Monday, September 2, 2019

THE MUMMY / Karloff The Uncanny... In His Most Startling Role! - 1932

Looks like it's Mummy Fever, here, at The Dungeon! In today's classic Universal tale, in 1921, a field expedition in Egypt discovers the mummy of ancient Egyptian Prince Im-Ho-Tep, who was condemned and buried alive for sacrilege. Also found in the tomb is the Scroll of Thoth, which can bring the dead back to life! One dark night, a member of the expedition reads the Scroll out loud, and then goes insane, realizing that he has brought Im-Ho-Tep back to life. Ten years later, disguised as a modern Egyptian, the mummy attempts to reunite with his lost love, an ancient princess who has been reincarnated into a beautiful young woman.

It stars Boris (TARGETS) Karloff, Zita (RAIDERS OF THE LIVING DEAD - 1986!) Johann, David (THE BLACK CAT) Manners, Arthur (THE MAN WITH TWO FACES) Byron, Edward (DRACULA) Van Sloan and Bramwell (THE MONKEY'S PAW) Fletcher.

So, in 1921, a British expedition team uncover the mummy of ancient Egyptian Prince Im-Ho-Tep and a chest containing Scroll of Thoth. After knucklehead reads the scroll, well, he unwittingly brings the mummy back to life! Of course, he goes mad after he realizes what he has done... When I saw this in the late fifties on TV, this is the part I remember most.

Then, in 1932, Imhotep mysteriously shows up in England with a tip as to where a lost tomb is located, so, it's back to Egypt...

After a treasure of artifacts is found, the pieces are brought back to England and are added to the museum's displays. Then, Imhotep seeks out Helen Grosvenor who he claims is his lover from the past. In a mystical pool, he shows her the events leading him to be reborn.

What happens is not pretty, being buried alive and all.

Here's a very cool shot of the evil Imhotep!

He wants to kill Helen and then revive her by reading the scroll out loud, making her immortal.

He's ready to commit the act when something seems amiss, so, he stops.

Helen pleads to the Egyptian Goddess Mut to save herself from the out of control Imhotep...

The statue comes to life and shoots a bolt of light from her talisman...

The scroll starts burning, and, Imhotep starts to deteriorate in front of our eyes.

Helen's saved by her beau just as...

The scroll burns up and Imhotep becomes just another skeleton, bringing our tale to an end. Join us again on Wednesday when Eegah!! will have another wild 'n' weird post for us!

1 comment:

KD said...

Great pics! Haven't seen this one in over 50 years...might have to check it out again one more time...before *I* turn into a mummy.

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