The Classic Universal Mummy Franchise // DC Classics

[@ScarletVoodoo]

Makes me sad that The Mummy is often overlooked because it's my absolute favorite of all the horror classics. Karloff is mesmerizing and the lead actress gives an understated performance and has great chemistry with him.

[@frankboogaard88]

I personally think The Mummy is Karloff at his best.

[@taroman7100]

It was my hubby's favorite as we loved Halloween and this was always on the list of our Universal favorites.

[@mariannecoon7250]

My favorite

[@Silver-rx1mh]

Nothing will ever beat the shot of Karloff's Mummy awakening, with that tiny glint of light in his eye. Subtle but chilling at the same time. A lost art with todays movies it seems....

[@goodowner5000]

Yes! That sent shivers down my spine. SO eerie. Virginia Christine's resurrection scene in "The Mummy's Curse"('44) is my second favorite.

[@taroman7100]

He's gone for a little walk...use to crack my husband up.

[@dangeroreilly2028]

Bram Fletcher spoke at my high school in the mid 70's. He claimed he was originally supposed to be a strangling victim, but he thought of the idea of hysterical laughter. I am surprised he didn't mention either of his first two wives, Diana Barrymore or Helen Chandler.

[@QueenOfTheNorth65]

That scene is absolutely terrifying.

[@danielphillipsmusic9145]

The 1932 Mummy was a visual masterpiece. Watching it in remastered blu-ray is breathtaking.

[@randyacuna3248]

Still would rather watch the universal mummy movies than the CGI mummy movies starting with Brandon Fraser. Love all the lon Chaney movies and the hammer mummy movies also.

[@crashpal]

@@randyacuna3248 the Lon Chaney and hammer ones seemed too slasher type like Friday The 13th, Halloween, and Freddy Kreuger. This one at least had drama

[@randyacuna3248]

The 1932 film will never be topped, it is a horror classic.

[@randyacuna3248]

The 1940 the mummy's hand is also a very good solid adventure film. Light comedy in the first half, and it does delivers the horrors the second half.

[@janetlieb2507]

My favorite movie!❤

[@Magnetron33]

The scene w/ Karloff awakening w/ Fletcher reading the spell is one of the greatest opening scenes in all of film history. The best of the lot by a long shot.

[@CurtisAlfeld]

"Universal would return with Brendan Fraser for a pair of entertaining outings and a third one." Shots fired.

[@foreverdead1248]

The third one is still somehow better than the tom cruise one.

[@ThreadBomb]

The second one was pretty poor too.

[@CurtisAlfeld]

@@ThreadBomb I have many fond memories of the second one. It's what I expect a sequel to be.

[@hawkticus_history_corner]

@@ThreadBomb It wasn't great but it was entertaining, which is way more than the most recent one can say. And yes, the third one wasn't all that great either, just got too big for its own good.

[@robotrix]

@@ThreadBomb Whenever they start with the reincarnation stuff....

[@chrisw6164]

The original The Mummy with Karloff is by far the best movie in this franchise.

[@Werezilla]

Considering the mummification process includes embalming and removing the organs in addition to wrapping the body, that's a horrible way to die. On an unrelated note, Karloff really did have a great voice. Nobody will ever forget that.

[@craigbreuwet2029]

FYI the Egyptians would also remove the brain by extracting the brain with a hook shaped rod puncturing the ethmoid sinus cavity, because at the time they thought that the human brain was useless and that it was the heart that did everything and it wasn't until the 17th century when a British physician and anatomist by the name is Thomas Willis who discovered that it was the human brain that mostly did everything for the human body

[@crashpal]

Not as bad as Arnold Vosloo getting slowly eaten by scarab bugs in addition to the process

[@mickeythompson9537]

As the character says of the mummy in the movie "the eviscera were not removed..."

[@susanwiggins7847]

I adore Karloff ❤️

[@devilsavenger051181]

Great video. Personally I am more inclined to re-watch all those old mummy films instead of wasting my hard earned money on the Tom Cruise remake.

[@connorbrennan4233]

Besides the 1932 film with Karloff, I think the best Mummy film is the 1959 Hammer film with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as the titular monster.

[@CaptainSpalding72]

The best are the ones from the hammer ones from the 60s.

[@CaptainSpalding72]

Calm down, Francis. Cruise one is not bad.

[@uncleal7635]

Fuck cruise.

[@johnprice5784]

@@CaptainSpalding72 You are right it's not bad it's absolutely terrible.

[@alexandermacdougall7873]

Just starting the Mummy portion of my Universal Legacy Collection. Never get tired of the Universal classics

[@erikramaekers63]

Watch out for that Princess Ananka resurrection scene out of the mud.

[@goodowner5000]

Yes! That was actress Virginia Christine emerging from the mud, later to be known in U.S. television commercials of the '70's as Mrs. Olson for Folgers Coffee ☕.

[@susanwiggins7847]

Karloff and Lugosi are my absolute favorites. Amazing actors.

[@taroman7100]

They ruled and later we loved Vincent Price.

[@libysehcsav5661]

I LOVE your show! One very important Mummy Movie you forgot is Bubba Ho-Tep, with Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis made in 2002. Absolutely a GEM of a film, you must see it if you haven't.

[@StephanieFlynn-y3i]

Great movie!!!

[@ergbudster3333]

Zucco needs a revival. He was immensely successful as a horror and mystery actor but today he is largely unknown.

[@johnnynoirman]

Today---Everything is largely unknown.

[@SirKevinH]

He elevates every film he is in. A truly unappreciated actor.

[@starmnsixty1209]

Very true.

[@Jo_Jo_Valentín]

"For a pair of entertaining outings, and a third one" 😂

[@gregorygourley6426]

I've always been a big fan of The Mummy, and think that the 1932 film is extremely underrated in comparison to other Universal classic horror films. It's in my top three favourites, I think the Egyptian storyline of this ancient evil is endlessly fantastic. I also love Hammer's first Mummy film. These two movies are the best Mummy films ever made. Great review, please do more of em'. Bob.G

[@masercot]

The makeup in the original mummy was incredible...

[@andrewthomas8888]

The Boris Karloff Mummy 1932 movie is one of my favorite movies that i play every Halloween!!!

[@fringelilyfringelily391]

You forgot to mention the visually beautiful Christopher Lee Hammer re-incarnation.

[@Surety-62]

One of the films that haunted my childhood. Karloff was so , so good. The sequels were disposable silliness.

[@jiujitsu77]

my dad is now a fan of this channel. this video retrospective is phenomenal. had to.show it to my dad since the mummy remains his favorite

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thanks for helping spread the word.

[@jiujitsu77]

+Dark Corners Reviews no worries. I will.continue to do so. Quality work combined with a love for the genre deserves recognition

[@Neverhead35811]

One scene left out here that really deserves mention is the resurrection of Ananka in The Mummy's Curse. Virginia Christine or whoever it was who actually performed that stunt managed to create a moment of horror and humanity powerful enough to stand with anything from the first wave of Universal classics. Unfortunately, that time was long gone and the movie quickly reverted to the stale formula that characterized basically everything the studio was putting out by the mid-40s.

[@goodowner5000]

After Karloff's in the '32 original, I agree that Virginia Christine's scene in 'Curse'('44)is very chilling. People of a certain age came to know Miss Christine in U.S. television commercials of the '70's as Mrs. Olson, for Folgers Coffee ☕.

[@raphaelmarquez9650]

The Mummy is such a difficult character to make for horror films nowadays as we learn more about ancient Egypt and how horrid it's been portrayed in pop culture, much like sharks and dinosaurs.

[@juliamavroidi8601]

Still, I was pleasantly surpised how little racism there is in this movie. Sure it's there, but I expected a lot worse from 1932. Maybe a pre-cursor to the 1939 Hunchback?

[@anjkovo2138]

Superb homage to the classic Universal Mummy films. I still have my Aurora Glow in the Dark Mummy Model👍😃👍

[@theolamp5312]

Karloff's Mummy is incredible. I might even prefer it to his Frankenstein films. I showed it to one of my cousins, a castle films short with my TV recorded & synced soundtrack. She ran out of the room while cursing me.I felt bad at first, but later I felt satisfied.

[@jrr2480]

Great video 🎞 I do find it interesting how so many Universal Studios Monster movies when they bring the monster to America, they end up going to Louisiana. I guess the Bayou State is a Mecca to most monsters coming to the USA. 😅

[@kennylogan3090]

Once again you guys have presented us with a fascinating and very well researched video. The original Karloff Mummy has never been equaled, everything that followed it never quite came up to the standard of Bride of Frankenstein or Dracula's Daughter as sequels, but then Karloff the Uncanny is a pretty hard act to follow. This is why I subscribe to you guys, because , be it B movie or classic, you always do your homework, which let's face it, involves sitting through some really terrible films and always present fantastic videos.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thanks, its a lot of work, but comments like this make it worthwhile.

[@diamonddog257]

try '' The Mummies' Shroud 1967 ..... and Chris Lee as another Hammer Horror Mummy ...... awesome 'mummery'............... ! ...... and yoooo review ' shroud' ........................ Robin

[@crashpal]

@@diamonddog257 that's a slasher film though. And I personally never liked the idea of the Kharis mummy being controlled by a mortal like some robot instead of having his own free will like imhotep did

[@rorschach1985ify]

The 1959 Mummy is not a slasher film anymore than the original or it's sequels were, it also does not keep Kharis as a slave because he refuses to obey the high priest command to kill his love interest and instead kills him, so he does have free will.

[@raulvito6246]

Very interesting! I didn’t know that the Mummy remake by Hammer in 1959 was based on the original Mummy sequel rather than the Karloff movie. The Hammer Mummy has always been my favorite Hammer film (mostly because of the fantastic casting and the great flashblack sequence)

[@connorbrennan4233]

The first Hammer Mummy is probably the best Mummy film ever made after the Karloff film.

[@bird10498]

If it's Dark Corners, it's got to be good. The mixing of dialogue and clips is always masterful and hilarious.

[@lordinquisitor6233]

The fez: the most evil of hats:)

[@Wangavision]

Actual LOL.

[@crashpal]

fezes are cool

[@bird10498]

They are all rogue Shriners and have a parade every year.

[@bird10498]

Don't go to it.

[@Bubblegummonsters]

Another great review. Really in-depth with gems of information.

[@ashur24]

You said it: "To catch the atmosphere of another world". That's why I love the mummy as a horror character. For me, if a horror movie can't do that, then it fails. Great video. Perhaps you could do this kind of "studies" for other classic horror franchises.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

That's the plan. We are already working on a Hammer one...

[@craigbreuwet2029]

I like the name of Boris Karloff's Mummy's name Imhotep, and to think that there really was a Imhotep that had lived about 3 to 4 thousand years ago, he was knowledgeable in a lot of different subjects, and he was perhaps the first polymath in history

[@traceylivingston2896]

The Karloff mummy's the best

[@richardlilley8587]

I love this DC classics series it shows a lot of passion and knowledge into films I have a lot of love for.

[@lordinquisitor6233]

The mummy is such an underused monster and i find it tragic as its one of my favourite movie monsters , I would love to see a proper film with the mummy, not "mission embalmable"

[@lordinquisitor6233]

I love the 1999 one but your right, we need a return to the mummy as a sympathetic monster

[@danddoty3981]

The Mummy was never teamed up with the other Universal monsters. Which meant that it still had enough power to carry a movie by his undead self.

[@lordinquisitor6233]

Dan D Doty he's sort of the unloved middle child of the universal monsters

[@martinguzman3995]

Dan D Doty there. is the Monster Squad. it wasn't made by Universal Studios. but it was closest thing .

[@diamonddog257]

try the hammer horror...'the mummies shroud' 1967

[@JamesGilbert_]

I actually laughed out loud at that joke about the third Fraser _Mummy_ movie.

[@michaelbailes2223]

Brilliant. Must watch 'The Mummy' again. Karloff Rules!

[@williamschlenger1518]

Karloff was the best. At 10 I was studying Egyptian history.

[@TheTwick]

Another great video guys!!! I believe I've seen every one of the movies. Have you done "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951)? - one of my all time favorites.

[@gregrappa1797]

THIS IS A PHENOMENAL VIDEO, THANKS

[@joshjames582]

"He makes a decent mummy, despite the arthritis." Wouldn't that help his performance, if anything?

[@crashpal]

Didn't even notice any arthritis. Dude is boss level

[@gregghill2059]

One film critic, Denis Gifford, commented that his effective performance was tragically due to crippling arthritis, all the more tragic when you consider that Tom Tyler had been a great athlete and in spite of his slim build a weightlifting champion. Check out the serial "Captain Marvel" (it's in the Internet Archive) where he is often lifting full-grown men above his head without benefit of trick photography or physical aids.

[@rocketmatt1996]

Pleased do more or all of the universal monsters series even the obscure ones. I love this series so much. 🧛🏻

[@seanbirch2118]

"And a third one" That is mighty shady, and I love it!

[@jmgmarcus808]

Do a Hammer Mummy series vid. I friggin love all the Hammer Mummy movies, even...."Blood From the Mummy's Tomb"

[@SirKevinH]

Blood From The Mummy's Tomb is my favorite Hammer Mummy film though the first one is a close 2nd. The others didn't do anything for me. Valerie Leon is a most attractive Mummy. Yum.

[@jmgmarcus808]

@@SirKevinH Yep, both are very different. But, good. I have to admit, I like all of them.

[@SirKevinH]

@@jmgmarcus808 The fact is I missed the presence of a Lee or Cushing in Curse of the Mummy's Tomb and The Mummy's Shroud though Andre Morrell almost makes up for it in the former. Blood while it would have been great with Cushing doesn't really suffer from his absence.

[@WayneManor666]

i came for Kingdom of Spiders, stayed during the swarm , subbed halfway through this video.

[@jimmillhouse5912]

Tom Tyler’s mummy frightened me the most as a child.

[@scotsmith2391]

I am probably one of the few that enjoyed Dracula Untold. It took its time to tell the story but was pretty good. I may need to rewatch it to make sure that wasn't a mistake.

[@thribs]

It’s okay. Certainly a unique take to make Dracula a heroic type of character. I would have liked to see what he was like in modern day

[@RavenHouseMystery]

Great look back at the Universal Mummy films. Look forward to more retrospective videos.

[@XdonttakeL]

these deserve way more views

[@welshsasquatch6093]

Well researched, well written, well narrated, Excellent. Many thanks.

[@erikramaekers63]

The scene in which princess Ananka rises out of the mud is my favorite Universal horror movie scene.And The Mummy's Curse is also the only mummy movie in which the mummy is seen tot be much stronger than a human being(in the climax) in all the other pictures he simply strangled people who just stood there.

[@southron_d1349]

Years ago, I phoned the local DVD store and asked for "The Mummy" with BORIS KARLOFF. I was assured they had it. Whereupon, I received the Brendan Fraser version instead. Well, not a bad substitution but not what I wanted. Much later, I bought a copy of the Karloff version.

[@namelessjedi2242]

The Mummy may be slow moving, but remember: you have to sleep sometime, and he doesn’t. Great video as always. 👍

[@H3len50]

I enjoyed every second of this. Thank you for all your hard work.

[@lucygirl4926]

I just have to subscribe to this channel! Been binge-watching for 2 days.... You guys are fabulous!

[@kimfarr5399]

The mummy hammer films absolutely 💯 👌 and the universal mummy's as well...happy Halloween 🎃

[@josephdougherty2456]

The drop off after that first film is, to be kind, precipitous. But I confess to a soft spot in my heart for Virginia Christine in "The Mummy's Curse," pulling herself out of the grave in that back-lot swamp and staggering back to life. "I'm an actor and I'm taking the money, least I can do is give it what I've got." For your actor footnote file, Virginia Christine was in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." She's the woman who first tries to explain to Kevin McCarthy and Diana Wynter that her uncle isn't her uncle.

[@danddoty3981]

I think these great movies series slipped from great cinema to Saturday movies that were meant to entertain little kids and teenage boys.

[@glenmcculla6843]

She's very good, but i preferred Ramsey Ames, before she degenerated then regenerated.:)

[@randyacuna3248]

Joseph Dougherty Virginia was also famous for playing mrs. Olsen in coffee commercials.

[@randyacuna3248]

Dan D Doty still a good reason to watch them because we loved them when we were children. Nothing has change.

[@goodowner5000]

She was also the terrible woman/employee at the Art Gallery that Katharine Hepburn (her boss) sends her packing (along with her hideous sculpture😂)after her racist encounter with Sidney Poitier & her daughter in "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner".

[@baxter5431]

Excellent review & critique. You could write a book on these films! Thanks for posting!

[@danddoty3981]

Once again you guys have shown us what geniuses you indeed are. The last part where you showed us the films following Universal series was a great touch. Its strange because tonight I'm going to watch VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA the TV series episode titled The Mummy ( which copies the look of the old Universal movies). There were three movies you failed to cover ( hate being a nit picker ). The very bad Spanish horror film DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN , the very good MONSTER SQUAD and the odd man out, MONSTER BRAWL All of these films show the only times The Mummy teaming up with other monsters

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Really should have had monster squad in there!

[@danddoty3981]

I keep hearing people talking about doing a remake of MONSTER SQUAD.

[@dermotmccaul1833]

Another great overview! I rate the first of the Hammer Mummy films very highly, looks good, great cast, fine direction by Terence Fisher and an incredible physical performance by Christopher Lee as the Mummy, physically volatile and dangerous and truly terrifying.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

We will be covering hammer mummy films soon

[@brunochambre]

I often go to Red Rock Canyon where the exteriors of the Mummy were filmed. It is quite amazing that there has been so little erosion in nearly 100 years. ( 2 hrs drive from Hollywood in the Mojave desert)

[@brandonleague3641]

Excellent documentary as always. I'm totally in love with your channel...

[@sherrismith8874]

"Limping slowly from strangling to strangling is not what an actor dreams of." 😆

[@stormycatproductions5227]

You make very good in depth essays,documentaries and great reviews

[@cha5]

Edgar Allan Poe also wrote a Mummy story ‘Some Words With A Mummy’ (1845) that has a Mummy being discovered and revived but it’s a satirical story with quite a bit of humor and not a horror story at all, but it’s still a memorable and fun little story.

[@lawrencestalbow-best2317]

Fantastic video!! These are my favourite classic horror films, especially ''The Mummy's Ghost'', which I watch every Halloween :) You have an amazing narrative voice and a wonderful presenting presence - consider me subbed!

[@henrycbrennan]

Excellent video. As I stated once before, it's nice to see your franchise venturing off into more educational and historical material, as opposed to the quickie reviews (which are still good in their own right, however). It certainly gives "Dark Corners" more credibility and prominence within the KZbin horror genre. (although I'm still waiting for "The Wild World of Batwoman" - LoL)

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thanks, we came so close this week with Mars needs Women feature bat girl.

[@Agwings1960]

My first introduction to the Mummy franchise per se, would've been an episode of Jonny Quest, where the Quest gang are in Egypt, and a Mummy comes alive to seek revenge on some Jonny Quest villains.

[@connorbrennan4233]

I think it's safe to say that after the Laemmles left Universal in 1936, the horror films made by the studio just weren't as good, with only a handful of films being anything more than average.

[@johnbuckleyjnr32]

Great video I must admit I've a soft spot for the mummy's hand the two leads are great the Brendan Fraser films seem to follow that more than the Karloff original imo

[@blorac9869]

Excellent! Especially when you credit your source! Exceptional for YT! TYVM! Enjoyed!

[@RabbiKolakowski]

thank you for this video - I never really got into the Mummy as much as I did the other Universal monsters, but this video will send me back to reconsider.

[@viktoriaironpride4977]

When that little gleam of light appears in the mummy's eye, indicating that he has been recalled to life by the reading of the Scroll of Thoth, it is one of the most terrifying moments in film history. Bramwell Fletcher was brilliant. In case you didn't know, he had been married to John Barrymore's daughter, Diana; Barrymore didn't like him, referring to BF as "that English quince."

[@MephProduction]

i never saw the sequels so it's good seeing what they were all about

[@sethsassy]

This is a very small detail but thank you for pronouncing golem correctly.

[@leebritnell2405]

I recommend these for people who are just discovering the genre.A good,concise overview,strong on detail.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

Great review, it Scared me so much that now I want my Mummy!!😊

[@caroltenge5147]

The music is adapted perfectly. to create perfect terror!

[@erikgustafson9302]

My favorite mummy movie is a 3 Stooges short called We Want our Mummy. Every time they talk about Rootin' Tootin's tomb I giggle like a four year old.

[@jamesgrassia844]

The Mummy, Mummy's Hand, Tomb, and Ghost we're enjoyable. Not to mention The Mummy from 1959.

[@QueenOfTheNorth65]

Zita Johann was so pretty. David Manners did an interview late in life, and said that he NEVER watched any of his horror movies. He thought they were too gruesome.

[@KRhetor]

I would have liked it if CAGLIOSTRO were made as well; it would probably have been a lot like CHANDU THE MAGICIAN

[@AndyMangele]

Thanks a lot for this most enjoyable introduction! ;)

[@pewsterbaby]

And he ends with the melody "There's a place called Mars where the ladies smoke cigars." I caught that, sir.

[@willmfrank]

I'm convinced that Jim Hart's screenplay for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" owes as much to John Balderston's script for "The Mummy" as it does to Stoker.

[@hawkeyepierce67]

I'm pretty late for the party, i know ;). But such as it is i just stumbled over and into your channel and I'm really enjoying what i see. Will be back for more and of course left a subscription 😊. Take care.

[@parkingclube]

These videos are amazing!

[@bryanmiller469]

The Mummy movies of the 40's they blacked out the eyes on the negative to make them more scarier, the original is a masterpiece.

[@hulud99]

Really well done, thanks!

[@davebooshty299]

22:28 Abbot and Costello even met the Creature from the Creature from the Black Lagoon on their Tv Show too.

[@henrykujawa4427]

I watched a number of obscure later Mummy films on KZbin in recent years. My favorite is probably "O SEGREDO DA MUMIA" (The Secret Of The Mummy), an action-horror-comedy with rock & roll music, from Brazil! Unfortunately, it looks like it's only currently available as a Region 4 disc, and it's next-to-impossible to buy direct from Brazil except with the help of a 3rd-party seller, which greatly increases the cost of what should be a relatively cheap item.

[@smacksalad]

The best Mummy film is easily Bubba Ho Tep :)

[@randybarnett2308]

Smacksalad Productions that's my favorite mummy movie

[@trashcanhands19]

Guess I'm in the minority that didn't much care for that Don Coscarelli flick, though I savor his Phantasm films (yes, even all 5 of 'em)

[@chraighe]

As always interesting and fact filled.Much Thanks

[@arthas640]

5:15 its funny how some people through a few clever tricks and force of personality can seem to tower over you. It reminds me of how Michael Scott when he drew Angela in the Office she towered over Dwight who's 6'2" because she has that kind of forceful personality. Morgan Freeman is the same way, despite being in his 80s and being fairly thin his whole life he tends to dominate every scene and even if he's alongside men much younger, fitter, and tougher then him there's no question about who commands everyones attention and respect.

[@whitneyochs234]

I really wish more of Karloff in the Mummy makeup had been shown

[@Collector261]

Kharis the Mummy : ''Hey High Priest , can you help me off with all these Bandages ? I can barely move like this , and it really itches.'' High Priest : ''But then how would anybody know you're a mummy?''

[@donaldsmith6814]

Tom Tyler had not began to suffer from the arthritis in 1940, as the following year he was Captain Marvel & in 1943 "The Phantom!" Plus a number of westerns as Stony Brook at Republic.

[@thribs]

I disagree that the 1999 Mummy movie wasn’t horror. I was creeped out by it when I was a kid

[@CassandrashadowcassMorrison]

"Some Words with a Mummy." by Edgar Allan Poe deserved some mention here. First published in 1845 it resurrects the mummy with electricity (Frankenstein style)

[@ArizonaJoeHines]

You will notice that in the Karloff mummification scene, they wrap both of his legs together. Of course, the karloff mummy has its legs bound separately.

[@williamschlenger1518]

Two best horror movies ever made.

[@williamschlenger1518]

I ment three.