In 1970 the Warner Bros. studio reference print was found by former studio head Jack Warner in his personal collection. The AFI made a new negative, rather unsuccessfully (cameraman Ray Rennahan told historian Richard Koszarski that it looked so dismal that he walked out of the screening room). United Artists made their own low-contrast negative for TV prints, losing virtually all of the color. The nitrate print screened at Graumann's Chinese Theatre in the early summer, then again at Alice Tully Hall in the 8th New York Film Festival on September 26, 1970, at 4:00 pm, as part of a retrospective, Medium Rare 1927-1933, of films not seen since their first release. It was released in UA's Prime Time Showcase television package in August 1972, first broadcast on the BBC in London before playing sixteen domestic TV markets. In Washington D.C. "Mystery of the Wax Museum" played on WTOP's Saturday night classic film series "Cinema Club 9" in late 1972. In New York City, it had its first airing in 1973 on WPIX-TV in a Sunday morning slot, cut by 15 minutes for commercials. Later it became a staple on the station's Saturday night "Chiller Theater".