The Mummy (1932 film)

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The Mummy
Image:The Mummy 1932 DVD cover.jpg The Mummy 1932 DVD cover
Directed by	Karl Freund
Produced by	Carl Laemmle Jr.
Written by	John L. Balderston
Starring	Boris Karloff Zita Johann David Manners
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	December 22 1932 (U.S. release)
Running time	73 min
Language	English
Followed by	The Mummy's Hand (1940)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Image:Karloffmummy.jpg

Boris Karloff as Ardath Bey AKA Prince Imhotep in The Mummy.

Image:Mummytitle.jpg

Title card from The Mummy.

The Mummy is a 1932 horror film directed by Karl Freund, starring Boris Karloff as an Ancient Egyptian prince, Imhotep, whose mummy is inadvertently revived by a member of an archaeological expedition and who, using the name Ardath Bey (an anagram of 'Death by Ra'), prowls Cairo seeking the reincarnation of the soul of his ancient lover, Princess Ankh-es-en-amon.

A 1959 British film entitled "The Mummy", starring Christopher Lee in the title role, was actually a remake of two later Universal horror films about a different living mummy, Kharis, entitled The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb.

1 Plot Summary
2 Trivia
3 External links
4 See also

[edit] Plot Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

An ancient Egyptian priest comes back from the dead due to an ancient life giving spell that was accidentally read by an archaeologist who discovered him. The title character seeks his love for whom he was mummified alive for attempting to resurrect, and mistakes a beautiful young woman for her and attempts to make her his bride, and also attempts to mummify her, so she can be reborn as he was. In the end the archaeologists stop Imhotep (The Priest) from doing so by burning the scroll which contained the spell that gave him life and he dissolves away into dust.

[edit] Trivia

Director Karl Freund was the cinematographer for Fritz Lang's silent classic Metropolis (1927) and Tod Browning's Dracula featuring Bela Lugosi as well as for the 1950s television series I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

Although the Mummy wasn't on screen for more than ten minutes, Boris Karloff wore a whole body suit for the short time he was on screen.

The Mummy very closely parallels the studio's classic from the year before, Dracula, with almost identical scenes, some of the same cast members in extremely similar roles (David Manners and Edward Van Sloan), and Dracula cinematographer Karl Freund as director. Some critics have called The Mummy an instant remake of Dracula, produced so the studio could cash in. The Mummy was not based on an earlier novel or play.

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett owns the copyright to the original movie poster.

While attempting to pass himself off as a modern Egyptian, the Mummy uses the alias "Ardath Bey." In the 1999 version, Oded Fehr's character, Ardeth Bay, is a member of a secret society sworn to keep the Mummy buried.

[edit] External links

The Mummy at the Internet Movie Database
The Mummy at the All Movie Guide
The Mummy at The Terror Trap
The Mummy at James M. Deem's Mummy Tombs site.

[edit] See also

Universal Pictures horror movie series
Dracula Dracula (1931) \| Dracula's Daughter (1936) \| Son of Dracula (1943) \| House of Dracula (1945)
Frankenstein Frankenstein (1931) \| Bride of Frankenstein (1935) \| Son of Frankenstein (1939) \| The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) \| Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) \| House of Frankenstein (1944) \| Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
The Wolf Man The Wolf Man (1941) \| Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
The Mummy The Mummy (1932) \| The Mummy's Hand (1940) \| The Mummy's Tomb (1942) \| The Mummy's Ghost (1944) \| The Mummy's Curse (1944) \| Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
The Invisible Man The Invisible Man (1933) \| The Invisible Man Returns (1940) \| The Invisible Woman (1940) \| Invisible Agent (1942) \| The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) \| Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
The Creature from the Black Lagoon Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) \| Revenge of the Creature (1955) \| The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
Edgar Allan Poe Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) \| The Black Cat (1934) \| The Raven (1935)
Other notable films The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) \| The Phantom of the Opera (1925) \| Werewolf of London (1935) \| Phantom of the Opera (1943) \| She-Wolf of London (1946)

Horror Icons In Film
Classic:	The Creature \| Dracula \| Frankenstein's monster \| The Invisible Man The Mummy \| Count Orlok \| The Phantom \| The Wolf Man
Modern:	Norman Bates \| Chucky \| Ghostface \| Jigsaw \| Freddy Krueger \| Leatherface \| Hannibal Lecter \| Michael Myers \| Pinhead \| Jason Voorhees \|