The Ghoul (1933)

A dying professor of Egyptology (Boris Karloff) believes that if he offers a rare diamond to the Egyptian god Anubis that he will be granted eternal life. But after his death, there are many who desire that diamond, some for cultural reasons, others for profit. Despite Karloff in the title role and the similarity to THE MUMMY, this is not a Universal horror but a British film which imitates the Universal style. If you're a fan of the Universal monsters series, you'll most likely find some favor here but it's pretty anemic. It has the most pompous stiff hero (Anthony Bushell), comic relief in the form of Kathleen Harrison (TURN THE KEY SOFTLY) that's more annoying than amusing and characters behaving in illogical ways. For instance, after Cedric Hardwicke spots a man returning from the dead breaking into the mansion, does he panic in terror and tell everyone to get out of the house? No! He fixes himself a stiff drink. The film has a lot of atmosphere which helps a lot and its moderately enjoyable. Directed by T. Tayes Hunter from the 1928 book book by Frank King though there's little resemblance outside of the title. With Ralph Richardson in his film debut, Ernest Thesiger and Dorothy Hyson.