The Mummy (1932)

With The Mummy, Universal started cashing in on the success of their previous horror films such as Frankenstein and Dracula. Famed German cinematographer, Karl Freund, took the helm as director on this and brings a strong photographic quality to the film, but it lacks the metaphoric implications of some of its superior Universal bretheren. The story is rather silly and contrived, yet the film is not without its own kind of charm, not the least of which can be found in the wonderfully subtle performance by Boris Karloff as Imhotep/The Mummy. The opening scene is strong and the rest is worth watching, though not as good as many of the other horror films of the era.