Actress Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake (actor)) rests after her final performance at the 'Théâtre des Horreurs' (styled after the Grand Guignol) in Paris, France. As she listens to her husband Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive) play the piano on the radio, she is greeted by Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre), who has seen every show featuring Yvonne, and unaware of her marriage, is aghast to learn that she is moving to England with her husband. Gogol leaves the theater heartbroken, buys the wax figure of Yvonne's character, refers to it as Galatea (from the Greek myth), and arranges that it be delivered to his home the following day.