It is often said that the majority of people living in New York City never bother to go to the top of the Empire State Building; apparently, local inhabitants are not as fascinated by tourist attractions as much as tourists are. I don't know how true this is, in general, but in my case I had never been inside the Hollywood Wax Museum until I finally made a pilgrimage this week.

In some ways, the most striking figures are the ones seen outside, which lure in the customers. There is a very impressive head of King Kong bursting out through the wall above the exit door, near the stand that sells souvenirs. And there is a nice display of characters from THE WIZARD OF OZ, which you pass on your way into the museum.

The figure of the Tin Woodsman is spot-on. Dorothy does not resemble Judy Garland very closely, but the Wicked Witch of the West is a wonderful green hag.

Once you get inside, the museum is fairly extensive. You could hurry through in five or ten minutes, but if you take a leisurely tour and stop to examine the figures, you could find yourself spending a half hour inside.

The first room contains a ship (complete with running water) manned by both Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp (as Captain Jack Sparrow). Get too close up for a look at the figures, and you may find yourself on the receiving end of a blast from its cannons (a flash of light, some loud noise, and a puff of smoke). This is actually one of the highlights of the museum but for a reason that does not become clear until the end of the tour.

There are numerous displays from fantasy and sci-fi movies and shows, including Linda Carter as WONDER WOMAN, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and William Shatner as Kirk in STAR TREK II: THE WRASH OF KAHN, and STAR WARS (seen below).

This display reveals one small weakness of the museum: the misidentification of where the figures come from. The imitation black clapboard on the floor of this particular exhibit identifies the film as STAR WARS, 1977, directed by George Lucas. You don't have to be a Lucasoid to see the Yoda figure from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, directed by Irvin Kirshner, and of course Princess Leia's hairdo more resembles her appearance in that 1980 sequel (for one thing, she doesn't have those ridiculous hair-buns on her ears

For fright fans there is a "Chamber of Horrors" (there is a detour for the faint-hearted who wish to circumvent this section). This section includes everything from the classics to contemporary: Alien, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Regan Teresa MacNeil from THE EXORCIST, the Phantom of the Opera as played by Lon Chaney in the 1925 silent film (but with music from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical playing in the background), and Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster (as portrayed by Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, seen below).

Overall, the Chamber has a dark and spooky feel; the settings for the wax figures are nicely done, and the  figures seen are some of the best and most accurate likenesses of the actors portrayed (a stand-out being the one of Vincent Price as Henry Jarrod in the 1953 version of HOUSE OF WAX). There are also a few mechanical scares (a couple of moving figures and some pressurized air to startle you), so the Chamber of Horrors acts almost like a mini-haunted house attraction, rather than just a museum of wax sculptures.

A figure of Vincent Price as seen in "House of Wax"

As for the rest of the museum, it's a little bit of a mixed bag. I've only been to a few wax museums in my life, but they seem to share many of the same strengths and weaknesses: some of the figures and exhibits are amazingly accurate recreations, while others bear only a passing resemblance to their source; also, you find yourself questioning the inclusion/omission of certain characters and stars. (I recall my parents' dismay, decades ago, that the more famous Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park had a figure of Nancy Sinatra but not of her more famous, and far more successful father, Frank.) In the case of the Hollywood Wax Museum, this problem is somewhat exacerbated by the inclusion of multiple figures of the same actor in different roles (Tom Hanks in both FORREST GUMP and CASTAWAY; Russell Crowe from both GLADIATOR and MASTER AND COMMANDER, THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD).

There is an amusing display of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a series of roles, starting as Conan the Barbarian and ending as governor of California; but a separate display from TERMINATOR 2 does not resemble the actor much at all. There is a sleek Spider-Man, an ominous Batman (Michael Keaton version, perched near the ceiling), and a nice set of figures of Tim Burton's PLANET OF THE APES (the apes looking more life-like than the human). Strangely, the Rock (seen as the Scorpion King) is standing right next to Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, but there is nothing to identify the character, as if wandered into the display by mistake. By far the weakest display is for TITANIC: the DiCaprio sculpture more resembles Kurt Russell and standing in for Kate Winslett is what seems to be a generic female figure.

But the highlight of the museum comes at the very the end. Remember that cannon that fired upon you from the pirate ship at the beginning? Well, as you approach the exit, you pass through a submarine setting, with figures of Sean Connery from HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington in CRIMSON TIDE.

On the wall is a monitor with a target display on the screen and a red button underneath. Take a moment to look, and you'll see that the monitor is displaying the ship you passed previously. Wait for the next unsuspecting tourist to pass by -- and then 'PUSH THE BUTTON, MAX!"

That's right: the tables have turned, and now you can fire the cannon at the hapless victims pausing to admire the wax sculptures of Johnny Depp and Russell Crowe. You may find yourself not wanting to leave, but try to fire only a few shots and give the next person in line a chance.

The Hollywood Wax Museum is open 365 days a year, from 10:00am to midnight. You can find more information on their official webpage.

Photographs copyright 2004 and 2005 by Steve Biodrowski and Lisa Twombly

Hi Steve...that looks really cool, will have to go sometime. I went to Madam Tussauds in London years ago and thoroughly enjoyed that. Have a great weekend

wow cool

I thought it was great but I wouldn't be able to compare it as I haven't ever seen anything like it since...London itself was great, all that history. I couldn't live there though.Having just said that...I couldn't have ever imagined living anywhere but Australia and here I am in Utah... :P ( Missing the Ocean ) Thanks for coming by again...I appreciate it

:P Many years ago I spent the night in that museum for an article in the old Famous Monsters. Ackermann wanted them to include a figure of his likeness and for a time they might have done if any of his famous Hollywood friends would pay for it.
It looks cleaner than the old days.
Whats next??
David Del Valle

WOW! Those are some great pics and wonderful information. If I am ever in the area I will most definately have to make that one of my stops.
Have a great one!
Aidan

That sounds like soooo much fun!! Especially "bombing" the ones coming through:D

What an excellent review! You did an amazing job of writing; including your own personal viewpoint was a very nice touch. Rock on!

Wax... Such a difficult media to work in. And you have to keep it pretty cold at all times, or it becomes malformed. Some artists just oversimplify the subject when using that medium to make it easier on themselves. Sad, really.

I guess you are correct that local inhabitants are not as fascinated by tourist attractions as much as tourists. I have never been there but now I am interested. Yes I'm a local inhabitant, or at least you can say I am local.