FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES #30: IMHOTEP & CO.

Classic Monsters of the Movies #30 contains 68 powerful pages of devilish delights, headlined by Karl Freund's iconic The Mummy, starring Boris "the Uncanny" Karloff as the "immortal" (bandaged and unbandaged) Imhotep (aka Ardeth Bay).

Along with this sensational, Universal retrospective (which covers the movie's production from its Cagliostro roots to its fruition as an impassioned anthem of lost love), the issue includes articles on dinosaur cinema (from The Dinosaur and the Missing Link, The Lost World 1925, King Kong 1933 and beyond); Brian De Palma/Paul Williams' cult triumph, Phantom of the Paradise; the compelling, serial-slasher quickie, Night of Terror, with Bela Lugosi and Wallace Ford; and a thorough look at dashing Patric Knowles, who made a big splash in such stylish sojourns as The Wolf Man, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, The Strange Case of Doctor RX and Mystery of Marie Roget. (As a swell supplement to these prime essays, there's a handy column called "Sweeney Todd's Cellar," which unveils several current, literary and disc releases of old favorites.) 

Though seasoned submissions dominate #30, it also sheds light on the new-fangled, as shown by a drag-spun retelling of Robert Lewis Stevenson's eternal tale of dual personality in Joe A. Stephenson's neo-Hammer, Doctor Jekyll, starring the versatile Eddie Izzard.

As with any Classic Monsters issue, the writing is crisp, sincere and thorough, with segments composed by the periodical's faithful leads, Nige Burton and Jamie Jones, and their scholarly crew, Alex Hopkins, Marcus Turner and David Huckvale. 

Inarguably, Classic Monsters #30 is a pedagogic treat for those of discerning, macabre taste. Order at

https://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/classic-monsters-magazine-issue-30/

Collectible TIme: LIFE's Mummies: Enchantment, Horror, and Mortality

LIFE has a new, macabre submission on magazine racks. Mummies: Enchantment, Horror, and Mortality, written by Richard Jerome, covers the archival and cultural influence of these long-preserved cadavers, as demonstrated by the above cover design featuring Lon Chaney Jr. as the tongue-less Kharis, from Universal's The Mummy's Ghost, and in the studio's below lobby card with Boris Karloff as The Mummy's forerunning Imhotep.

A predominate part of Jerome's scholarly periodical is dedicated to the natural, ceremonial and scientific means that have made mummies an integral part of life--and death--over various regions of the globe, from antiquity to modern times. The procedural details, shared through the magazine's confirming photos, are as awe-inspiring as they are morbid. 

The curse myth, associated with the disinterred Tutankhamen, is also explored, though as Jerome implies, such mummified mystique captured the public's fancy years prior to Tut's excavation, resulting in the German silent, The Eyes of the Mummy, but the 1922, Howard Carter/Lord Carnarvon discovery did, without any speck of doubt, spur Karl Freund's 1932, Karloffian hit, and the rest is cinematic history. 

The text further explains how the in-demand, resurrection notion was rehashed for The Mummy's Hand, with Tom Tyler taking the musty reins from Karloff, with Imhotep renamed Kharis; and from there, Chaney Jr.'s The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse followed, with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy concluding the series with the titular monster redubbed Klaris and enacted by stuntman Eddie Parker. 

Along with Universal's shares, Jerome explores Hammer's contributions, highlighting the 1959, Kharis redux with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, joined by various, mystical spinoffs and variants, which consist of Mexican wrestler/crusader, El Santo in Vengeance (Revenge) of the Mummy, The Aztec Mummy inserts; Ann Rice's Ramses the Damned; the Brandon Fraser and Tom Cruise-led, Universal reboots; and Marvel/Disney's mirthful-to-a-fault Moon Knight. 

Jerome's compilation is encyclopedic and enjoyable, guaranteed to bring hours of avid page-turning. Indeed, this one belongs in everyone's library.

LIFE's Mummies: Enchantment, Horror, and Mortality can be purchased at supermarkets and drugstores nationwide. 

THE MUMMY HITS 80

Universal Studios' The Mummy held its ubiquitous debut on December 22, 1932. 

The Mummy was produced by monster-movie mogul, Carl Laemmele Jr, and directed by the maestro-cinematographer of Fritz Lang's Metropolis and James Whale's Frankenstein, Karl Freund. Boris Karloff, the latter's Monster (his guise rendered again by makeup genius, Jack Pierce), plays the disinterred Imhotep, aka Ardeth Bay, who sheds his bandages to secure his lost love, Zita Johann's Princess Ankh-esen-amun, reincarnated as socialite Helen Grosvenor.  

This Egyptian-fueled fairy tale (which rode the coattails of the nation's King Tut craze) influenced knockoffs for decades, including Universal's 1940 (Kharis) reboot series, which commenced with The Mummy's Hand, starring Tom (The Adventures of Captain Marvel) Tyler and thereafter its three sequels starring Lon (The Wolf Man) Chaney Jr.  Hammer Studios also got in on the moldy action with Terence Fisher's 1959, Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing (Kharis) retelling, and Universal resumed its Imhotep track in 1999 with a Stephen Summers/Rob Cohen, movie-serial inspired trilogy and later, a Tom Cruise/Sophia Boutella-led, Dark Universe epic. 

As for the 1932 catalyst, it shares stark similarities to Tod Browning/Bela Lugosi's Dracula and all for evident reason. The Mummy was scripted by John L. Balderston who, along with Hamilton Dean, brought Bram Stoker's Count to stage and screen. Like Dracula, The Mummy is a tale of strained and ethereal love. In this respect, much of its amorous, Svengali morbidity later came to full, ironic circle in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 Dracula.

For the sake of the story's love triangle, David Manners' dashing archeologist, Frank Whemple (a Jonathan Harker type) wishes the exotic Miss Grosvenor for his own, regardless of Bay's determination to (re)claim her. This duel underpins the fable's mysticism, furthered by Edward Van Sloan's Dr. Muller's acknowledgement of The Scroll of Thoth as the source behind Imhotep's resurrection. With dark magic installed, Muller realizes that Whemple's quandary is monumental, and therefore, he must assist in thwarting the craggy Egyptian. 

As an additional Dracula overlap, Van Sloan portrayed Dr. Van Helsing on stage and in Browning's big-screen adaptation (as well as Dr. Waldman in Whale's Frankenstein). The unwinding contention between the insightful professor and the peculiar Bay gives the movie an acceptable air of deja vu. 

Though it may not be the first or freshest in Universal's monster series, The Mummy remains significant for the sub-genre it forged. From its taut direction, ornate (origin-building) flashback and nuanced performances, The Mummy delivers amorous chills and deserves all the spectral glory it's achieved. In other words, it's an iconic chapter that screams eternal renewal. 

Unearth The Mummy once again and come away not only fulfilled, but brimming of respect for a creation that continues to ascend the critical test of time. 

THE BRIDE & MUMMY RETURN

They are two of Universal Studios' greatest, one a sequel that many believe surpasses the original and the other a founding piece of horror cinema.

On October 1, Fathom Events presents James Whale's The Bride of Frankenstein and Karl Freund's The Mummy.

Each stars Boris Karloff as its lead "fiend", with Edward Van Sloan (Dracula's Van Helsing and Frankenstein's Dr. Waldman) as the insightful Dr. Muller in our 1932, bandaged classic. In this case, Karloff portrays Ardath Bey, aka Imhotep, aka The Mummy, with the mysterious Zeta Johann as his reincarnated love, Anck-su-namun. 

For 1935's The Bride, Karloff reprises his most famous role as the Frankenstein Monster, with Elsa Lancaster as the creature's would-be betrothed (and as Mary Shelley in a delightful prelude), with Colin Clive once more as the guilt-ridden Henry Frankenstein and Ernest Thesiger as the conniving Dr. Septimus Pretorius.

Most fans hold these entries close to their horror-filled hearts, celebrating their iconic characterizations and sweeping, macabre scopes. If you've seen them, you understand the sentiment, and if you've not, you can now experience their groundbreaking terror in a way that you could have never imagined. 

Be warned: This double feature won't re-manifest any time soon, so revel in these giants of monster cinema for all their towering splendor while the opportunity calls.