The Waxwork

Stunning story and #1 first class script and acting. Sir, if you'll pardon my mentioning it, but you have a very thin neck. I like thick necks. This is a French razor... Small but still very effective; now if you will just raise your chin up, just a bit higher. You can cut the tension with a knife, (sorry for the pun) in this episode and it's what makes this (and the waxwork killers), so effective). I am 100% pro-capital punishment. It acts as a major deterrent to murder. It's not perfect, but in the end it saves lives. Killers think twice if they know they will pay the ultimate penalty. Nobody asks why the murder rate was so low in 1954, as if murder were just a logical progression for society today.

Raymond (Barry Nelson) is an idiot. He was gambling and wrote a bad check to cover it. He's been caught and the man he cheated it threating to go to the police unless he makes good...and fast. So, he comes up with an interesting story idea he thinks he can sell to a magazine...and the money he gets should be able to cover the bad debt.

So what is the idea? To stay the night in a wax museum's 'Hall of Murderers' and write an article about this. At first, the owner refuses but ultimately agrees....with tragic consequences for Raymond.

While there isn't much in the way of a good twist, I do appreciate the message about the power of your imagination. Worth seeing.

The premise is a promising one—a writer spends the night locked in a wax museum with a murderer's row. Given all the creepy potential, the result is, nonetheless, a shade disappointing. The first half is the set-up where the writer (Nelson) gets over-night permission from the museum owner (Sloane). It's a good chance to see real wax figures up close, but it's also padded, probably to build up co-star Sloane's part.

The second half is Nelson inside and does have its creepy moments. The murderer's row looks like a medieval dungeon, however it's also not very spooky and fails to generate the menacing mood that's needed. Also, I'm a bit puzzled by the climax that seems unduly murky. Nelson's fine as the writer, looking a bit like JFK, while Sloane gets to show off his quirky side. But, all in all, the premise promises more than it delivers.

(In passing—IMDb lists Jackie Cooper as the writer, an evident mistake.)

During the beginning, Hitch shows a medieval torture device called the rack-in which someone is stretched to induce a confession-before mentioning the TV version coming before the story, the commercial, of course! In the story, an American journalist visits a wax museum in London to try to convince an employee to let him stay overnight in the murderer's row section in order to make enough money for his article to pay a debt after giving a bounced check that caused the victim to threaten to call the police unless it's properly paid by a certain time. I'll just now say this was quite an atmospheric and creepy tale that was quite effective to the end. So that's a recommendation of "The Waxwork" ep of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

Barry Nelson arrives at a wax museum and asks to spend the night, locked up in a display of the world's worst murderers. He needs to write a story in order to earn enough to pay off a gambling debt from some pretty bad guys. He eventually talks the curator into allowing him to stay, but there are some problems. He must be locked for the night (to protect the property from thieves). It is also made clear to us that he is extremely claustrophobic. As he does his thing, he senses that the wax figures are moving. One in particular, a mesmerist who hypnotized and killed people with a straight razor, seems to slip between the other figures, moving to him with his murderous eyes. I won't ruin the fun, but it is an example of how the mind outdo the body. It's ultimately about fear.