#bramwell fletcher

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

daughter of the dragon |1931|

[bygone-hollywood]

Anna May Wong and Bramwell Fletcher in “Daughter of the Dragon” (1931)

[roskirambles]

Horror Movie of the day: The Mummy (1932)

An expedition lead by Sir Joseph Whemple makes a very important discovery: the mummy of the High priest Imhotep. Inspecting it, the team finds the man might have been buried alive for his viscera were not removed as it was custom. As one of the archaeologists reads an adjacent scroll against the warnings of his fellow men, the mummy comes back to life, takes said scroll, and leaves him behind as he laughs to death in madness.

10 years latter, the eccentric historian called Ardath Bey leads Sir Joseph's son Frank to the tomb of Ananksenamen. But soon enough, it's clear there's something fishy about Bey when he becomes infatuated with Helen Grosvenor, the same woman Frank is pursuing.

Specially when it's evident he has similar facial features as the mummy that disappeared all those years ago, and is now motivated to revive his former lover... through Helen.

Yep, as I've mentioned earlier, the Stephen Sommers' 1999 movie is actually a loose remake of this one by Karl Freund. It's also the first movie in this lineup that isn't based on any novel whatsoever, but rather built upon the popular superstitions born from the discovery of Pharaoh Tuntakhamun's royal tomb in 1922. The end result feels like an evolution of what prior films achieved, with even more ambitious cinematography, some instances of shocking violence for the time, masterful subtle make up and an engrossing antagonist of supernatural powers. Once again, Boris Karloff is at the center playing high priest Imhotep to prove he was there to stay, his overpowering stare still being shockingly effective over 90 years later.

A product of its time with colonialist overtones regarding archaeology and brown people, some values are… dated to say the least. But it hits the mark in many areas including a more accurate depiction of Egyptology than expected. And hey, even if on relative terms, the lead heroine actually has some agency this time! Props for that.

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[gatutor]

Tetsu Komai-Bramwell Fletcher-Anna May Wong "La hija del dragón" (Daughter od the dragon) 1931, de Lloyd Corrigan.

[letterboxd-loggd]

Svengali (1931) Archie Mayo

October 8th 2022

[citizenscreen]

Boris Karloff and Bramwell Fletcher in THE MUMMY (1932)

[doraemonmon]

The Mummy with Bramwell Fletcher