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."
"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."