This 1918 film directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch is alleged to be the first mummy horror film although there is a claim of a lost 1905 film. The only problem is that except for the title there is no mummy! The plot, well here goes. An art student in Egypt goes to an Egyptian tomb to find Ma who may possibly be Pola Negri. I say possibly because the player of the lead character is NOT identified in the credits. Ma is being held as a slave by an Arab (beautifully over acted by Emil Jannings) who is beaten up by the student who then liberates Ma and takes her back to Germany. The Arab nearly dies in the desert but is rescued by a German prince to whom he swears to serve for life. He, the Arab, is then also taken to Germany. Ma in the meantime wows them with a hootchie kootchie dance at a party and gets a theatrical contract to perform on stage. The exotic dance is a hoot. Meanwhile Ma's former Arab master comes across her and in a fit of revenge kills her. The end and all in 30 minutes and no mummy. The overacting in terms of gestures common to silent films of the period is quite present. Jannings, in semi black face, is quite effective as the villain. His repertoire of sinister facial expressions is quite large. All in all the film is an historical curiosity that I am sure Lubitsch and Negri tried to forget when they became more well known.
Review of The Eyes of the Mummy
