''Mummy's Boys'' is a 1936 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Fred Guiol Fred Guiol (February 17, 1898 – May 23, 1964), pronounced "Gill," was an American film director and screenwriter. Career Guiol worked at the Hal Roach Studios for many years, first as a property man, later as assistant director and finally wri ...

and written by

Jack Townley Jack Townley (March 3, 1897 – October 15, 1960) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for nearly 100 films between 1926 and 1957. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * ''The T ...

Philip G. Epstein Philip G. Epstein (August 22, 1909 – February 7, 1952) was an American screenwriter most known for his screenplay for the film ''Casablanca'' (1942), which won an Academy Award. He had written it in partnership with his twin brother Julius and ...

and Charles E. Roberts. The film stars

Bert Wheeler Bert Wheeler (April 7, 1895 – January 18, 1968) was an American comedian who performed in vaudeville acts, Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and television. He was teamed with Broadway comic Robert Woolsey, and they went on to ...

Robert Woolsey Robert Rollie Woolsey (August 14, 1888 – October 31, 1938) was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey. Early life Robert Rollie Woolsey (sometimes spelled Rolla or even Raleigh) was born o ...

Barbara Pepper Barbara Pepper (born Marion Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first Doris Ziffel on the sitcom '' Green Acres''. Early life and career Marion Pepper ...

Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889November 22, 1954) was an American actor. Life and career Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah, to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha ( Hoverholst) Olsen, who named him after the Moroni found in the ...

, Frank M. Thomas and

Willie Best William Best (May 27, 1916 – February 27, 1962), known professionally as Willie Best or Sleep 'n' Eat, was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African American film actors and comedians to become well known ...

. The film was released on October 2, 1936, by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

Plot

Phillip Browning ( Frank M. Thomas), convinced that the mysterious deaths of ten of his colleagues is the result of a mummy's curse, hopes to avoid the fate of the others by returning King Pharatime's treasures to his tomb. Ditch diggers Stanley Wright (

) and Aloysius C. Whittaker (

) answer a newspaper advertisement to join Browning's Egyptian expedition. Whittaker presents himself (unconvincingly) as an Egyptian expert, and Wright—who is immediately attracted to Browning's daughter Mary (

)—makes a poor impression because he suffers spells of forgetfulness that can be cured only by taking a nap. (This is a running gag throughout the film.) Browning hires them anyway. On board the ship to Egypt the next day the boys meet Sterling (

), who is part of the expedition. Catfish (

), a stowaway, is invited to join the group after he mentions that he is from Cairo—although Whittaker and Wright later discover that he is from Cairo, Illinois. After the group arrives at their hotel, Sterling disappears mysteriously and a threatening note is found. Soon after they arrive at their encampment, Whittaker, Wright and Mary awake to find Catfish tied up and everyone else gone. They find another threatening note in Browning's tent. They open Mr. Browning's instructions, which direct them to dig to the tomb entrance and place the boxes containing the treasures in the tomb. The three men dig until they have the entrance cleared, and start carrying the boxes into the tomb. The scene cuts to a secret room of the tomb, where Sterling has Browning tied up and gagged. Sterling reveals that he killed the other ten with a syringe containing undetectable poison, and plans to do the same to Browning, Mary, Whittaker and Wright. He leaves, but accidentally drops a diary, which Wright later picks up. A landslide seals the entrance and traps Whittaker, Wright, Mary and Catfish in the tomb. As they search for a way out, Sterling approaches them, pretending to be a victim of kidnapping and professing to believe in the curse. Wright reveals that he knows the deaths are actually murders—he has read the diary, but has not yet learned the identity of the killer. He does not recall where he hid the diary, and needs to take a nap to remember. Sterling offers to inject him with a "sedative". Wright, fearing the syringe, leads them all on a merry chase, ending when he hits Sterling on the head with a vase. The vase smashes, revealing the diary, which Whittaker picks up. He examines it and realizes that Sterling is the murderer. The police arrive at the camp, enter the tomb, and bring Sterling to justice. The Egyptian spy who warned Wright over the phone turns out to be an Egyptian secret policeman, Rasheed Bey (

Francis McDonald Francis McDonald (August 22, 1891 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years. Early years Born on August 22, 1891, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, McDonald was the son of John Francis McDonald and Catherine Ashlu ...

), who was investigating Sterling. At the fadeout, Wright has something he wants to say to Mary, but can't remember what it is.

Cast

as Stanley Wright *

as Aloysius C. Whittaker *

as Mary Browning *

as Dr. Edward Sterling * Frank M. Thomas as Phillip Browning *

as Catfish *

as Rasheed Bey *

Frank Lackteen Frank Lackteen (born Mohammed Hassan Lackteen August 29, 1897 – July 8, 1968) was an American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1915 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. ...

as Second Oriental * Charles Coleman as Kendall * Mitchell Lewis as Haroun Pasha * Frederick Burton as Professor Edwards

References

External links

* * * {{Fred Guiol 1936 films American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films Films directed by Fred Guiol 1936 comedy films American comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films