http://youtu.be/V6hA6Hx8PIg
Sir Joseph Whemple: [translating inscription on Scroll of Thoth box] “Death…eternal punishment…for…anyone…who…opens…this…casket. In the name…of Amon-Ra…the king of the gods. Good heavens, what a terrible curse!
Ralph Norton: [eagerly] Well, let’s see what’s inside!
I love this movie!
The above clip is my favorite scene in the entire film…I love the absolute subtly of it! The slow, weary opening of the mummy’s eyes as it’s
being summoned back to life (the eye is opened sooo slow!)…the movement of the hands away from the chest…the dessicated hand entering the scene to touch the scroll…the sloughing away into the darkness by only showing the trailing mummy wrappings (and at a mummy’s gait!)…and the gone-mad stare and laughter from our forever traumatized “Oxford chap” archeologist, Ralph Norton (Bramwell Fletcher)!
“He went for a little walk! You should have seen his face!”
I love the whole black-and-white atmosphere, the story partially inspired by the real Tutankhamun (or -amen) discovery in 1922. I love how much is left to the imagination through use of light and dark…shadows. Implication.
And then there’s the line uttered by Zita Johann and made famous by a Rob Zombie song: “Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with?”
Ah, the eternal question for some!
Click here for some additional The Mummy info.
The above link mentioned there was a reincarnational scene deleted from the movie. The slideshow creator (see “Reincarnation Deleted Scense” slideshow video, below) said there had been downright animosity between the director, Carl Freund and Zita Johann (who played Helen Grosvenor), hinting that might have played a part in the removal of the scenes. I wonder if it may have taken movie goers “out” of the movie, the “mummy atmosphere” that had already been created. There is also a scene where David Manners (Frank Whemple character) tells Zita/Helen, in the scene where Zita is brought to the elder Whemple’s home and couch that there was something about “her head” (“I say…now, I know what it is about you…there was something about her head…”) and the head of the discovered mummy of Princess Anck-es-en-Amon…implying she’s got the same body (and head…face…) as the ancient Egyptian princess…while in the deleted scenes there are different actresses playing some of her different reincarnations. I know about the ideas of reincarnation for both the souls taking on new bodies, but also keeping various “versions” of their previous bodies (and every variant in between)…but it could have been a problematic issue, just the same. Anyway, for me, watching this slideshow had a “weird feel” to it, perhaps it was the contemporary video composer’s composition…including music and included contemporary slides to complete the deleted tale…but I’m not sure it would have lent anything “more” to the movie. Who knows….
In any event, here is the slideshow, showing some of those deleted scenes (again, intermixed with more contemporary scenes for “completeness” sake, I can only assume):
The only drawback (and it’s a minor one) I can find to the movie is that there aren’t many mummy-in-wraps scenes beyond the opening (minus the flashback). However, in direct contrast to that statement, I do love how the film transcends the mummy-ness into a character who interacts with the living, beyond deadly brute force! So, there lies the dichotomy. There are other mummy movies I love, like the Christopher Lee version, where he stays-as-mummy and terrorizes, but this 1932 film, with its “intelligent” script, remains at the top of my list!
And, lastly, enjoy this 1957 Boris Karloff, This Is Your Life, interview:
Related articles
- Where’s Mummy? (fpdorchak.wordpress.com/)
- The Mummy Trilogy (fpdorchak.wordpress.com/)
- The Mummy (1932): “Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with?” (carfaxabbey.blogspot.com/)
- Zombies v. The Undead (fpdorchak.wordpress.com/)
One of my all-time favorites from the classic Universal period! Perfect for Halloween.
You’re right, Frank, that resurrection scene is so well-staged. What gets me, here and in other monster movies of this period, is the silence and the patience with which things unravel (no pun intended). Many old films are, in my view, marred by an over-the-top score, so it surprises me (pleasantly) that scenes like this, and similar ones in “Frankenstein” and “Dracula”, don’t have some overdone, loud, “scary” music screeching out at us. As in other areas of film, less is more.
Interesting, too, to learn about the deleted scene. I always enjoy hearing behind-the-scene facts from great movies and TV shows. Great job!
There’s a reason for the silence, Paul – it wasn’t necessarily that the movie-makers thought it would enhance the creepy factor. Movie soundtracks just weren’t the norm before the mid-30s. “Bride of Frankenstein” in 1935 was one of the first! That’s why background music is missing from “Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” “The Mummy” and a lot of early ’30s movies. They often just used a little of a well-known piece during the opening credits (“Dracula” uses a piece from “Swan Lake”). During the silent era, Hollywood didn’t have to worry about the music – it was provided by the local theaters in the form of an organist or other musician. It took them a few years to catch on. Some people don’t like the silence of the early “talkie” movie soundtracks, but I agree with you – it lends a great eerie feeling!
Well, they certainly made up for it down the road when the order of the day became overkill. Thanks, Professor Pratt!
This is a fantastic early Universal horror film – definitely one of my favorites, being a Boris Karloff/William Pratt fan! So low-key but creepy! Boris, like Vincent, always struck me as the nicest of men off-screen. I remember watching that “This is Your Life” episode years ago. Boris was such a private man, and his daughter said years later that they really surprised him, and he was a little horrified about the whole thing – having to talk about his private life in public, even if it was quite mild (1950s, after all). I think you can see a little of that hesitation in the show. He was married five times, but that kind of conversation was totally private and off-limits with him! 🙂 Sara Karloff mentioned that he was truly happy to see “Frankenstein” make-up artist Jack Pierce, and you can tell.
Jack Pierce did “The Mummy” make-up too – I think he did most of the Universal horror monsters. What a legacy!
Mummies never scared me. They just looked like the people in the hospital rooms on the movies who had been in terrible accidents…not likely to threaten anyone. But I loved the first mummy movie with Brandon Shafer…because it was campy and the real bad guys were clearly human.
Beautifully done, Frank! I haven’t seen this version of The Mummy in quite some time. (I did watch Hammer’s Mummy just a few days ago though!) I should watch again, I think. The old Universal monster films are truly timeless. Not my favourites, but I still enjoy them. And I really enjoyed your post. 🙂