In Egypt in 1895, archaeologists John Banning, his father Stephen and his uncle Joseph Whemple are searching for the tomb of Princess Ananka, the high priestess of the god Karnak. John has a broken leg and cannot accompany his father and uncle when they open the tomb. Before they enter, an Egyptian named Mehemet Bey warns them not to go in, lest they face the fatal curse against desecrators. Stephen and Joseph ignore him, and discover within the sarcophagus of Ananka. After Joseph leaves to tell John the good news, Stephen finds the Scroll of Life and reads from it. Outside, members of the archaeological team hear his screams and rush into the tomb to find Stephen in a catatonic state.
Three years later, back in England, Stephen Banning comes out of his catatonia at the Engerfield Nursing Home for the Mentally Disordered, and sends for his son. He tells him that when he read from the Scroll of Life, he unintentionally brought back to lifeKharis, the mummified high priest of Karnak. The high priest had been sentenced to be entombed alive to serve as the guardian of Princess Ananka's tomb: Kharis secretly loved the princess and attempted to restore her to life after she died; when he was discovered, eternal life and mummification were his punishment. Now, Stephen tells his disbelieving son that Kharis will hunt down and kill all those who desecrated Ananka's tomb.
Kharis, shot by Banning.
Meanwhile, Mehemet Bey, a devoted worshiper of Karnak, comes to Engerfield under the alias of Mehemet Atkil to wreak vengeance on the Bannings. He hires a pair of drunken carters, Pat and Mike, to bring the slumbering Kharis in a crate to his rented home, but the two men's drunken driving cause Kharis's crate to fall off and sink into a bog. Later, using the Scroll of Life, Mehemet exhorts Kharis to rise from the mud, then sends him to murder Stephen Banning. When Kharis kills Joseph Whemple the next night, John witnesses it. He shoots Kharis with a revolver at close range, but to no effect.
Police Inspector Mulrooney is assigned to solve the murders but, because he is skeptical and deals only in "cold, hard facts", he does not believe John's incredible story about a killer mummy, even when John tells him that he is likely to be Kharis' third victim. While Mulrooney investigates, John notices that his wife Isobel bears an uncanny resemblance to Princess Ananka. Gathering testimonial evidence from other individuals in the community, Mulrooney slowly begins to wonder if the mummy is real.
Mehemet Bey sends the mummy to the Bannings' home to slay his final victim. However, when Isobel rushes to her husband's aid, Kharis sees her, releases John, and leaves. Mehemet Bey mistakenly believes that Kharis has completed his task, and prepares to return to Egypt. John, suspecting Mehemet Bey of being the one controlling the mummy, pays him a visit, much to Bey's surprise.
After John leaves, Mehemet Bey leads Kharis in a second attempt on John's life. The mummy knocks Mulrooney unconscious, while Mehemet Bey deals with another policeman guarding the house. Kharis finds John in his study and starts to choke him. Alerted by John's shouts, Isobel runs to the house without Mulrooney; at first, the mummy does not recognize her, but John tells her to loosen her hair and the mummy releases John. When Mehemet orders Kharis to kill Isobel, he refuses; Mehemet tries to murder Isobel himself, but is killed by Kharis instead. The mummy carries the unconscious Isobel into the swamp, followed by John, Mulrooney and other policemen. John yells to Isobel; when she regains consciousness, she tells Kharis to put her down. The mummy reluctantly obeys. When Isobel has moved away from him, the policemen open fire, causing Kharis to sink into a quagmire, taking the Scroll of Life with him.
The sarcophagus prop in Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
Filming occurred at Bray Studios in Berkshire.[4] Originally the scenes of Kharis's tongue being cut out and shotgun demise were more graphic, but were trimmed for the British censor.[5]
In the video, Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror, Peter Cushing says he suggested the scene in which he drives a spear through the mummy. He was inspired by the pre-release poster (see image above) which shows the mummy with a shaft of light passing through it.[6]
The Monthly Film Bulletin of the UK wrote: "More glamorously photographed than ever, Hammer's latest excursion into nineteenth century macabre fantasy is weighed down by wordy historical exposition, flashbacks to ancient Egyptian burial ceremonies and a resultant slackening in pace".[8]Howard Thompson of The New York Times thought that the film was "woodenly directed" and "should have been better".[9]Variety wrote that the film was "excellently executed" in all technical departments, and while there was "little of actual newness" to the plot, the film "carries the type of action expected, and while chiller aspects aren't too pronounced they're sufficient to those who want to find them".[10]Harrison's Reports called it "a fairly good picture of its kind, produced on a more lavish scale than its predecessors and enhanced by Technicolor photography".[11]
The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films wrote of the film: "Structurally little more than a string of picturesque and nice-lit killings, The Mummy's melancholic presentation and romantic undertow grants it a certain atmosphere which elevates this bandaged brute far beyond its cinematic predecessors".[1] It currently holds a positive 89% "Fresh" on film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews.[12]
Nina Wilcox Putnam, co-writer of the original 1932 Universal Mummy film, was highly critical of the Hammer adaption, writing in a letter to Time magazine: "This disgusting English remake was done without my knowledge or consent, and it has been a terrible shock at the age of 75, to find such a work attributed to me, however wrongly and by indirection".[13]
Peter Wilton Cushing was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition for his leading performances in the Hammer Productions horror films from the 1950s to 1970s, and as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars (1977).
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classic horror characters such as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and the Mummy, which Hammer reintroduced to audiences by filming them in vivid colour for the first time. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies, as well as, in later years, television series.
The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund. The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer. Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Classic Monsters franchise, the film stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron.
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 British horror film starring Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon and James Villiers. It was director Seth Holt's final film, and was loosely adapted from Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. The film was released as the support feature to Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.
Dracula is a 1958 British gothic horror film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name. The first in the series of Hammer Horror films starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the film also features Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, along with Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, and John Van Eyssen. In the United States, the film was retitled Horror of Dracula to avoid confusion with the U.S. original by Universal Pictures, 1931's Dracula.
Terence Fisher was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films.
The Curse of Frankenstein is a 1957 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions, loosely based on the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. It was Hammer's first colour horror film, and the first of their Frankenstein series. Its worldwide success led to several sequels, and it was also followed by new versions of Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959), establishing "Hammer Horror" as a distinctive brand of Gothic cinema.
Frankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British Hammer horror film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein and Susan Denberg as his new creation. It is the fourth film in Hammer's Frankenstein series.
The Mummy's Hand is a 1940 American horror film directed by Christy Cabanne and produced by Ben Pivar for Universal Studios. Shot in black-and-white, the film is about the ancient Egyptian mummy of Kharis, who is kept alive with a brew of tana leaves by The High Priest and his successor Andoheb. Meanwhile, archeologists Steve Banning and Babe Jenson persuade magician Solvani to finance an expedition in search of the tomb of Princess Ananka. They are joined by Solvani's daughter Marta, and followed by Andoheb who is also the professor of Egyptology at the Cairo Museum. Kharis is ordered to kill off expedition members Dr. Petrie and Ali, while Andoheb becomes attracted to Marta who he plans to kidnap and make immortal.
The Mummy's Tomb is a 1942 American horror film directed by Harold Young and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Kharis the mummy. Taking place 30 years after the events of The Mummy's Hand, where Andoheb has survived and plans revenge on Stephen Banning and his entire family in Mapleton, Massachusetts. With the help of the high priest Mehemet Bey, Andoheb and the mummy Kharis Bey takes up a job as a caretaker of a graveyard. At the first full moon, the mummy is fed tanna leaves which allow him to break into the Banning residence and kill the now elderly Stephen. Banning's son then seeks assistance from Babe Hanson, one of the members of the original Banning expedition to Egypt to stop Andoheb and Kharis.
The Mummy's Ghost is a 1944 American horror film directed by Reginald Le Borg for Universal. It is the second of three sequels to The Mummy's Hand (1940), following The Mummy's Tomb (1942) and preceding The Mummy's Curse (1944). Lon Chaney Jr. again takes on the role of Kharis the mummy.
The Mummy's Curse is a 1944 American horror film directed by Leslie Goodwins. Produced by Universal Pictures, it is the fifth entry in Universal's original Mummy franchise, serving as a sequel to The Mummy's Ghost (1944). It marks Lon Chaney Jr.'s final appearance as Kharis, an Egyptian mummy.
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a 1964 British horror film produced, written and directed by Michael Carreras, starring Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Fred Clark and introducing Jeanne Roland.
The Mummy's Shroud is a 1967 British DeLuxe colour horror film made by Hammer Film Productions which was directed by John Gilling.
Kharis is a character featured in Universal Studios's Mummy series in the 1940s, following their original 1932 film The Mummy, which starred Boris Karloff as a different mummy character, Imhotep, though their backstories are practically identical. Universal's Mummy films were inspired by worldwide interest in Egyptian archeology during the first half of the 20th century.
The Mummy is an action adventure horror film media franchise based on films by Universal Pictures about a mummified ancient Egyptian priest who is accidentally resurrected, bringing with him a powerful curse, and the ensuing efforts of heroic archaeologists to stop him. The franchise was created by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer.
George Pastell was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. Sources vary as to whether his real name was Nino (IMDb) or George Pastellides (BFI). His marriage record gives his name as Georgiou Pastellides while his RADA record lists his name as George Pastel.
Imhotep is the main antagonist of the 1932 film The Mummy. He is also the main antagonist in the 1999 remake and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns. Sofia Boutella plays a female version of this character named Ahmanet in the 2017 reboot. Imhotep is loosely inspired by the historical figure Imhotep, a noted polymath and counselor to the Pharaoh Djoser in the 27th century BC.
Mummies are commonly featured in horror genres as undead creatures wrapped in bandages. Similar undead include skeletons and zombies.
Steve Banning is a character from the Mummy franchise who starred in the movies The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb & The Mummy portrayed by Dick Foran in the former 2 and by Felix Aylmer in the latter 1.
References
1 2 Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes, The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films, Titan Books, 2007 p 43
↑ Hearn, Marcus (2016). The Hammer Vault: Treasures from the Archive of Hammer Films (Revised and updateded.). London: Titan Books. p.30. ISBN9781785654473.
↑ "The Mummy". Hammer's Halls of Horror. Top Sellers Limited. 2 (22). July 1978.
↑ Marcus K. Harmes (2014). Doctor Who and the Art of Adaptation: Fifty Years of Storytelling. Rowman & Littlefield. pp.118–120. ISBN978-1442232846.
Bibliography
Hearn, Marcus; Barnes, Alan (September 2007). "The Mummy". The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films (limiteded.). Titan Books. ISBN978-1-84576-185-1.
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