Relying more on mood and atmosphere than delivering thrills, Universal’s The Mummy is a pre-Code supernatural horror directed by Karl Freund, and starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, and David Manners.
The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer.
Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Monsters franchise, the film features Karloff as Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian mummy who was killed for attempting to resurrect his dead lover, Anck-es-en-Amon.
After being discovered and brought to life by a team of archaeologists, he disguises himself as a modern Egyptian named Ardath Bey, searching for Anck-es-en-Amon.
The Austrian actress, Zita Johann, was cast as Helen Grosvenor, a British-Egyptian woman preyed on by Imhotep / Princess Anck-es-en-Amon, and Helen’s lookalike ancestor/past life
While less profitable than its predecessors Dracula and Frankenstein, The Mummy was still a commercial and critical success.
Culturally influential, it spawned sequels, spin-offs, remakes, and reimaginings.
The classical music during the opening credits, taken from the Tchaikovsky ballet “Swan Lake,” was previously used for the opening credits of Dracula (1931) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932); it would be re-used as the title music of Secret of the Blue Room (1933).
The Mummy has also been decried by some modern critics for “othering” Eastern culture, portraying it as being more primitive and superstitious than Western culture.
In the late 1950s, British Hammer Film Productions took up the Mummy theme, beginning with The Mummy (1959), which is based on The Mummy’s Hand (1940) and The Mummy’s Tomb (1942). Hammer’s follow-ups — The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964), The Mummy’s Shroud (1966) and Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971) — are unrelated to the first film.
Cast
Boris Karloff in a shot used throughout the film.
Boris Karloff (billed as “Karloff”) as Ardath Bey / Im-ho-tep / The Mummy, an Ancient Egyptian high priest, buried alive for trying to resurrect his lover Princess Anck-es-en-Amon
Zita Johann as Helen Grosvenor, a young British-Egyptian woman preyed on by Imhotep / Princess Anck-es-en-Amon, Helen’s lookalike ancestor/past life
David Manners as Frank Whemple, an archaeologist and Helen’s lover
Arthur Byron as Sir Joseph Whemple, a retired archaeologist and Frank’s father
Edward Van Sloan as Dr. Sid Muller, Sir Joseph’s and Frank’s colleague
Bramwell Fletcher as Ralph Norton, Sir Joseph’s archaeology assistant
Noble Johnson as The Nubian, Sir Joseph’s and later Imhotep’s servant
Kathryn Byron as Frau Anna Muller, Dr. Muller’s wife
Leonard Mudie as Professor Pearson, Frank’s partner and archaeologist
James Crane as The Pharaoh (misspelled as “Pharoh” in the credits) Amenophis, Princess Anck-es-en-Amon’s father and ruler of Ancient Egypt
Mummy, The (1932): Karl Freund’s Pre-Code Supernatural Horror, Starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann
Relying more on mood and atmosphere than delivering thrills, Universal’s The Mummy is a pre-Code supernatural horror directed by Karl Freund, and starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, and David Manners.
The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer.
Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Monsters franchise, the film features Karloff as Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian mummy who was killed for attempting to resurrect his dead lover, Anck-es-en-Amon.
After being discovered and brought to life by a team of archaeologists, he disguises himself as a modern Egyptian named Ardath Bey, searching for Anck-es-en-Amon.
The Austrian actress, Zita Johann, was cast as Helen Grosvenor, a British-Egyptian woman preyed on by Imhotep / Princess Anck-es-en-Amon, and Helen’s lookalike ancestor/past life
While less profitable than its predecessors Dracula and Frankenstein, The Mummy was still a commercial and critical success.
Culturally influential, it spawned sequels, spin-offs, remakes, and reimaginings.
The classical music during the opening credits, taken from the Tchaikovsky ballet “Swan Lake,” was previously used for the opening credits of Dracula (1931) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932); it would be re-used as the title music of Secret of the Blue Room (1933).
The Mummy has also been decried by some modern critics for “othering” Eastern culture, portraying it as being more primitive and superstitious than Western culture.
In the late 1950s, British Hammer Film Productions took up the Mummy theme, beginning with The Mummy (1959), which is based on The Mummy’s Hand (1940) and The Mummy’s Tomb (1942). Hammer’s follow-ups — The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964), The Mummy’s Shroud (1966) and Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971) — are unrelated to the first film.
Cast
Boris Karloff in a shot used throughout the film.
Boris Karloff (billed as “Karloff”) as Ardath Bey / Im-ho-tep / The Mummy, an Ancient Egyptian high priest, buried alive for trying to resurrect his lover Princess Anck-es-en-Amon
Zita Johann as Helen Grosvenor, a young British-Egyptian woman preyed on by Imhotep / Princess Anck-es-en-Amon, Helen’s lookalike ancestor/past life
David Manners as Frank Whemple, an archaeologist and Helen’s lover
Arthur Byron as Sir Joseph Whemple, a retired archaeologist and Frank’s father
Edward Van Sloan as Dr. Sid Muller, Sir Joseph’s and Frank’s colleague
Bramwell Fletcher as Ralph Norton, Sir Joseph’s archaeology assistant
Noble Johnson as The Nubian, Sir Joseph’s and later Imhotep’s servant
Kathryn Byron as Frau Anna Muller, Dr. Muller’s wife
Leonard Mudie as Professor Pearson, Frank’s partner and archaeologist
James Crane as The Pharaoh (misspelled as “Pharoh” in the credits) Amenophis, Princess Anck-es-en-Amon’s father and ruler of Ancient Egypt