The Mummy (USA 1932)


Regie: Karl Freund
Book: Nina Wilcox Putnam
Richard Schayer
John L. Balderston
Production: Carl Laemmle Jr.
Music: James Dietrich
Camera: Charles Stumar
Film editing: Milton Carruth
Running time: 73 Minuten

Cast:
Imhotep/Ardeth Bay [Ardath Bey]: Boris Karloff
Anck-es-en-Amon/Helen Grosvenor: Zita Johann
Frank Whemple: David Manners
Sir Joseph Whemple: Arthur Byron
Dr. Muller: Edward Van Sloan
Ralph Norton: Bramwell Fletcher
The Nubian: Noble Johnson
Mrs Muller: Kathryn Byron
Professor Pearson: Leonard Mudie
The Pharaoh: James Crane
The Saxon Warrior: Henry Victor

The film begins with the text of the scroll of Thoth:
"This is the Scroll of Thoth. Herein are set down the magic words by which Isis raised Osiris from the dead.
Oh! Amon-Ra - Oh! God of Gods - Death is but the doorway to new life - We live today - we shall live again -
In many forms shall we return - Oh, mighty one."


Egypt, 1730 B. C.: The priest Imhotep tries to resurrect his dead beloved Anck-es-en-Amon, daugther of Pharaoh Amenophis and also priestess of Isis. He uses the scroll of Thoth - which is forbidden. He is punished with being mummified alive for that crime.

In 1921, Sir Joseph Whemple is leading an expedition of the British Museum in Egypt. He finds the mummy of Imhotep and also a chest where upon a warning of Amun-Ra is written not to open the chest. So Dr. Muller, specialist in Egypt occultism, tells Sir Whemple to respect this warning, but the curious assistant, in absence of Sir Whemple, opens the chest. He finds the scroll of Thoth, writes a piece out of it on his own paper and reads it loud. Because of this, Imhotep awakens, murders the assistant and leaves the place.

Eleven years later there is another expedition of the British Museum in Thebes. This time Prof. Pearson and the son of Sir Whemple, Frank, are involved. Sir Whemple himself has not lead an expedition since the murder of his assistant and the disappearance of the mummy. Helen Grosvenor, an attractive young lady, daughter of the English Govenor of Sudan and an Egypt woman, is living in the house of Dr. Muller and his wife in the time she is visiting Egypt. Soon, Helen and Frank fall in love. But there is a certain Ardeth Bay who helds an eye upon Helen, too. Ardeth Bay is the new name of Imhotep who has lived the last eleven years as Ardeth Bay in Egypt, trying to find a way to resurrect his princess Anck-es-en-Amon. Now he has found Helen. He thinks, Helens body can be used for the soul of his beloved princess. His cat, inbodying the evil cat-goddess Bastet, murders Helens dog. He really gets some influence on Helen and often hpnotizes her. At the end, Helen really identifies herself with the princess.
Im-ho-tep/Ardeth Bay: "Anck-es-en-Amon, my love has lasted longer than the temples of our gods. No man ever suffered as I did for you."
Helen/Anck-es-en-Amon: "I loved you once, but now you belong with the dead. I am Anck-es-en-Amon, but I... I'm somebody else, too. I want to live, even in this strange new world."
Helen/Anck-es-en-Amon does not agree when Imhotep cites the forbidden scroll of Thoth. She invokes Isis for help. The goddes destroys with her Anck-cross Imhotep and the scroll.

In this old mummy film the mummy Imhotep is calling himself "Ardeth Bay" (also: "Ardath Bey") as human being to hide his real identity. There exists also an collector figure "Ardeth Bay", which is Boris Karloff in his role as Ardeth Bay/mummy. (The picture on the left shows this figure and is from an ebay-auction.)