by Karen Louise Hollis

Created on: July 05, 2010

There are some excellent vintage horror movies available on DVD and the old Universal horror films are amongst the best of this genre. One of these is The Mummy from 1932, starring Boris Karloff as the monster of the title. Karloff was very impressive as the iconic Frankenstein's monster and it is interesting to see him in another role.

The Mummy is set against the background of Egyptian history. The movie begins in 1921 as the British Expedition's archaeology team has just dug up two rare finds - a mysterious box and a Mummy. The team is headed by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron) who is accompanied by Dr Muller (Edward Van Sloan) and a younger man.

The inscription on the box warns of death to anyone who opens the casket, but when he is alone, the young man decides to risk it. Inside is the Scroll of Thoth, which he begins to decipher. As he does so, the Mummy begins to awaken - in what must be one of the best scenes in cinematic history and is the favourite of many film viewers.

Karloff is amazing in this scene, conveying so much with little movement. In a recent email from his daughter Sara Karloff, she commented "I agree with you that when my father opened his one eye in The Mummy it was quite a moment on film, and I don't like scary movies!"

The Mummy is Imhotep, who was sentenced to death in this world and the next. He has used the Scroll of Thoth to come back to life and as the film moves to 1932 - and the Field Expedition, British Museum, led by Sir Joseph's son Frank Whemple (David Manners) - the Mummy is now living as the mysterious Egyptian Ardath Bay.

He leads the archaeology team to a site and suggests they dig there, which they do, uncovering the tomb of the princess Anck-es-en-Amon, (interred 3700 years ago) who was his lover in Ancient Egypt. Their findings are placed in the Cairo Museum, where Ardath Bay visits it and where a woman called Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann) is drawn one evening.

Helen is a modern day woman in Egypt, a beautiful half-Egyptian, who seems somehow linked to the ancient princess. She attracts the attentions of both Ardath Bay and Frank Whemple, but who will end up with her?

Zita Johann is very pretty with her big eyes and portrays the role well. Her costumes are interesting too, especially the long glamorous floaty dress and the rather sexy outfit she wears towards the end of the movie.

But as stunning as Johann is, the film belongs to Karloff. He really has three different roles to play - Imhotep, the

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