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The Mummy, 1932

Directed by Karl Freund Written by Nina Wilcox Putnam, Richard Schayer, John L. Balderston Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. (and Stanley Bergerman, uncredited) Boris Karloff..:..Imhotep/Ardath Bey Zita Johann..:..Helen Grosvenor/Ank-sun-Amon David Manners..:..Frank Whemple Arthur Byron..:..Sir Joseph Whemple Edward Van Sloan..:..Doctor Muller Bramwell Fletcher..:..Ralph Norton Noble Johnson..:..The Nubian Kathryn Byron..:..Frau Muller Leonard Mudie..:..Professor Pearson James Crane..:..The Pharaoh

In this romance spanning centuries, the title character, the mummy Imhotep (portrayed by Boris Karloff) actually appears only briefly on the screen at the beginning as an actual mummy.  Imhotep then reappears as Ardeth Bey, who poses as an Egyptologist to get closer to his heart's desire ~ the tomb of his long-dead love, the princess Ank-sun-Amon.  He also discovers a young woman, whose father was English, mother Egyptian, Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann).  Helen is the reincarnation of his beloved princess. Imhotep believes once  he claims the life of Helen Grosvenor, and mumifies her body, Ank-sun-Amon will be returned to him.  Helen finds herself torn between the mesmerizing Bay and handsome young Egyptologist Frank Wemple, who steals Helen's love in the current day. The Ancient Egypt flashback sequences were used in several other mummy films, as they're done well for the period. The film is virtually scare-free, capitalizing on mood, and dwelling on Helen, who seems almost possessed.  This movie is the first horror film I ever saw, since my mother is an Egyptology aficionado, and it scared the heck out of me: I had nightmares about a mummy chasing me for years!  Now that I’m a seasoned horror movie veteran, it doesn’t really have the same effect, but I enjoy it as a well-made film.

Boris Karloff [above] as the high priest Imhotep's mummy... The mummy makeup took about eight hours to apply, and Karloff was said to have used the real mummy of Ramses III [to left] as a role model ~ what do you think?

Notice Henry Victor as "The Saxon Warrior;" he was part of flashback scenes, which were cut, depicting Anck-sun-Amon's incarnations from Egyptian princess to her current life as Helen Grosvenor.

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