Wichita's Sidney Toler as "Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum" (1940)

Starring Wichita's, Sidney Toler

"Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum" is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as detective Charlie Chan. Revisiting an old case results in fresh deaths.

Plot:
Charlie Chan is in New York sitting in on the sentencing of killer Steve McBirney who was convicted on evidence uncovered by the detective. McBirney is sentenced to be executed at Sing Sing Prison on December 8, prompting the killer to coldly state that he won’t have to buy any Christmas gifts. After McBirney is led out of the courtroom, shots are heard, and, as an officer announces that the prisoner is shooting his way out, he escapes with the help of Grenock, his henchman.

A wax museum run by a demented doctor contains statues of such crime figures as Jack the Ripper and Bluebeard the Pirate. In addition to making wax statues the doctor performs plastic surgery. It is here that an arch fiend takes refuge. The museum also houses a statue of Charlie.

Chan is lured to the wax museum on the pretext of sparring over an old case with Dr. Otto Von Brom (Michael Visaroff) on a radio broadcast arranged by Cream. Based on Von Brom's testimony, Joe Rocke had been to be executed, but Chan is convinced that Rocke was innocent. In fact, it is all a setup so that McBirney can have his revenge, but Chan already suspects it. His son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) sneaks into the museum to investigate (without Chan's knowledge).

Cast:
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung)
C. Henry Gordon as Dr. Cream
Marc Lawrence as Steve McBirney
Joan Valerie as Lily Latimer, Cream's assistant
Marguerite Chapman as Mary Bolton, a reporter
Ted Osborne as Tom Agnew/"Butcher" Dagan, the radio program director and announcer
Michael Visaroff as Dr. Otto Von Brom, a criminologist who puts his faith in scientific methods
Hilda Vaughn as Mrs. Joe Rocke
Charles Wagenheim as Willie Fern
Archie Twitchell as Carter Lane, representing Mrs. Rocke
Eddie Marr as Grenock, McBirney's bodyguard
Joe King as Inspector O'Matthews
Harold Goodwin as Edwards, the radio program's engineer

According to David Robert Cellitti, the wax figure of Charlie Chan was made by a studio in Los Angeles called The Stubergh’s, which was run by Katherine Stubergh. “The late Katherine Stubergh was my mentor. She supplied wax figures for such films as House of Wax, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, The Frozen Ghost, and many other pictures…including Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum,” Cellitti said.

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