THE MUMMY

In anticipation of Halloween and in celebration of the recent blu-ray release of the classic and iconic “Universal Monsters” series, I have decided to review each title individually in chronological order, and the latest review of the series is for “The Mummy” that was directed by Karl Freund and premiered on 22 December, 1932.

Graduating from cinematographer to director for this latest installment of the “Universal Monsters” films was none other than Karl Freund (who was cinematographer on Browning’s “Dracula”).  Although Freund directed only a handful of pictures he was quite adept in the job as is evidenced very early on in “The Mummy”.

The opening of “The Mummy” is set in 1921 when an archeological expedition in Egypt comes across the buried and mummified remains of an ancient Prince named Im-ho-tep.  After initial examination of his tomb and the corpse himself, head archeologist of the dig Sir Joseph Wemple and his friend Dr. Muller come to the conclusion that the prince was buried in disgrace and in fact whilst still alive.  Buried alongside Im-ho-tep was a mysterious scroll which when read out aloud has the ability to bring the dead back to life.  Believing it to be all superstition, Wemple’s assistant reads the scroll and sure enough, the mummy awakens steals the scroll and walks outside to freedom.  The assistant unable to believe what he has just witnessed goes mad with insanity.  From here the film cuts ahead to the modern days of 1932 where we find Joseph’s son, Frank, leading his own expedition in Egypt with no luck.  Just as they are packing up, a mysterious local man named Ardath Bay approaches the men with information on where they should dig to find the missing tomb of a lost Egyptian princess.  Bay’s information proves correct and the princess’s body is indeed found, however this princess also turns out to be Im-ho-tep’s long lost love, and Ardath Bay is none other than Im-ho-tep himself and with the scroll in his possession, he attempts to restore her back to life.  The only problem is that this resurrection would come at the cost of the life of Helen, a beautiful young girl who is Frank’s fiancé but also the reincarnation of the Egyptian princess.

Like all of these films in the “Universal Monsters” series, “The Mummy” has a particularly strong opening.  The scenes set in 1921 are rich with atmosphere and dread as the mummy is mistakenly brought back to life.  The most impressive thing about this segment of the film though is Jack Pierce’s amazing make-up job on the mummy.  It is so realistic with aged and withered bandages and Boris Karloff’s time degenerated face.  Apparently it took a minimum of eight hours to get the make-up on and was very uncomfortable for Karloff to wear, and considering how little screen time this incarnation of the mummy gets, it is very impressive that they went the extra yard for it.  Again, like his design for Frankenstein’s monster, I do not think that Pierce’s work here on the mummy has been bettered, even with today’s advent in technology.  That is something that CGI just cannot replicate properly and that is real textures, a feeling that this man has been buried for thousands of years.

As I mentioned, Boris Karloff is in the titular role of the mummy Im-ho-tep, and thankfully this isn’t a retread of his Frankenstein performance.  He plays the character with suaveness and a gentlemanly presence.  He does not immediately come across as dangerous with his smooth way of talking and his old style manners, however if someone gets in the way of his ultimate goal, he has no problem dispatching of that person.  Similar to Dracula, Im-ho-tep is able to hypnotize his prey and he does so, particularly with poor Helen who, when under the mummy’s power, has no recollection of what she has been made to do.  Freund uses the same technique he did on “Dracula”, although improving it dramatically, of shinning a small light into Karloff’s eyes to represent his hypnotic stare.

The regular crop of actors who seem to appear in these “Universal Monsters” films do so again and all are fine in their roles.  Edward Van Sloan plays his usual type role with Dr. Muller and does so with charm and flare, and David Manners shows up again playing essentially the same role he did in “Dracula” with Frank.  I feel sorry for poor Manners because he always comes across as a sap and so weak willed, but I guess he is fine in the role.  Zita Johann plays the requisite female of the film, Helen, and I must admit I thought she was really great.  She had sassiness and was always pleasant to watch on screen.  She also had some great dialogue early on in the film which she delivered effortlessly and so naturally.  I also thought Arthur Byron impressed as the doomed Joseph Wemple, terrified by the consequences of what he was doing but due to his scientific brain was still attracted by the curiosity of it all.

As Karl Freund was coming from a cinematography background, “The Mummy” was always going to look good and it does not disappoint in this regard.  The earlier scenes that I mentioned set in 1921 are just stellar, but the whole film has a rich and stylized look to it all.  As usual, Freund uses shadows and the darkness brilliantly, especially during a scene set in a museum, but I also thought he handled the special effect shots really well.  For its time, the scenes of Im-ho-tep viewing what was happening via a magical pool of water looked really impressive.  I must admit though from a story point of view, I was surprised by how dark the film was particularly when the mummy attacked, which must have been confronting during its time of release.  Interestingly Karl Freund went on to direct another horror film of note in the 1930’s which just may be the most bizarre and insane film of the whole period, 1935’s “Mad Love” starring genius actor Peter Lorre (if you have not seen this film, do so immediately, you will not be disappointed).

At the end of the day, “The Mummy” has been very well made in all departments and it is probably to this day still the definitive “Mummy” film.  While the film is definitely a horror film, the motives for Im-ho-tep’s crimes all have to do with love, and while this is indeed an interesting notion, I do not believe that the love story of the film is handled anywhere near as well as the horror aspects.  Still this is what I think most audiences of “The Mummy” would be looking for anyway, and in this regard I do not think they will be disappointed.

4 Stars.