in the museum. Then when he's attacked, he freaks out even though he should have expected something to happen with his knowledge of the murders he's been tracking. When Ron Ely is killed, his partner doesn't immediately call for backup and an ambulance. He turns his back on Homolka, an invitation to an attack and makes no attempt to put out the fire.

The best thing about the show is masters of malevolence Homolka and Kosleck, a great job of casting. The Surete inspector is a rare good guy role for Kosleck. Homolka was a dignified-looking man in his early years who aged into playing evil characters who looked evil.

The title of this Thriller is pretty much a dead giveaway as to what the story will be about. Pierre Jacqueline's Waxworks Museum has traveled across the pond from Europe harboring a legacy of death in it's path. Special liaison officer Andre Bertroux (Martin Kosleck), acting as a private citizen, has tracked Jacqueline's enterprise to the States in hopes of uncovering the truth behind a series of gruesome deaths attributable to characters enshrined in his grisly exhibit.

The story is a forerunner to one of the more memorable Twilight Zone episodes that aired just about a year later featuring Martin Balsam in 'The New Exhibit'. The obvious comparison involves the wax figures that come to life to commit mayhem on unsuspecting targets. Of the two stories, the Thriller entry is more obvious in it's exposition, as we see the characters who come alive to murder their intended victims.

However there's another interesting facet of these old time popular shows that bears mentioning. If you watch The Twilight Zone episodes in series order, you'll notice that one of the props used in 'The New Exhibit', a packing crate marked 'This End Up', was used again in the very next episode titled 'Of Late I Think of Cliffordville'. In the same vein, Thriller apparently re-used props from previous stories, perhaps as a way to keep expenses to a minimum. You'll notice in this story that the morgue set is the same one used in Thriller #2.11 - 'Dialogues With Death'.

As obvious as the set up is for this one, there's still a pretty cool twist at the end involving proprietor Jacquelin's pretty niece and museum assistant Annette (Antoinette Bower). Enough is left to the viewer's imagination as to what really transpired over the course of the story to make this one a thriller of a Thriller.

OK, the police station scenes are bland and sluggish (did we really have to watch Antoinette Bower sign ALL THREE of her statements, while under the manly gaze of Tarzan?), and, yes--- Oscar Homolka dressing up to do the killings is goofy and full of implausibilities.

But, in the final analysis, I don't really give a !#*$% about these things, since the episode is so cool. NO THRILLER EPISODE HAS MORE of that great claustrophobic "chamber-drama" feel than this one; the Wax Museum set is a combination of industrial warehouse and carnival fun-house, and creeps me out just THINKING about it. I love that sequence with Martin Kosleck pounding on the metal doors in the middle of the night, while the camera "drops in" on each of the displays (including knife-murderer Harry Wilson, the actor often confused with Rondo Hatton) The brick walls and doorways, the illuminated "Waxworks" sign in the stairwell--it's a masterpiece of simple but effective design and lighting.

This is my favorite CAST INTRODUCTION of them all, each a beautifully rendered portrait of a cast member with a wax figure (Karloff must have done his intro in 2 takes, since we clearly see the axe cut from take #1 on the fantastically rendered door painting). Again, Bravo to director Herschel Daugherty.

Kosleck, an oft-maligned actor, turns in a finely-shaded and deft performance. And--call me nutty---I think the highlight of the show may be the interrogation scene with Homolka and Coleman; anyone seriously interested in the craft of a true actor should study this scene (not for Coleman...); Oscar Homolka is simply BRILLIANT, right down to the way he twirls that cigarette in his fingers. Then there's his final scene, where it's clear he's going off the deep end; gone is the charming, witty and urbane showman---he now seems mildly unhinged and VERY dangerous. Fabulous acting by Mr. H, another true THRILLER showcase! (BTW, wasn't that Homolka as the bearded figure in the box and driving the car? I think it was..just 2 more freaky and disturbing images).

The discovery of the ashen, corpse-like Antoinette Bower strapped by her neck to the wall is SHOCKING; I'm surprised it was even allowed on TV. The grand finale of this show is a real standout; you can carp at it all you want, but whoever would have dreamed of the final 2 minutes of a weekly TV show in early 1962 showing a step-by-step meltdown of a beautiful woman's wax face with a gaping, screaming skull beneath? (though I wish they had used one of Thriller's better prop skulls; this one looked a tad artificial, with the deep lines, etc).

This is one show where I find myself BLOWING PAST its weaker elements; it's just too damned good! THIS is what "Thriller" did uniquely well.

LR