Fortress of Horror 07 - The Mummy (1932)

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I think you and I came to a pretty similar conclusion about this one. And yeah, that first scene is one for the ages.

Again, I agree with you that part of the reason I overlook this one is that Karloff isn't a traditional mummy. In the end I think that makes it a better film though. Allowing Karloff to take control of the picture. Those close up shots of him are mesmerizing and the makeup does look creepy when highlighted. Plus, those scenes where he giving dudes heart attacks while there is no music playing...creepy! Karloff completely owns the film and it's worth seeing for that alone.

The Mummy has much better cinematography than Dracula and it's crazy to see the improvements made in such a short time. It certainly is worth revisiting if you're a fan of the Universal Monster films.

I hate to say it, but I think it's slightly better than Browning's Dracula if only because it does manage to break out of that Victorian parlor room drama thing. It certainly isn't iconic (mostly due to everything Lugosi says and does became iconic), but I still think it holds up better. I also like that it has that 1930s-era exoticism about it.

This film (and both Whale Frankensteins) were definitely Karloff at his absolute peak.

Mummies never really get a break...they are always on that second tier. I like mummies. I like The Mummy's Hand. I like Hammer's mummy movies a lot. I also like Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, the old GW game. Gosh, I want to get that again.

Digression- a rarely seen Karloff film well worth watching is Targets...it's a Peter Bogdanovich psychological thriller from 1968, so it's Karloff in his twilight years. The really cool thing is that it's very much about this transition from old fashioned monster to horror to modern HUMAN horror. Karloff plays a (get this) aging horror movie star contrasted with a Vietnam vet turned mass shooter. It's oddly topical even today, almost 50 years after it came out.