 | |
| Helen Grosvenor | |
| Aliases: | None |
| Continuity: | Universal Monsters |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Occupation: | Socialite |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | Cairo, Egypt |
| Status: | Deceased by virtue of time era |
| First: | Mummy, The (1932) |
| Actor: | Zita Johann |
Helen Grosvenor is a fictional character featured in the "Universal Monsters" film franchise. Played by actress Zita Johann, she appeared in the 1932 film The Mummy.
Biography[]
Helen Grosvenor lived in Cairo, Egypt during the late 1920s and early 1930s. A strange and intimidating local named Ardath Bey (who in reality was the reborn mummy of the Ancient Egyptian high priest Imhotep) got it in his head that Helen was actually the reincarnation of his old sweetie, the princess Ankh-es-en-amon.
Imhotep was not content with his beloved's modern physical trappings and sought to invigorate her soul in Helen Grosvenor's body. To this end, he kidnapped Helen, decked her out in this skimpy little two-piece bit and preceded to import the soul of Ankh-es-en-amon into her body using a spell from the Book of Thoth. Before Imhotep could get to the mummification part of the deal, something within Helen recalled her past life. She prayed to the Egyptian goddess Isis to save her. A statue of Isis raised its arms and emitted a beam of energy that destroyed Imhotep, turning him into a pile of dust.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Helen Grosvenor was created by director Karl Freund and screenplay writer John L. Balderston based on concepts developed by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer.
- Actress Zita Johann was the female lead in The Mummy and received second billing after Boris Karloff.
- Actress Zita Johann was twenty-seven years old when filming began on The Mummy.
- Playing the role of Helen Grosvenor is Zita Johann's third film role and her first work in the horror genre. She would not return to the horror genre again until 1986 where she would play a librarian in Raiders of the Living Dead, which would prove to be eighth and final film work.
- Helen Grosvenor's line, "Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with?", was sampled by heavy metal band White Zombie in their song "Welcome to Planet Motherfucker/Psychoholic Slag", which appeared on the album La Sexorcisto.