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:

The film's poster holds the record for the most money paid for a movie poster at auction: more than $453,500.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Imhotep has been sentenced to "the Nameless Death," yet his name is still inscribed on his coffin. The ancient Egyptians had chisels and should have been able to destroy the glyphs on the coffin that make up Imhotep's name, but it is clearly seen to be untouched when his mummy is found.

Quotes:

Frank Whemple: Oh, I know it seems absurd when we've known each other such a short time. But I'm serious.
Helen Grosvenor/The Princess: Don't you think I've had enough excitement for one evening, without the additional thrill of a strange man making love to me?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The House That Freddy Built (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Music

A Well-Crafted Horror Classic

With one of Boris Karloff's numerous acting successes and a production done the way that a horror feature should be made, this is a well-crafted classic of the genre. From the first scene, the right atmosphere is established, and the story is told at an implacable pace that slowly builds up the tension and possibilities.

As he does with his characters in so many of his horror features, Karloff makes "The Mummy" a menacing monster, yet one with enough human motivations to keep him from becoming cartoonish. Karloff's approach, as does the movie as a whole, stimulates the imagination rather than the senses, giving this classic version a depth and permanence that cannot be matched by those more recent adaptations that rely on boring "special" effects and contrived "action" sequences instead of a well-told story with solid characters.

Edward Van Sloan, David Manners, and the rest of the supporting cast also help out. The atmosphere and settings are kept relatively simple, but effective. Naturally, the story is far-fetched, but it has a consistency that makes it relatively easy to suspend disbelief. The picture fits together well, and it remains a solid entry in the list of classic horror films.