The film is based on an unpublished short story, "The Wax Works", by Charles S. Belden, who had also written a play called "The Wax Museum", which had been optioned by Charles Rogers, an independent producer. This had been discovered by Warner's copyright attorney, but the studio optioned the story from Belden for $1,000 before getting the attorney's report. Rogers dropped his option on the play when threatened with a lawsuit from the co-author of a Broadway play with a similar plot.