The Hope Diamond Mystery

The curse of the legendary blue Hope Diamond on all its owners is dramatized from the gem's discovery in 17th Century India until its donation to the Smithsonian Institute.

• Grace Darmond as Mary Hilton / Bibi
• George Chesebro as John Gregge / Jean-Baptiste Tavanier
• Boris Karloff as Dakar / High Priest of Sita
• Harry Carter as Sidney Atherton / Nang Fu
• William Marion as James Marcon / Bagi
• Carmen Phillips as Wanda Atherton / Miza
• Arthur Clayton as Lord Francis Hale
• Ethel Shannon as Lady Francis Hale
• William Buckley as Reginald Travers
• Frank M. Seki as Saki
• Harry Archer as Johnson
• May Yohe as Lady Francis Hope (Herself)

[2]

This serial was shot on the Universal Pictures lot and a custom set, the "Temple of Sita," which reportedly cost $100,000 to build, and was Boris Karloff's first major film role. A blue color tint was used on title cards in the serial with an illustration of the diamond in the background, and legend has it that additional special color effects may have been incorporated into other scenes showing the diamond as well, and evidence of such remains in the existing print of the film Color effects have been retained in the 2014 restoration of the serial by Eric Stedman of the Serial Squadron. The color effects of this film are so unique and ahead of their time that no other film had tried to imitate them. Not until 2 strip Technicolor could similar visuals be attained. When watching the film, there are multi-colored tints in a single scene, reminiscent of the old hand painted color shorts of Georges Méliès. The last 6 chapters almost exclusively feature them. May Yohe appears as herself in episode opening and closings.

• List of film serials
• List of film serials by studio
• Boris Karloff filmography
• Hope Diamond

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Hope Diamond Mystery.

• The Hope Diamond Mystery on IMDb