| “ | Well, he may have been a stinky fellow, but he had good taste. | ” |
–Jonathan Carnahan regarding the warden's choice in drinks., The Mummy | ||
Gad Hassan was the warden of a prison in Cairo. In 1926, Hassan accompanied Rick O'Connell and Evelyn and Jonathan Carnahan on an expedition to find Hamunaptra, the fabled City of the Dead.
Biography[]
Gad Hassan had obtained the position of warden of the Cairo prison not by any other man's initiative but his own, and had administrated the prison with a strong grip, adhering to harsh rule as his prisoners saw.
Another Day[]
Warden Hassan showing the visitors Richard O'Connell.
Gad Hassan was the warden in charge of Cairo prison when a former Foreign French Legionnaire, an American by the name of Richard O'Connell, had been sent there as punishment for deserting his post. For the time that Richard O'Connell was incarcerated, Hassan, as with all other inmates, took every chance to make the American's life miserable, having O'Connell locked up and beaten once or twice, an act which did not soften O'Connell's disdain for the warden, as he cracked jokes at the warden with every chance he got, the warden reciprocating with having O'Connell beaten, stating that he did not appreciate a sense of humour in prisoners.
| “ | Where are they taking him? To be hanged: apparently, he had a very good time. |
” |
–Warden Hassan and Evelyn Carnahan on O'Connell's fate, The Mummy | ||
Hassan was visited by Jonathan and Evelyn Carnahan one day when they sought O'Connell, as Jonathan had picked an item from O'Connell's pocket, and the siblings had gone to inquire what it was from O'Connell. Hassan did not know just why O'Connell was sent to the Cairo Prison, but stated that when he had asked O'Connell this question, O'Connell responded that he was just looking for a "good time". Hassan left the scene when he had to go and attend to matters elsewhere in the prison, and after an exchange betwixt the Carnahans and O'Connell which ended in Evelyn Carnahan being kissed fully on the lips by O'Connell, Hassan stepped on the scene and had his guard watching O'Connell beat him and have him taken away. As Evelyn asked where O'Connell was being taken, Hassan explained that he was being taken to be hanged, and that he apparently had a very good time. Jonathan remarked that the French Foreign Legion had no legal presence in Egypt, with Hassan explaining that the prison had a reciprocal agreement with the legion: for fifty British pounds, the prison would relieve the legion of tending to deserters.
Warden Hassan demanding payment for releasing a prisoner.
Evelyn requested that she be present at the hanging, with Hassan stating that it was not permitted in his country: women could not attend hangings. Evelyn insisted on the grounds that she was not of Egypt, that she was English, and so not subject to the rule. Hassan obliged, displeased at this, remarking later that an unveiled woman sitting in the warden's viewing room overlooking the execution arena might as well be sitting unclothed. Evelyn ignored this, making monetary bids so that O'Connell might be spared, Hassan ignoring all offers until Evelyn offered him enough money so that his interest was piqued, as he added what else she might be willing to offer, Evelyn disgusted at this crass remark. Finally, she revealed her motives: the prisoner being hung knew the location to Hamunaptra, as Hassan was disbelieving for a moment, until he asked if what she was saying was true. Evelyn confirmed it, and stated that if O'Connell was cut down at once, the warden would be given 10% of the profits made from the proposed expedition to the City of the Dead. Hassan demanded 50%, but settled for 25% instead. Hassan grudgingly accepted, having O'Connell cut down.
Unwelcome Guest[]
| “ | A bright good morning to all. Oh no, what are you doing here? I'm here to protect my investment, thank you very much. |
” |
–The Warden meets up with the Carnahans at Giza., The Mummy | ||
Hassan's experience was far from over, however, as he invited himself with O'Connell and the Carnahans on their expedition to find Hamunaptra, meeting the group in the port in Cairo, much to Evelyn's chagrin as she asked him why he was at the port, Hassan replying that he was there to protect his investment. Hassan furthered his explanation by saying that his people knew all too well that the English had a way of speaking politely as they robbed the ground from under another. Hassan came across O'Connell and remarked that there should be no hard feelings, O'Connell curtly replying that if Hassan should ever need to borrow a necktie, all he needed to do was ask, implying returning the favour of killing him, Hassan not catching on.
| “ | O'Connell! O'Connell! What are we going to do, what are going to do? Wait here, I'll go get help. Right. |
” |
–The Warden is tricked by O'Connell., The Mummy | ||
Hassan boarded the riverboat Sudan alongside the three others without further debate, and shared a table at dinnertime with them. That evening there was a skirmish: a small group of Medjai warriors, members of an ancient group intending to protect the lost city of Hamunaptra, had boarded the riverboat and had almost killed Evelyn Carnahan in the search of a puzzle box that she had in her possession: the very same puzzle box that she had gone with her brother to Cairo Prison to inquire of Rick O'Connell. As the fight pressed on, an oil lamp was spilled by someone and subsequently set fire to the boat deck, leaving the passengers aboard to jump ship at once into the Nile. Among those jumping ship was Hassan, who caught up with O'Connell, asking what they were going to do; O'Connell jokingly replied that he would go get help and that Hassan should wait there as he did, Hassan being fooled for a moment, but finally catching on and jumping ship with the others.
Journey by Camel[]
As all of the other passengers swam to shore, so too did Hassan as O'Connell replied sardonically that he was glad that the warden didn't drown. Hassan and the three others in his group managed by chance to make it to the right side of the Nile to reach Hamunaptra as the next morning they all reached a Bedouin trading post, where Jonathan managed to buy four camels from a trader for them to reach the ruins in, and managed to procure some tents and supplies as well. While in the trading post, Hassan got into some disagreement with the Bedouin women, being chased away by a number of them out of a tent.
Warden Hassan travelling the deserts on a camel.
As soon as some camels were traded by Jonathan Carnahan, the four travellers began their journey to Hamunaptra, trekking through the Sahara. Jonathan remarked that he never liked camels, as they smelled, bit and spat, unaware that Warden Hassan was right behind him, doing the same: gobbling up a chicken wing and spitting out bits of it, singing Arabic songs as the group travelled. The group kept riding into the desert and stopping to rest only once for a few hours while setting up camp, they continued their trek.
After a short rest of only a few hours, the group continued their trek into the deserts and three; Evelyn, Jonathan, and Warden Hassan, fell asleep as they rode their camels, the Warden snoring so loudly and leaning against an equally loud snoring Jonathan, which woke Jonathan up, causing him to hit Hassan with his camel whip to stave him off. That morning, as they continued their journey on camels, Jonathan confronted Hassan, telling him that he snored loudly. Hassan rebuked by stating that he did not snore; breaking wind was something he did do while asleep, but he never snored. As the group travelled on, Evelyn spotted some bleached white bones that were halfway stuck in the sand, which Hassan remarked were other seekers of Hamunaptra that had not turned out successful.
Camel Race[]
The dread experienced after the sight of the skeletons was short lived, as three Americans, their professorial consultant, and a man named Beni Gabor that O'Connell struck a wager with earlier on, now accompanied by three dozen native diggers made their presence known, and reminded O'Connell of the wager that they had made: whichever group made it to Hamunaptra first would earn five hundred dollars from the other group. As the sun rose, the path was lit and quickly each rider made his or her way to the ruins, including Warden Hassan. Evelyn won the race for her group, earning the five hundred dollars.
Settling In[]
The four treasure seekers walk through the underground tunnels.
As soon as the groups reached Hamunaptra, the native diggers hired by the Americans set right out to work, bringing out any artifacts that might have some meaning, while O'Connell and his group, though outnumbered, still managed to work their way into the ruins. As O'Connell ran some ropes on a harness so as to slip down. an opening in the ruins, he hit Warden Hassan with the long end of the rope once or twice. The four slid down the ropes and made it into a preparation chamber where, in times long gone, mummies were made, and as the four made their way into this chamber, they began to explore the corridors of the city, where they reached a statue base pertaining to Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of mummification. Upon reaching the statue base, they heard strange sounds coming from around the statue, and guns loaded, they faced the source of the sounds: the three Americans, accompanied by their guide, their consultant and a group of diggers. At gunpoint the two groups argued over who should get the right to search that statue base, with the American group winning the argument, leaving the smaller group to search elsewhere, more specifically, under the site that they were fighting for. As Rick O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan Carnahan excavated the site below for any artifacts and items of value, Warden Hassan separated himself from the group as he searched for treasures.
| “ | What have we here? Blue gold: this will fetch a very fine price. | ” |
–Warden Hassan finding treasures of his own., The Mummy | ||
Treasures Hassan found, for he had come across a great mural on the stone walls, encrusted with small stones of "blue gold", and no sooner did the Warden see this mural that he took out his pocketknife and began to pry the stones off the mural and into his bag, as he believed that the stones would "fetch a mighty fine price". Ululating and mocking the carving of a man in agony being eaten by the stones, he continued on prying more stones off the mural unaware that one stone had missed the bag, falling instead onto the sandy ground.
Death[]
The Warden beholds the scarab that is about to kill him.
| “ | What do you suppose killed him? Did you ever see him eat? |
” |
–Evelyn and Jonathan on the Warden's death, The Mummy | ||
The stone lay on the sand where it began to chip itself open, revealing a living scarab beetle that tore into the Warden's shoe. The treasure Hassan had found was not gold, but rather shells of scarab beetles which ate the flesh of anyone they touched. The scarab began to eat its way up the Warden's leg as he shrieked in pain, tearing open his shirt, seeing a living lump crawl under his skin and into his face, where it soon made its way into the Warden's skull.
The Warden screamed in pain as the scarab continued its work, causing his fellows to watch perplexedly as he screamed and ran down a corridor, clawing at his head, and finally the Warden ran unknowingly down the corridor directly into a stone wall, killing himself from the blow and the scarab's foul work, as the bug crawled out of his ear, covered in blood and into the darkness.
A night after his death, O'Connell and Beni sat by a campfire in Hamunaptra, roasting rat flesh on sticks, to which Jonathan, because of the foul smell and hairy texture of the cooking rat flesh, thought the two men were eating the late Warden's remains. [1]
Personality and Traits[]
| “ | ...a thickset greasy man whose porcine features were distinguished by glittering dark eyes... | ” |
–The description given of the Warden., The Mummy (novelization) | ||
The Warden was a greedy man that, aside from being superstitious and easily duped, had many faults, not all of them being within character, many being within his appearance: Warden Hassan had poor hygienic standards, having body odour, much unshaven stubble as a result of shaving no more than once a week, green teeth, and excess body fat.
Hassan wore the clothes typical for a man of his position when in Cairo Prison: a jacket patched with one or two badges and a green turban to match, and when not in the prison Hassan wore a battered tan jacket and dark grey pinstriped trousers, a striped shirt and green striped necktie. A grey scarf was also part of this ensemble, as were a pair of old shoes, dirty grey puttees, a waist-sash and a dark red fez. Hassan normally wore two rings on his fingers, one that had a large green stone and the other being simple and gold.
Appearances[]
- The Mummy (First appearance)
Behind the Scenes[]
Warden Gad Hassan was portrayed by Omid Djalili.
During the filming of the Warden's death, Djalili had torn at his own clothing to feign agony so much that he managed to tear out his own boxers.
The Warden's portrayal in the film varied from that shown in the novel, as the Warden wore a heavily-stained cream-coloured suit, sandals, and battered porkpie hat in the narrative and in the novel, the Warden revealed that the Cairo prison relieved French Foreign Legion officials of court-martialling deserters for a price. Moreover, while riding his camel with the others, the Warden was eating dates, not a chicken wing, in the novel.
The name "Gad" translates as "luck" in Hebrew and appears as the name of two individuals in the Bible, as well as being the name of the pan-Semitic god of fortune.