The Mummy

Also known as Mummy

1932 film directed by Karl Freund

Film · TMDB

6.8

An ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep is revived when a British archaeological expedition finds his mummy and one of the researchers accidentally reads an ancient life-giving spell. Imhotep escapes from the field site and searches for the reincarnation of the soul of his lover.

Released: 1932-12-2273 minDir: Karl FreundHorror, FantasyBudget: $196,000Box office: $1,408Part of: The Mummy (Universal) Collection

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Cast

Boris Karloff as Imhotep / Ardath Bey
Zita Johann as Helen Grosvenor / Princess Anck-es-en-Amon
David Manners as Frank Whemple
Arthur Byron as Sir Joseph Whemple
Edward Van Sloan as Dr. Muller
Bramwell Fletcher as Ralph Norton

Themes

virgin
egypt
excavation
museum
mummy
halloween
incantation
reincarnation
buried alive
resurrection

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Ratings

IMDb

6.9/10

33,387 votes

Year: 1932
Runtime: 73 min
Genres: Fantasy, Horror

via IMDb

Key facts

Directed by: Karl Freund
Screenplay by: John L. Balderston
Story by: Nina Wilcox Putnam Richard Schayer
Produced by: Carl Laemmle Jr.
Starring: Boris Karloff Zita Johann David Manners Edward van Sloan Arthur Byron
Cinematography: Charles Stumar
Edited by: Milton Carruth
Music by: James Dietrich
Production company: Universal Pictures
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release date: December 22, 1932 ( 1932-12-22 )
Running time: 73 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $196,000

via Wikipedia infobox

~22 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund, and starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, and Arthur Byron. 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 accidentally brought to life by a team of archaeologists, he disguises himself as a modern Egyptian named Ardeth Bey and searches for Anck-es-en-Amon, who he believes has been reincarnated in the modern world.

Universal released The Mummy theatrically in the United States on December 22, 1932. While less profitable than its predecessors Dracula and Frankenstein, The Mummy was still a commercial and critical success, becoming culturally influential and spawning several sequels, spin-offs, remakes, and reimaginings. The film and its sequels cemented the mummy archetype as a staple of the horror genre and Halloween festivities.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “The Mummy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.