[HorrorScience] The Mummy (1932)

Reading time: 5 minutes

Qualification

The Mummy

Year

1932

Duration

73 minutes

Director

Karl Freud

Distribution

Boris Karloff, Zita Johan, David Manners, Arthur Byron, Edward Van Sloan, Bramwell Fletcher, Noble Johnson, Kathryn Byron, Leonard Mudie, James Crane

Script

Nina Wilcox Putnam, Richard Schayer, John L. Balderston

I have previously commented in this section on many classic Universal monster movies such as Dracula, the werewolf or the monster Frankenstein, including its sequels and the films where the characters faced each other (Frankenstein and the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's mansion and Dracula's mansion).

This marathon task caused him to leave aside other important classic monsters such as the invisible man, the creature from the lagoon, Jekyll and Hyde, the Phantom of the Opera or the mummy.

After trying to recover its monsters for the umpteenth time, Universal Pictures has released a new movie this year. The mummy and because of this I thought it would be good to comment The Mummy (1932) which was the first version of the character at the hands of that production company.

An excavation in Egypt finds a sarcophagus containing a somewhat strange mummy and a sealed chest containing the warning of a curse for anyone who opens it. After studying the mummy a little, they discover that his name is Imhotep and that he did not go through the usual mummification process, which suggested that The subject in front of them was buried alive covered in bandages., presumably punished for some kind of betrayal. While they discuss what to do with the chest, one of the researchers opens it and reads the scroll inside, causing him to go crazy and the mummy to disappear.

[HorrorScience] The Mummy (1932) — Copyright HAG ©2009

Years later, the workers of an excavation in Egypt receive a visit from a somewhat strange guy named Ardath Bey who tells them where they could find the remains of Princess Ankhesenamon. Seeing signs that this could be the case (and because the excavation was not being fruitful) they decided to search in the indicated place with great success.

Shortly after, strange situations begin to happen that only occur in the presence of Ardath Bey, who seems to have everything planned so that he can continue in the present with what he was forbidden to do in his day and which led him to eternal damnation.

As happens with Dracula (1933), The mummy It is a well-made film, visually pleasant, with some moments that range from the uncomfortable to the terrifying, but its pace is quite slow at all times. Its duration (a little over an hour) helps to alleviate this fact (so common in films of that time) and that is why it does not get tiring or boring, despite the fact that in many moments absolutely nothing happens and when it does, we do not see it directly.

Boris Karloff is tremendously disturbing, the makeup is exceptional, he really looks like a dead, dry and rotting man walking surrounded by healthy men. His appearance as a mummy in the sarcophagus was what inspired the rest of the mummy films, but coincidentally his image as Ardath Bey is much more disturbing. I wouldn't want to look at the door and find a guy with that face looking at me.

The film includes one of those "express romances" in which someone looks at another person and they are already in love (which may not exactly be love and they just want some intimacy, but of course, they are not going to say that, and it is also not commercial). That romance contributes absolutely nothing and could have been saved. A second romance appears later, when the origin of the mummy is told and this is interesting, especially when knowing how this affected the character played by Boris Karloff. It is curious that the love of that character, which cost her absolutely everything, is seen as evil and the other romance, which has no development or logic, is what saves the main actress.

In any case, The mummy It is a highly recommended film, somewhat slow, but sinister and interesting. The character of the mummy is treated with so much respect that one comes to empathize with him more than with anyone else.

Some curiosities:

Before deciding on the final title, other names for the film were considered, such as Imhotep and King of the Dead.
Although Universal Studios made more mummy movies (Mummy's Hand, Mummy's Ghost, Mummy's Curse) none is a continuation of this film since they were about a different mummy (Kharis).
The movie of The Mummy (1999) did rely on this story and even recovered the mummy Imhotep.
The name Imhotep uses as a pseudonym (Ardath Brey) is an anagram of “Death by Ra”.
The mummy's name (Imhotep) is that of an ancient High Priest who was also a doctor and architect. Due to his enormous contributions in both fields (he is considered the founder of Egyptian medicine) he received great recognition in his time and was considered the God of medicine and wisdom.