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Despite having only eight screen credits to her name, Zita Johann used her Broadway background, captivating beauty, and piercing eyes to steal the spotlight from Boris Karloff in the 1932 Universal Monsters classic, The Mummy. Her career began in small plays, eventually performing on Broadway in 1924. There are twelve credited Broadway performances by Johann between 1924 and 1942.
She arrived on the big screen in 1931’s The Struggle. She was considered by many Hollywood directors to be “difficult” because she was a performer first and pretty face second. Some believe that this is due to her Broadway background. She may or may not have seen herself as a superior actor when compared to film actors depending on who you ask. In fact, she and The Mummy director, Karl Freund, locked horns on set numerous times. Freund would go out of his way to make her angry and/or uncomfortable. He went as far as telling her that he wanted her to perform “nude from the waist up” in the film’s climax. Calling his bluff, Johann agreed to do the scene topless if Freund could get the censors to allow it. Freund ultimately gave in, allowing Johann to perform the scene in a small top.
Johann despised Hollywood, seeing it as “no more than a personality and sex factory…..not interested in acting.” – NY Post1993. She knew her worth as an actress and stood up to the demands of directors, producers, and others that tried to control her and her performances. She ultimately left Hollywood in 1934 and only returned for a small role in 1986’s forgettable Raiders of the Living Dead.
Johann was a trailblazer for women in film. She stood up to the status quo and didn’t hesitate to protect herself. She’s definitely a Scream Queen for appearing in The Mummy, but she’s a legend for being true to her self.
Thanks for reading today’s post. Ms. Johann was an amazing actress. She died in 1993. She was eighty-nine years old. Despite her short film career, she will live on forever for her work in The Mummy.
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