The Mummy (1932 film)

The Mummy
File:The Mummy 1932 DVD cover.jpg The Mummy 1932 DVD cover
Directed by	Karl Freund
Written by	John L. Balderston
Produced by	Carl Laemmle Jr.
Starring	Boris Karloff Zita Johann David Manners
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	December 22 1932 (U.S. release)
Running time	73 min
Language	English

File:Karloffmummy.jpg

Boris Karloff as Ardath Bey AKA Prince Imhotep in The Mummy.

File:Mummytitle.jpg

Title card from The Mummy.

The Mummy is a 1932 horror film directed by Karl Freund, starring Boris Karloff as an Ancient Egyptian prince, Imhotep, whose mummy is inadvertently revived by a member of an archaeological expedition and who, using the name Ardath Bey (an anagram of 'Death by Ra'), prowls Cairo seeking the reincarnation of the soul of his ancient lover, Princess Ankh-es-en-amon.

A 1959 British film entitled "The Mummy", starring Christopher Lee in the title role, was actually a remake of two later Universal horror films about a different living mummy, Kharis, entitled The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb.

Plot Summary

An ancient Egyptian priest comes back from the dead due to an ancient life giving spell that was accidentally read by an archaeologist who discovered him. The title character seeks his love for whom he was mummified alive for attempting to resurrect, and mistakes a beautiful young woman for her and attempts to make her his bride, and also attempts to mummify her, so she can be reborn as he was. In the end the archaeologists stop Imhotep (The Priest) from doing so by burning the scroll which contained the spell that gave him life and he dissolves away into dust.

Trivia

• Director Karl Freund was the cinematographer for Fritz Lang's silent classic Metropolis (1927) and Tod Browning's Dracula featuring Bela Lugosi as well as for the 1950s television series I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

• Although the Mummy wasn't on screen for more than ten minutes, Boris Karloff wore a whole body suit for the short time he was on screen.

• The Mummy very closely parallels the studio's classic from the year before, Dracula, with almost identical scenes, some of the same cast members in extremely similar roles (David Manners and Edward Van Sloan), and Dracula cinematographer Karl Freund as director. Some critics have called The Mummy an instant remake of Dracula, produced so the studio could cash in. The Mummy was not based on an earlier novel or play.

• Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett owns the copyright to the original movie poster.

External links

• The Mummy at IMDb
• The Mummy at the All Movie Guide
• The Mummy at The Terror Trap

See also

• The Mummy (1959 film)
• The Mummy (1999 film)