Turhan Bey as Mehemet Bey

Turkish heart-throb Turhan Bey made an unusual choice for a heavy, but his exotic appearance and accent added very effective touches to his portrayal of High Priest Mehemet Bey in The Mummy's Tomb (1942.) In this film, Bey assists one of the earliest monster immigrants to American soil when he sets sail with Kharis across the Atlantic, bound for Mapleton, MA, thereby heralding a trend which saw the importation of other foreign horrors into the U.S.A. (Pearl Harbor, which had occurred less than a year before the release of The Mummy's Tomb, had obviously sparked insecurities about American vulnerability to invasions.) Turhan Bey went on to make a name for himself as a romantic lead, but reported years later that The Mummy's Tomb was his favorite film. He is now a successful photographer for men's magazines.

Learn more about Turhan Bey here.