Abstract
The Mummy (1932) was not just a horror film intended to shock contemporary moviegoers interested in this newly emerging genre but also a romance aimed at a broader and more established audience. Just as important as the monster’s journey in the film are the romantic trials and tribulation of a reincarnated woman of the past who must adjust to modern life. In this respect and others, which will be explored in this talk, it is a film hugely indebted to the silent era of Mummy film production and romantic Mummy literature of the late nineteenth century. Alongside such historical influences, the recent success and notoriety of Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) and the public sensation surrounding the discovery of Tutankhamun and his ‘curse’ also played their parts in helping shape the eventual form the film would take as well as the depiction of its two inimitable Mummies, played by Zita Johann, one of cinema’s most enigmatic actors, and Boris Karloff, arguably horror cinema’s finest ever performer.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Unpublished - 15 Sept 2023 |
| Event | Dining with Mummies: a public lecture on The Mummy film franchise (focusing on the 1932 film) by Dr Basil Glynn, author of 'The Mummy on Screen' (2021). : Notes from the Nile: Egypt in the Long Nineteenth Century. - Birmingham University, Birmingham, United Kingdom Duration: 15 Sept 2023 → 15 Sept 2023 |
Academic conference
| Academic conference | Dining with Mummies: a public lecture on The Mummy film franchise (focusing on the 1932 film) by Dr Basil Glynn, author of 'The Mummy on Screen' (2021). |
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| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Birmingham |
| Period | 15/09/23 → 15/09/23 |