The Mummy (The Universal Movie From The 30's)

The Mummy (1932)

Runtime: 73 minutes

Directed by: Karl Freund

Starring: Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Arthur Byron, Edward Van Sloan

From: Universal

 RIP Halyna Hutchins. That is off-topic but it is still something I wanted to address. While I've never seen any film that had her involvement, it is a tragedy that there was an accident on a movie set, especially one involving guns. After what happened w/ Brandon Lee, there have been strict rules & protocols concerning prop guns on set and how they were handled. I won't “dunk” on Alec Baldwin's involvement because of his brash political beliefs (as many have been doing online the past 24 hours)--however, if the rumors are true that conditions were so bad on set that “a scab crew” was brought in to replace those raising concerns... and he is one of the producers... no matter the circumstances this should have never happened. To reiterate, RIP Ms. Hutchins.

As I've seen some other mummy movies, why not this Universal classic? In particular, the Hammer one from '59 and the Brendan Fraser films which I have not reviewed here because they haven't been watched in more than a decade. To add variety for the spooky season, watching this on the Criterion Channel seemed like a swell idea. The rest of the month I hope to see the likes of another folk horror, something regional, a Hammer picture, something involving werewolves, something on a train... not everything promised in recent history that will be viewed will actually occur... that's life. One day I'll get to those.

In the meantime, I thought this was pretty good. Not to spoil a near 90 year old movie, but there was less “member of the undead covered in bandages walking around” than I expected-which was OK (I understand the entire outfit wasn't pleasant for Old Boris to have on... or have it all taken off) as what they did instead was still interesting, even if it a little improbable how certain characters accept certain fantastical scenarios as fact. A mysterious Egyptian known as Ardeth Bey does some weird rituals and due to Zita Johann being “half-Egyptian” (the white people portraying that nationality is a little silly yet it is of course common for the time) that unnaturally attracts her to him. Oh, and there is an (off-screen) dog death-I know that will be a deal-breaker to some.

I've seen some say that this is old and creaky—I can't even say that is 100% untrue. Be that as it may, I thought it was a pretty good time. The quality performances from Karloff and Johann definitely are assets, but so are some nice sets that bring Egypt to life, a story that is fun even if it's hokey at times, & whether it be mood or atmosphere, both are presented rather well. While Dracula (either in English or Spanish) and Frankenstein are better, this is still a Universal horror classic from the past I was happy to finally give a shot.