"Mystery of the Wax Museum" was the last feature film under a 1931 Technicolor contract. Warner had already noted the public's apathy with the more artificial color system. Technicolor was greeted with hostility by critics and public awash in its unreal hues and humdrum quality control since 1929. The considerable additional expense of the compromised two-color spectrum, which was a fine idea when color was a novelty, was now anathema. Warners had tried without success to get Technicolor to permit them to swap out the last feature commitment for a series of shorts, but when the studio violated the contract by filming "Doctor X" with an additional black-and-white unit – thereby permitting them to process prints at their own lab and avoid paying Technicolor thousands of dollars – Technicolor dug in their heels and refused. Consequently, "Mystery of the Wax Museum" was the last studio feature using the two-color Technicolor. Technicolor founder Herbert Kalmus declared it "the ultimate that is possible with two components." The combination of the two-color process with the lighting of Rennahan and the set designs of Grot, greatly improved quality control in printing, and an unreal atmosphere worked well for the film's story. The process may have outgrown its welcome, but it ended on a high note; contemporary exhibitor reviews in "The Film Daily" document that the color was greatly admired by both theatre owners and their audiences, often citing it as "beautiful" or "the best color I have ever seen".