Die Augen der Mumie Ma

First of all, in spite of its title, THE EYES OF THE MUMMY isn't a horror movie. At all. It's a silent drama about the life of an Egyptian woman named Ma (Pola Negri), who is abducted and held against her will by an unscrupulous man.

After being rescued, Ma is taken to Europe where she becomes a dance sensation. Ms. Negri is quite good and the dance sequences are excellent.

Alas, Ma's newfound fame is short-lived, since her former captor has tracked her down with eeevil intent.

This is a worthwhile film that holds the viewers interest throughout its running time. It's also notable for its downbeat ending...

This 1918 film directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch is alleged to be the first mummy horror film although there is a claim of a lost 1905 film. The only problem is that except for the title there is no mummy! The plot, well here goes. An art student in Egypt goes to an Egyptian tomb to find Ma who may possibly be Pola Negri. I say possibly because the player of the lead character is NOT identified in the credits. Ma is being held as a slave by an Arab (beautifully over acted by Emil Jannings) who is beaten up by the student who then liberates Ma and takes her back to Germany. The Arab nearly dies in the desert but is rescued by a German prince to whom he swears to serve for life. He, the Arab, is then also taken to Germany. Ma in the meantime wows them with a hootchie kootchie dance at a party and gets a theatrical contract to perform on stage. The exotic dance is a hoot. Meanwhile Ma's former Arab master comes across her and in a fit of revenge kills her. The end and all in 30 minutes and no mummy. The overacting in terms of gestures common to silent films of the period is quite present. Jannings, in semi black face, is quite effective as the villain. His repertoire of sinister facial expressions is quite large. All in all the film is an historical curiosity that I am sure Lubitsch and Negri tried to forget when they became more well known.

Here are Lubitsch, Pola Negri and Emil Jannings back in the year 1918 at the start and before they achieved their huge fame. Of course, this is a low budget movie. The Egyptian desert scenes were filmed in a Berlin quarry and the Egyptian tomb is of absurdly cheap quality. However we can see the evident skill of Lubitsch when working with his lead actors. The fascinating personality of Pola Negri shines . I certainly wish that we had more such real women in today,s modern movies. So please enjoy this nostalgic movie. Consider that if it was remade today with millions of dollars, special effects and huge publicity ,that it might be a box-office bonanza

The more silent Lubitsch I see the more I think he's was a lousy silent director who managed to succeed only because he found his niche in sound and comedy. His ANNA BOLEYN, SUMURUN and EYES OF THE MUMMY are just plain awful. This is a very poor film technically and even the great Jannings is wasted as the villain. Negri is effective but overacts badly. Her dance is just plain silly. Only for dyed in the wool fans of the director and the two stars.

What an egregious waste of talent!! It's poorly acted, indifferently directed, and badly written; too bad THIS film survived when so many other more worthy silents didn't! It's hard to believe this was made in 1918--technically and artistically, it's more like 1909. This is the sort of film you should definitely NOT show to someone unfamiliar with silent film, as it confirms every awful stereotype about them--clownish makeup, hammy gestures, and cheesy plot--and, it's boring to boot. The great Emil Jannings looks more like Othello in search of Desdemona instead of an Egyptian in search of his captive, and this time his habitual overacting is annoying rather than bravura. And, you have to be a pretty maladroit filmaker to take Pola Negri, with her angular Gypsy beauty, and make her up to look like a pint-sized Little Egypt. Take it from a die-hard silents fan who will watch ANY silent film, simply because they are silent: skip this one.