"The Mummy" - October 21, 2008 - 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
The Mummy is a 1932 horror film from Universal Pictures directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff as a revived ancient Egyptian priest. The movie also features Zita Johann, David Manners and Edward van Sloan.
The Mummy very closely parallels the studio's classic from the year before, Dracula. Karl Freund, cinematographer for Dracula (and I Love Lucy decades later), was the director of The Mummy and scenes very much resemble each other. Some cast members of Dracula, such as David Manners and Edward Van Sloan, appear in similar roles. Some critics have called The Mummy an instant remake of Dracula, produced so the studio could cash in.
The Mummy was not based on an earlier novel or play, but those familiar with the lesser known works of Arthur Conan Doyle may notice some striking similarities between the film and Doyle's short story "The Ring Of Thoth" (to be found in "The Captain Of The Polestar"). If there is any debt on the part of the film's writers, it has never been acknowledged.
The film used names for the mummy and his wife from history and from word play. The name "Ardath Bey" is a pig Latin rendering of Karloff's often-mimicked pronunciation of his own first name and also an anagram of "death by Ra". Imhotep, the mummy's real name, was the first famous Egyptian architect, living in the Old Kingdom, while Ankhesenamun was screen.
Boris Karloff was billed as KARLOFF on film posters, dropping his first name for several years during this period when his career was at its height before reverting back to both names by the time Son of Frankenstein was produced.
Tickets are once again free to all local seniors for the 2:00 pm matinee and only $2.00 at the door for the 7:30 pm encore performance open to everyone!
The Mummy very closely parallels the studio's classic from the year before, Dracula. Karl Freund, cinematographer for Dracula (and I Love Lucy decades later), was the director of The Mummy and scenes very much resemble each other. Some cast members of Dracula, such as David Manners and Edward Van Sloan, appear in similar roles. Some critics have called The Mummy an instant remake of Dracula, produced so the studio could cash in.
The Mummy was not based on an earlier novel or play, but those familiar with the lesser known works of Arthur Conan Doyle may notice some striking similarities between the film and Doyle's short story "The Ring Of Thoth" (to be found in "The Captain Of The Polestar"). If there is any debt on the part of the film's writers, it has never been acknowledged.
The film used names for the mummy and his wife from history and from word play. The name "Ardath Bey" is a pig Latin rendering of Karloff's often-mimicked pronunciation of his own first name and also an anagram of "death by Ra". Imhotep, the mummy's real name, was the first famous Egyptian architect, living in the Old Kingdom, while Ankhesenamun was screen.
Boris Karloff was billed as KARLOFF on film posters, dropping his first name for several years during this period when his career was at its height before reverting back to both names by the time Son of Frankenstein was produced.
Tickets are once again free to all local seniors for the 2:00 pm matinee and only $2.00 at the door for the 7:30 pm encore performance open to everyone!
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