KARL FREUND

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 1932.  Universal Pictures.  Story by Nina Wilcox Putnam, Richard Schayer, Screenplay by John L. Balderston.   Cinematography by Charles J. Stumar.  Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr..  Music by James Dietrich.  Production Design by Willy Pogany.  Costume Design by Vera West.  Film Editing by Milton Carruth.  

Moody, gothic horror film from the early thirties that began a hugely successful franchise for Universal Studios. At an Egyptian dig site, three archaeologists discover an entombed mummy whose burial objects detail an evil curse upon anyone who disturbs his slumber. Passing this warning off as superstitious mumbo-jumbo, the trio fiddle with the treasures they find and awaken a horrible monster (Boris Karloff) who then…moves to London and becomes a museum curator!!! Okay, it’s not very terrifying, and you’ll probably laugh more than you scream, but there is a beautiful romanticism about it that makes it the best of all the Mummy movies to follow, and is pretty much the only one to feature opulent sets and exotic costumes. This film’s story is the one that most heavily influenced Stephen Sommer’s grand hit summer blockbuster in 1999 starring Brendan Fraser.