The Mummy's place with classic monster movies is down several notches from the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man seeing as the film features very little jolts, a surprisingly slow narrative, and some rather hokey acting by everyone involved. But the film deserves praise for Boris Karloff's unsurprisingly strong performance along with the makeup and set design which make the film an immediate, if minor, success.
The story concerns Imhotep (Boris Karloff), an ancient Egyptian priest who is revived on an archaeological expedition conducted by Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron), who discovers Imhotep's mummy. Imhotep attempted to resurrect his lover Princess Ankh-es-en-amon, and was mummified alive as a result. Joseph, much to the dismay of his friend Dr. Muller (Edward Van Sloan), reads an ancient Egyptian script that brings Imhotep back to life, which leads to the mummy roaming the area of Cairo to find his long-lost love.
Karl Freund's direction here is extremely meticulous - a trait many of these older monster films possessed. Freund's direction is very focused on providing efficient light and specific character placement, which at least shows a distinct level of alertness on part of the filmmaker.
If only director Freund and writer John L. Balderston had realized The Mummy was also a monster film instead of solely a slowburn drama. This is the kind of thriller that remembers it is part of the horror genre almost fifteen minutes before it's over, leading to an identifiable panic to try and include some scares before the entire opportunity is missed. Because of this, The Mummy is redundant and not very frightening or even remotely eerie.
As a drama and a parable about revisiting and tampering with history, I'll say The Mummy succeeds on that level. Universal monster movies seemed to always include some sort of realization or moral and this one in particular kind of keeps the film together and makes its existence as a drama more justifiable. However, marketed and released like a monster film, this poises an odd issue. When we have a film with its title character occupying roughly two minutes in the film, than this is a problem.
However, when we do see the mummy, the film becomes a bit more satisfying. Karloff's makeup job is extraordinary, and his acting, throughout the whole film, is the glue of the film. I don't critique acting much because I feel a good story is made by much more than such a thing, and to waste time by saying "this guy was good, this guy was bad" makes for a lame, overly-subjective, general review. But Karloff works in the regard that he is a natural screen presence. His modesty (such as saying that anyone could've done his job in Frankenstein) only makes him shine more.
The Mummy is an interesting piece of history, well-directed, mostly well-acted, but falls short of monster movie standards due to its lame expository and reliance on drama rather than on tone and exemplified eeriness.
Starring: Boris Karloff, Arthur Byron, and Edward Van Sloan. Directed by: Karl Freund.
The story concerns Imhotep (Boris Karloff), an ancient Egyptian priest who is revived on an archaeological expedition conducted by Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron), who discovers Imhotep's mummy. Imhotep attempted to resurrect his lover Princess Ankh-es-en-amon, and was mummified alive as a result. Joseph, much to the dismay of his friend Dr. Muller (Edward Van Sloan), reads an ancient Egyptian script that brings Imhotep back to life, which leads to the mummy roaming the area of Cairo to find his long-lost love.
Karl Freund's direction here is extremely meticulous - a trait many of these older monster films possessed. Freund's direction is very focused on providing efficient light and specific character placement, which at least shows a distinct level of alertness on part of the filmmaker.
If only director Freund and writer John L. Balderston had realized The Mummy was also a monster film instead of solely a slowburn drama. This is the kind of thriller that remembers it is part of the horror genre almost fifteen minutes before it's over, leading to an identifiable panic to try and include some scares before the entire opportunity is missed. Because of this, The Mummy is redundant and not very frightening or even remotely eerie.
As a drama and a parable about revisiting and tampering with history, I'll say The Mummy succeeds on that level. Universal monster movies seemed to always include some sort of realization or moral and this one in particular kind of keeps the film together and makes its existence as a drama more justifiable. However, marketed and released like a monster film, this poises an odd issue. When we have a film with its title character occupying roughly two minutes in the film, than this is a problem.
However, when we do see the mummy, the film becomes a bit more satisfying. Karloff's makeup job is extraordinary, and his acting, throughout the whole film, is the glue of the film. I don't critique acting much because I feel a good story is made by much more than such a thing, and to waste time by saying "this guy was good, this guy was bad" makes for a lame, overly-subjective, general review. But Karloff works in the regard that he is a natural screen presence. His modesty (such as saying that anyone could've done his job in Frankenstein) only makes him shine more.
The Mummy is an interesting piece of history, well-directed, mostly well-acted, but falls short of monster movie standards due to its lame expository and reliance on drama rather than on tone and exemplified eeriness.
Starring: Boris Karloff, Arthur Byron, and Edward Van Sloan. Directed by: Karl Freund.