The Mummy

The 1932 American movie The Mummy hinted that the mummy could be the next great monster for Universal. However, subsequent movies showed that it just was not going to happen, that the character did not work, mainly because they kept recycling one theme. The original movie is still great after all this time, it still works, and you can not fault it much. Boris Karloff shows his acting skills to the full here. (20.08.2019)

The age of classic horror movies from Universal, Egyptian mythology and Boris Karloff. I have a weak spot for all of these, but in spite of it I didn’t feel as enthralled as I would have liked to. The screenplay is a bit bizarre though, while being pretty good in fact. What doesn’t work is Freund’s directing. He had a great cast to his disposal, an interesting topic and, at the time, a decent budget and the possibility to shoot in places where other filmmakers don’t stand a chance of entering. In spite all of this, he didn’t manage to bring the Mummy to life and, in contrast to the rest of the contemporary production of Universal, one must look at this in the perspective of its era. And that is no good. No good at all. (29.03.2008)

The Mummy has a pleasant mysterious spirit, which is due primarily to Boris Karloff’s face, make-up and hypnotically slow gesticulations. Even the subject, intercut with a significant love motif in the mold of Stoker’s Dracula, is more than fine. But the screenplay is a bit simple and lacking in twists and dramatic moments. But in comparison with Stephen Sommers’s overwrought and feeble-minded digital popcorn flicks, this is literally a narrative purgation... (03.01.2006)

The first half is better than the second. Boris Karloff's entrance is exquisite. He was an extremely charismatic guy, and the filmmakers knew that, that's why the close-up of his face – the same one – is repeated several times, even with those glittering sinister eyes; it’s beautiful to watch (I had to save that evil look as a wallpaper on my PC :o) The second half is terribly rushed, as if the filmmakers were trying to cram it into the shortest possible runtime. One of the main characters dies, but nothing comes of it, no one seems to care much. Things happen too fast and Edward Van Sloan plays Dr. Muller awfully. I love old movies a lot and that's the only reason I don’t give them a hard time. The whole thing is pretty naive, next to the likes of Frankenstein it doesn't really hold up in comparison. On the other hand, the long silent flashback is impressive, and there's Karloff, he keeps it afloat, a stud, a true icon. (12.02.2019)

The Mummy is one of those films in which it can be very easy to point out all sorts of mistakes... But only if the viewer wants to. If he doesn't want to, just give him a story sort of copied from Dracula, the demonic looks of Boris Karloff, a nice studio design and now and then still impressive suspense, and very enjoyable entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less. (20.06.2017)