In Universal's mummy movie cycle, nothing can top the 1932 original, THE MUMMY, starring Boris Karloff and featuring Jack Pierce's makeup masterpiece, if only on screen for a few short moments. Often unfairly compared to this horror film classic is the second in Universal's Mummy movie "cycle", THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940), mainly because it oftentimes is referred to as a sort of sequel, which it isn't; it's an entirely different story and character (from Karloff's Im-ho-tep to Tom Tyler's Kharis) and the beginning of a new series with three true sequels. Another reason that it sometimes gets panned is the humor interspersed throughout the picture. Whenever I watch it, I enjoy the comedic interplay between the actors and -- color me silly -- but I see a precursor to the Indiana Jones movies here.
But let's not forget that Universal played for creeps. And, yes, there were a few genuinely creepy scenes in this movie. One of the most effective was removing the eyes of the mummy from the film stock, so in the closeups it looked like he had nothing but dark, empty holes. Another one came early in the movie, when Professor Andoheb (played by George Zucco) visited the mummy's secret temple where he was bestowed the honor of High Priest of Karnak by the outgoing priest (Eduardo Ciannelli) -- and I do mean outgoing because he dies just moments later!
In FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #31 (1964), this riveting scene is relived through the actual dialogue used in the film. Remember, no more than three Tana leaves!
The opening scenes of The Mummy are the scariest Universal ever filmed in their classic era. The rest of that film has an atmosphere unmatched by any of the other films. I'm always disappointed when I watch the movie that I only get those few glimpses of that iconic makeup but then that's what makes them precious.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to disagree with you there. The atmosphere is unmatched except for maybe The Black Cat. The full-on Mummy scene was a one-day shoot during the production with Jack Pierce taking about 8 hours to complete the makeup. When asked later what his favorite makeup was, he replied, "The Mummy".
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