Watch It: The Mummy

Boris Karloff ushered us into our Queue de Grâce experience this week, with looming gravitas; a  perfect beginning to our October film project. We piled on the couch with our popcorn and watched a film older than any of us, The Mummy (1932), directed by Karl Freund. Since then, I have been following everyone around with my camera, recording their reactions to the film. The following is a crazy quilt of Laszlo family quotes, which will hopefully shed new light on an old classic.

I liked the movie. It was very interesting.  My favorite thing was the characters; they were played by good actors. Boris Karloff was the perfect mummy. He's tall and spooky-looking. As for the archaeologists who find him, they're very typical, studly guys. Dr. Whemple is leading the expedition and there is an older archeologist who is more of an historian. He tries to warn Dr. Whemple and his assistant not to mess with the mummy's curse.

There was a mummy and a doctor. The mummy is dead. He had ripped bandages all over him.

Along with the mummy, the archeologists find a chest and they read an inscription that says a horrible curse will come to them if they open it. So this moron goes ahead and opens it after everyone's gone.

He opens the box and reads the scroll, and it brings life to the mummy. Then he gets all crazy and dies, so they don't get to beat him up for opening it.  

Oh yeah, of course, if you dig up a mummy priest, buried with a box that says, "Death will come to those who open this box." Of course, you're going to ignore the warning, and of course you're going to open it and of course you're going to read the spell aloud. No, nobody sees that one blowing up in their faces.



In some of the most suspenseful scenes of the movie, the viewer does not see the action that creates the horror. It is only implied, and the viewer is drawn into the story by having to imagine what happened. More horror movies should have scenes like the one in which it is discovered that the mummy has left. The viewer is not directly informed of this fact, but must figure out what must have transpired as the camera slowly pans across the room revealing that the sarcophagus is empty and the mummy's bandages are on the floor, being dragged out of the room by some force.

 Twenty years later, Dr. Whemple's son, Frank, is introduced to the story. He works with his dad and the mummy has been running around for twenty years.

 

This Egyptian guy, named Ardeth Bey, comes to visit them and shows them where to dig. They end up finding a princess' tomb and they make it into a  museum exhibit. 

And it turns out the main lady of the story is actually the dead ancient princess, although she has a new incarnation, just like Ardeth Bey, who is also really the mummy. So, basically, the mummy is free now, and he's trying to get girls, but this one guy won't let him.

 I upstairs in the bed, I watch The Mommy. Tell the womens okay. What did the Mommy do?The Mommy is singing a game.The Mommy is choking.





I liked how, even though the days of ancient Egypt are gone and most of the religion was gone, the gods still were there, and their magic was there. The curses work and the statue moved when she prayed. Even though their people had died out and not many people believed in their religion, the gods and goddesses were still were there, looking after everything.


Remember, kids! When carrying out an evil plot, stab in the heart and fiery pit first, long speeches later.

I'll admit, I was kind of expecting the mummy to stagger around, strangling foolish teenagers, kind of like the original Jason. Instead, he was a complicated character whose eternal devotion drove him to defy gods. He went through agony for the one he loved. His willingness to stop at nothing caused him to become a nefarious character, but having gone through great pain himself skewed his perspective. He inflicted pain and death on others, apparently without hesitation or remorse. Like Henry, I appreciated interplay between the natural world of scientists and museum curators, and the ancient Egyptian supernatural world of  magic and reincarnation. I think, as a family, we will always heed the warnings of old historians from here on out.

Curses, scarab rings, dark cursey eyes, tattered bandages, and womens: all reasons to give The Mummy our family official seal of approval.

Watch It: Our week of Queue de Grâce

Fall is upon us! Just like that! Summer evaporated quickly here, with the birthdays of two boys. and suddenly we were all up in it. Soccer practice, Halloween plans, winter garden preparation, there's a chicken coop in the works; we need another project like we need a Cole in the head.

Our long-time family friend, musician, book boss, role model, and proud owner of the biggest cranium I've ever seen hatted, Cole Roulain, writes an excellent blog for grown-ups who like solid, thoughtful writing on the subject of film, vitagraph, american. If you're over the age of 18, or an exceptionally punk rock minor, give it a look. You won't be sorry.

One of the features on vitagraph, american is the "queue de grâce." Cole hands control of his viewing choices over to a friend for a week, and writes about each of the mandated selections. Often, this is a chance for him to illuminate films that may be obscure, misunderstood, or forgotten; sometimes it is used as an opportunity to force Cole to write at length about a Meg Ryan movie.*

*For those of you too young to know who Meg Ryan is, or why her movies might be hard for a fan of quality cinema to watch, consider yourselves lucky.  Run! 

I like to read his opinion on movies I've watched, because he brings a point of view that I can relate to, even if it's different from my own. Friends who make things and work hard to do them well are one of the best things to have in your life. They always make you think, which is never a bad thing, no matter what you may have heard.

Occasionally, someone is brave enough to allow Cole to choose their week's movies, which they write about. As a result, people from all backgrounds weigh in on a subject they might never have discussed publicly, having seen films chosen for them by a guy who really knows his stuff. Thomas took the challenge, and is a better man for it. He still mentions Godzilla. That wasn't just going to happen on its own.

When we accepted that summer was really gone, and we were certainly headed for colder darker days, we saw a chance to get in on some of this sweet queue action. I asked Cole to make a list of movies suitable for a family, a first for him, I believe. For seven consecutive days, in whatever grouping of parents and children we can manage, we will watch one movie per day, beginning next Monday, October 8. Each day, we will write about it, here, and I do mean "we." I plan to get input from any family member who will talk to me. It might get incomprehensible, but it promises to be interesting.

I present, our queue, all of which are streaming on Netflix:
The Mummy (1932)
The Red Balloon (1956)
A Town Called Panic (2009)
Go West (1925)
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

So, tend to any last minute errands, and stock up on popcorn, because you only have a few days before the lights dim and the curtain rises on a week of watching it.*

*and writing about it, and perhaps grinding popcorn crumbs into it, and then probably vacuuming it.

Stay tuned!