Two-colour Technicolor was the first important process based on the idea of subtractive colour reproduction.  It used a beam-splitter camera to record two colour negatives (red and green) which were then processed and attached back-to-back for projection.  The first film to use the process was Doctor X (1932), also teaming director Michael Curtiz with star Lionel Atwill; however, the use of two negatives drove costs up and most two-strip films were re-released in monochrome – apart, that is, from Mystery of the Wax Museum, which was the first to survive in colour upon re-release.  After this came three-strip Technicolor which brought to the screen the beautifully rich colours of films such as Meet Me in St. Louis and Gone with the Wind.

The film was remade in 1953 as House of Wax, which began the horror career of its star Vincent Price, whereas a more recent version featured Paris Hilton.

LH cited this film as Anton Grot’s most representative work and gave him this dedication in the Filmgoer’s Companion:

‘For putting his unmistakable stamp on so many films whose visuals linger in the memory.’

Year: 1933