In 1921 a field expedition in Egypt discovers the mummy of ancient Egyptian prince Im-Ho-Tep, who was condemned and buried alive for sacrilege. Also found in the tomb is the Scroll of Thoth, which can bring the dead back to life. One night a young member of the expedition reads the Scroll out loud, and then goes insane, realizing that he has brought Im-Ho-Tep back to life. Ten years later, disguised as a modern Egyptian, the mummy attempts to reunite with his lost love, an ancient princess who has been reincarnated into a beautiful young woman.
What I love about these 1930s movies (particularly FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, and THE MUMMY) is how simplistically they were made and also the nostalgic that comes with them (at least for me with the opening credits). Boris Karloff did another great job as I got to see him act more. The only Karloff movie I had seen prior to this was FRANKENSTEIN where he didn't have any dialogue. The man had a dominating and terrifying presence on screen. I'm hoping Universal makes a 75th Anniversary DVD for this like they did for FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA last year, however due to sluggish DVD sales on those titles, I'm hearing Universal may pass. What a shame.
