The Mummy (1932)

Director:

Karl Freund

Writers:

Nina Wilcox Putnam (story) and
Richard Schayer (story) ...

Release Date:

22 December 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

It comes to life!

Plot:

In 1921 a field expedition in Egypt discovers the mummy of ancient Egyptian prince Im-Ho-Tep, who was condemned and buried alive for sacrilege...

Plot Keywords:

Mummy | Reincarnation | Buried Alive | Virgin | Archeology

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Im-ho-tep / Ardath Bey
Zita Johann	...	Helen Grosvenor / Princess Anck-es-en-Amon
David Manners	...	Frank Whemple
Arthur Byron	...	Sir Joseph Whemple
Edward Van Sloan	...	Dr. Muller
Bramwell Fletcher	...	Ralph Norton
Noble Johnson	...	The Nubian
Kathryn Byron	...	Frau Muller
Leonard Mudie	...	Prof. Pearson
James Crane	...	The Pharaoh
Henry Victor	...	The Saxon warrior (scenes deleted)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arnold Gray	...	Knight (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Cagliostro
Im-Ho-Tep
King of the Dead

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1935) | Finland:K-11 (2004) | Spain:T | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Mojave Desert, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

So many layers of cotton were glued to Boris Karloff's face to create the wrinkled visage of Imhotep as a mummy that Karloff was unable to move his facial muscles enough even to speak.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the scene when he is informed of the death of the museum guard, we hear Sir Joseph Whemple say hello when he picks up the phone, but we don't see his mouth move.

Quotes:

Im-ho-tep, alias Ardath Bey: [to Helen Grosvenor dressed as his beloved Princess Anck-es-en-Amon] It was not only this body I loved, it was thy soul. I destroy this lifeless thing! Thou shall take its place but for a few moments and then... RISE again, even as I have risen!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)

Soundtrack:

Beautiful Love

The one, TRUE mummy!

Having recently seen the 1999 remake, I realized just how powerful Karloff's portrayal of Imhotep/Ardath Bey truly is. Without fancy effects or CGI, without an $80,000,000 budget, with little more than dry-looking make-up, a doleful stare, and that wonderful, lisping voice, Karloff created a monster that will endure long after the rental copies of the remake have shed their metal oxide coatings. Karl Freund, the director, was one of Germany's finest cameramen and this was his first film as a director. Employing the "less is more" theory of film-making, he keeps the mummy a very mysterious and deadly creature. Never does the mummy stroll up to someone, working them into a corner to strangle them. No, he just reaches out with his mind, killing people from miles away. Finally, the flashback scene is one of the best, done in "silent film" style with music and Karloff supplying a morbid voiceover. Sadly, Universal cut the flashback short before the mummy had a chance to tell about chasing the re-incarnated princess throughout time. Some stills survive and Henry Victor still gets credit as "The Saxon Warrior".