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This is the original mummy movie, made
in 1932 and starring Boris Karloff. It is one scary movie (I should know, I was scared many
times in my childhood watching it late on a Saturday night)--though much more is left to
the imagination than in any horror movie these days.
It tells the story of
Imhotep, an Egyptian mummy (disturbed in his unmarked grave by dastardly archaeologists,
of course), who awakens and wishes to be reunited with his ancient love (named
Anck-es-en-Amon, after King Tut's wife--though the movie character has no relation to King
Tut at all) . . . who just happens to have been reincarnated as the movie's heroine, Helen
Grosvenor.
Filmed in black-and-white
and very moody visually (though there's almost no moody music), the movie has
many effective scenes:
At
the beginning, the archaeologists inspect the mummy of Imhotep...his internal organs had
not been removed. They argue about what to do with the casket containing the Scroll of
Thoth. One archaeologist, left alone with the mummy, begins to translate the
Scroll...which serves to awaken the mummy (Boris Karloff in great make-up). The moment the
mummy opens his eye is unforgettable: a true movie classic.
Later
in the movie, the deaths of Anck-es-en-Amon and Imhotep in Ancient Egypt are acted out
memorably. After Anck-es-en-Amon dies, Imhotep is caught trying to bring her body back to
life by reading the Scroll of Thoth (this would go against the Egyptian's religious belief
that the person is happily living her afterlife) and is wrapped as a mummy...alive!
Swaddled in linen bandages, his body is placed in a desecrated coffin; all magical symbols
and hieroglyphics are removed from it, so that he will not have an afterlife at all. Then
Imhotep is buried in an unmarked grave--even the gravediggers are killed--as are the
soldiers who kill the gravediggers--so that no one will ever know the burial site of
Imhotep. This part of the movie is filled with short scenes, flying by very quickly,
but they are extremely evocative.
At
the end, Imhotep is trying to kill the reincarnated Anck-es-en-Amon at the Cairo
Museum...so that he can bring her body back to life and they can live in eternity
together. Lots of suspense and atmosphere.
Though the movie was made
almost 80 years ago (gulp!), it still stands up (and walks!) as a classic and is
definitely worth
seeing.
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