Karl Freund, the cinematographer on "Dracula", was hired to direct, making this his first film in the United States as a director. Freund had also been the cinematographer on Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". The film was retitled "The Mummy". Freund cast Zita Johann, who believed in reincarnation, and named her character 'Anck-su-namun' after the only wife of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The real Ankhesenamun's body had not been discovered in the tomb of King Tut and her resting place was unknown. Her name, however, would not have been unknown to the general public.