Event

Silent Screams at the Whaley House

Waxworks (1926)
Run time is 83 minutes

German filmmaker Paul Leni functioned as both director and production designer for the Caligari-esque Waxworks . Using a wax museum as the unifying factor, Leni weaves three separate stories of Evil Incarnate. A young author (Wilhelm Dieterle) is hired by the owner of a wax museum to write tales about his most popular figures, Haroun al Raschid, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper. Entranced by his new boss's pretty daughter (Olga Belajeff) the author sets to work writing about the wax figures. With each new story, the author and his new friend find themselves pulled inside the progressively nightmarish worlds that he has invented.

"While not as well known in America as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu , Waxworks is one of the more brilliant entries in the canon of German silent film. Every bit as stylish as its more famous cousins, the film is a blend of artistry, fairy tale and good old-fashion thrills, plus set design to die for." - moviessilently.com