Mummy (1932)

DVD Verdict 7 of 10
The story, somewhat familiar to those who have seen the 1999 version of The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, is that a priest in ancient Egypt named Imhotep has to watch in horror as his lover is executed, then he is mummified alive, with a curse upon him. There are few other consistencies in the two stories, but we can go from there. Moving up to the 1920s archaeologists have found Imhotep's remains, along with a small gold casket containing a scroll. When an impetuous young man reads from the scroll, Imhotep rises again. Some fantastic and tortuous makeup from Jack Pierce (Frankenstein) gives Karloff an incredible look, but remarkably, is largely wasted because of Freund's restraint. You merely see the face of the mummy, then an arm slowly coming down...I admire the restraint but have to wonder why Karloff was subjected to many hours of painful makeup when hardly any of it is seen...The Mummy has been called a masterpiece of restraint, and I think that's true. Karloff's severe look and his sonorous voice could easily have taken things over the top, so Karl Freund often has him standing stock still and speaking slowly. This restraint is largely what takes this film out of strictly horror and makes it more of a stalker suspense film. Some will argue that this makes it the great classic it is, while to me it was just a bit too slow. - Norman Short
 
Reel.com 9 of 10
Boris Karloff is the Egyptian high priest Im-Ho-Tep, embalmed alive for the crime of trying to resurrect Princess Anck-es-en-Amon, the woman he loved. 3,700 years after his death, in 1920s Cairo, British archaeologists cataloging the contents of his tomb inadvertently awaken the slumbering cadaver, sending him on an obsessive quest to once again find his lover. Ten years later, living as the sinister, gentlemanly Ardath Bay, Im-Ho-Tep finds both the princess' tomb and Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann), Anck-es-en-Amon's latest reincarnation. Seeking to reunite with his princess, Bay calls forth all the powers of his dark magic to keep Helen in his thrall, and her suitor, archaeologist Frank Whemple (David Manners) at bay...German Expressionist cinematographer Karl Freund made his directorial debut with The Mummy and he infuses the proceedings with a moody romanticism that belies its horror underpinnings. As might be expected with a project by Freund, the black and white cinematography (by Charles J. Stumar) is nothing short of spectacular, as is James Dietrich's score, both perfectly evoking the danger Helen finds herself in. As a horror film, The Mummy seems tame by today's standards, but the dark romance and Karloff's touching performance -- under layers of Jack P. Pierce's still-stunning makeup, yet -- preserve the film's original vitality. - Pam Grady