Since we’re in the month of Halloween, I thought it was time
to return to the Universal Monsters once again. This time, it’s the Monster
with a preference for limping: the Mummy. By the way, I’m going old-school, so
there will be no mention of the 2017 trainwreck with Tom Cruise. I still
haven’t seen the movie yet but if I get that bored, it might be a watch. Unlike
movies such as Dracula and Frankenstein, The Mummy was a bit of an original
idea. It was influenced by the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb
being found in Egypt. The rumors about curses befalling those who opened those
tombs also played into crafting the movie.
I saw The Mummy long ago when it was available at Movie
Gallery. As for the other movies, I actually didn’t see those until somewhat
recently. When my sister got me and my dad the whole Universal Monster
Collection, I pretty much went through the Mummy movies. They were pretty short
movies, so it was pretty easy to do. I might have seen one of them as part of a
marathon beforehand, but I’m not sure. I did know about them through those Crestwood books
I used to pick up at the library. I re-watched them all for this post. There
was another movie along with that collection that has Abbott and Costello in
it, but I’ll skip it for today.
The Mummy
The Mummy was released in 1932. It stars Boris Karloff in
the main role as the title monster. In the movie, Karloff plays as Imhotep, an
ancient Egyptian who was buried alive and cursed with immortality for trying to
raise his dead love. In 1921, a group of archeologists finds his tomb and
accidentally awaken him. He disappears for a decade and takes the new identity
of Ardeth Bey. He gets another group of
archeologists to uncover his love, Ankh-es-en-amon, and tries to bring her back.
When he finds out that his love has been reincarnated into a woman named Helen,
he tries all he can to get her and he’ll kill to do it. The only ones that can
stop him are the archeologists who dug them up.
I'll take that... I haven't used the bathroom in 3,000 years!
I thought this was one was pretty good for the most part.
Unlike the later movies, this one is more moody and less action-packed. For a
movie called The Mummy, there ain’t much of one in it. The Mummy, Imhotep, is
only seen in the wrappings at the beginning of the movie. After that, he’s just
“Ardeth Bey” with that sweet cap the Doctor would approve of. The story is
pretty good for the most part. It’s all about a guy trying to be with his one
true love. While there is a little sympathy for ‘ole Imhotep, just remember
he’s got to kill of folk to do it. The flashback that showed Imhotep’s origin
was also pretty cool. It was also pretty shocking as well. We see one of the
diggers get impaled with a spear and it was kinda gruesome for something from
this time.
Boris Karloff steals the whole movie with his portrayal of Imhotep.
His look, the deep voice, and that tall stature made him look imposing. Imhotep
also had a niche for magic, so that made him even more of a threat. I liked the
leading lady in the role of Helen and I also liked Doctor Muller since he was
probably the one dude with some sense in this movie. The actor, Edward van
Sloan, wasn’t a stranger to monsters since he was also in Frankenstein and
Dracula. Lastly, I can’t forget the guy who wigs out at Imhotep’s awakening.
It’s a laugh that one-part worrying and one-part hilarious.
There really isn’t anything negative I can throw at this
movie. It can be slow but that’s how movies were done at that time. It’s also
not full of scares, so anyone expecting them should probably look somewhere
else. Overall, it’s a good film that actually didn’t get a sequel. You’ll see
what I mean.
The Mummy’s Hand
The Mummy’s Hand was released in 1940 during Universal’s new
pushing of the monsters. It’s essentially a reboot of the first movie but less
moody. Instead of Imhotep, we have Kharis the mummy. He too was buried alive
and cursed with immortality for trying to bring back his dead love, Ananka. Instead
of staying buried, He’s then used by priests to be an immortal guardian in
protecting Ananka’s tomb. He stays awake by ingesting these strange plants
called Tana Leaves. In the present day, two Abbott and Costello-like
archeologists stage an expedition in finding Ananka’s tomb. A descendant of the
priests uses Kharis to stop them.
Ooo... a nice bar fight. I don't remember Babe swinging that chair though...
This was pretty decent for the most part. As you could tell
above, this one is less moody and is more of the “Bam, Pok, Boom” variety. The
story isn’t too bad. After Kharis’s backstory, we don’t see him in all his
glory until the halfway point. We’re pretty much left with the archeologist
Steve Banning, Babe (the sidekick), the love interest, the love interest’s
father, and Andoheb, the high priest. One thing I will say is that these
characters are least entertaining. Banning and Babe (seriously) had kind of an Abbott and Costello vibe going.
Kharis is pretty much what you’d think of most mummy
movies. He’s lumbering, dirty, apparently pretty stealthy, and loves to choke
folk. Unlike Imhotep, Kharis pretty much needs to be ordered by the priests to
do stuff. Sounds boring, doesn’t it? At least this guy has the moves for it. He
also has these black eyes that actually look pretty unnerving. The actor, Tom
Tyler, doe his best to make this new Mummy look imposing. Lastly, I thought the
music was nice.
Andoheb: Don't worry. He's actually quite refreshing when awake!
Now I will say there are things I didn’t enjoy as much. The
slapstick can get too over-the-top when Peggy’s dad is around. There are times
where the movie isn’t as interesting. While the flashback to Kharis’ origin was
needed, the creators pretty much reused the flashback footage from The Mummy.
All they did was switch out Boris Karloff in the close-ups. It’s also not that
scary. While these old movies don’t have much scare vibe for a millennial, this
definitely doesn’t have it. While it’s not perfect, it was good overall. Unfortunately,
it’s the best of the Kharis films.
The Mummy’s Tomb
The Mummy’s Tomb was released in 1942. It takes place 30
years after the previous one. This time,
Lon Chaney Jr. is in the role of the speechless, limping Mummy. He's also in that role for the for the rest of
these movies. In the movie, the archeologists were able to ship Ananka’s
remains to America. Andoheb sends a younger high priest along with Kharis to kill
the archeologists and their offspring. Kharis kills Steve Banning, Babe, and a
slew of random folk. Steve’s son and the rest of the townsfolk do their best to
stop Kharis from killing more folk.
Bey: If you read the last movie's script, you'll know what to do, Kharis.
Kharis: Yeah, yeah. I'll limp, shuffle, and choke folk. I read the contract!
This one wasn’t as good as the last one. While it takes
place in Randomtown, USA and involves Kharis a little more, it’s just not as
good. A lot of the plot is pretty much similar to the previous
one. We get a 10-minute long flashback, the Mummy killing folk, the evil priest
kidnapping the main guy’s love interest for little reason, and a Mummy on fire.
They even use music from The Wolfman and that felt out of place.The characters
we get are a little boring especially when Steve and Babe are both killed off.
The good things are few. It was nice to see Steve and Babe
again. I also thought Steve’s son, John, was okay as the lead dude. Lon Chaney
did a fine job as the new Mummy. He did what was expected and little else.
Also, the action was nice. Still, it just wasn’t as good as the previous two.
The Mummy’s Ghost
The Mummy’s Ghost was released in 1944. I think it takes
place a couple of years after the previous movie but I’m not sure. Andoheb
sends another high priest, Yosef Bey (played by John Carradine), to America to
find the remains of both Mummies. It turns out that Kharis is still around
somewhere. Some doctor starts playing with Tana Leaves and that gets the
limping dude up. When Bey finds Kharis, they try to bring back Ananka’s remains
but they find out that she has been reincarnated into a young woman named
Amina. Kharis goes on another rampage while finding Amina and this gets
everyone spooked again. Kharis does find her and things end up going for a bit
of a twist.
Bey: Drink this!
Kharis: Okay. Say, are you related to Kaine from Kung Fu?
This was another misfire in my opinion. It rehashes a lot of
what happened in the last movie as well as the Wolfman score. The characters
are not that interesting and have an evil priest that tries to make the love
interest his lover. What’s up with these priests? They get need to get out more
or something! Kharis is also just doing his slasher horror thing in choking
folk and being led around by Tana Leaves. I wonder if these movies inspired the
later Slasher horror villains like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. The movies
feel similar, ya know?
Well, I can safely say this movie doesn't end how you'll think it does.
There are a couple of okay things.The only character that
could be interesting is Amina. She’s the reincarnated
version of Ananka, after all. The place where this movie goes on its head is at
the end and it’s a bit of a shock. So, Bey gets killed by the Mummy when he
announces his love for Amina. Kharis then takes Amina, who’s rapidly aging for
some reason, and goes into a swamp. The townsfolk and her love interest (Randy
McRandomson?) watch as she and Kharis drown. That… is actually a nice, sad
ending to this snoozefest of a movie. Overall, it’s not good but the ending is
entertaining at least.
The Mummy’s Curse
The Mummy’s Curse was also released in 1944. It takes place
25 years later and it’s now somehow located in Louisiana. I’ll blame it on the
boogie or something. A construction company clears out the swamp that Kharis
and Ananka/Amina sank in. Because of this, they both wake up. An archeologist arrives trying to
find their remains and take them back to Egypt.
Unbeknownst to him, his assistant is another high priest. He finds
Kharis and uses him to find Amina who doesn’t realize who she is. Just guess
how this one goes…
It's probably the best scene of the film.
While there are a couple of different things here, this one
is another misfire. It does try to do different things like having Ananka come
back to life. Her scene of coming out of her grave was actually pretty cool and
kinda creepy. She even had the sense to run from Kharis and that’s something
most folk don’t have! She may be the only cool thing about the movie. We get
another high priest but it’s his assistant who actually goes all crazy, so
that’s an okay change. Chaney is back as the Mummy and does the usual schtick.
Kharis even has a couple of unintentionally funny moments.
Kharis: Man, give me those leaves!!!
Unfortunately, those things don’t save the movie. The main
characters are once again not interesting. The action is a little subpar. We
also get another flashback to ancient Egypt. I think we got it by now. It’s
weird that someone didn’t realize the previous ones didn’t take place in
Louisiana. We even get some grating racial stereotypes in this movie. The
stereotypes are a mix of offensive and funny. I hope dude got a good check from
yelling “The Mummy’s lose and he’s dancin’ with the Devil!” While there are
changes here and there, it’s pretty much your subpar Mummy movie. Some call
this one the worst of the Kharis movies and I can’t blame them.
……………………………………….
In the end, two out of five movies is alright. I think I see
why the Mummy is my least favorite Monster from Universal Studios. While
Imhotep was actually pretty threatening, Kharis was pretty much a minion and a
weak one at that. What sucks is that folk probably think of Kharis more than
Imhotep. At least the more recent Mummy movies have tried to make the monster a
straight-up threat. Well, that’s all I got for this Halloween. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful with all those crazy kids out there.
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