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The Hope Diamond Mystery
✦✦✦ (Kleine/Kosmik, 15 Episodes)
Grace Darmond, Boris Karloff
D: Stuart Paton

Featuring Boris Karloff as / Dakar / High Priest of Sita
Grace Darmond as Mary Hilton / Bibi
George Chesebro as John Gregg / Jean-Baptiste Tavanier
Harry Carter as Sidney Atherton / Nang Fu / Ghung
The actors in this weird story of an ancient curse play dual roles and in 16th and 20th century characters based on real and historical figures battle to possess the jewel Boris Karloff’s character Dakar, the apparent reincarnation of the priest of the cult from which the jewel was stolen, tries to return it to its rightful home. Karloff's role here resembles his Im-ho-tep in The Mummy and his presence, sometimes sinister and sometimes heroic, is the highlight of the serial. Introduced by the real former Lady Frances Hope, ex-wife of the diamond’s real-life owner. One of few silent serials to survive completely intact.

Slideshow
View Online Video: / Ep. 1 / Ep. 8/9 Combined

AMAZON LINKS
View EPISODES 1-5 On Demand Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes
View EPISODES 6-10 On Demand Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes
View EPISODES 11-15 On Demand Runtime: 1 hours, 37 minutes

Transfer Quality and Content: Excellent, from 35mm original reels (3 episodes), and B/W 16mm printdown from the 35mm original. Many splices and defects have been digitally eliminated. The entire serial has been stabilized and color tinted as was the original, with occasional special color effects added, mostly in scenes involving the diamond, as were said to have also appeared in the original.

Blu-Ray Contents: 15 Chapters, approximately 5 hours; Black and white with color tints & effects & new musical score

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THE HOPE DIAMOND MYSTERY
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Featuring Boris Karloff, Grace Darmond and George Chesebro

A very dark story about the curse of the Hope Diamond, with introductory openings by one of its real-life former owners.

Death and terror follow in the path of the terrible jewel as it passes through many hands in two different ages.

This serial was Boris Karloff's first major film role and his part in it, the apparently immortal high priest Dakar who searches for the stolen jewel through the ages, foreshadows his character in THE MUMMY.

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