The Mummy (1959)

Torn From the Tomb... to Terrify!!

In this, 1959's third installment from Hammer Studios, Christopher Lee dons the moldy bandages for a vengeful rampage across the Victorian countryside. Lee plays Kharis, an Egyptian priest returned from the afterlife, searching for archaeologist John Banning (Peter Cushing) and his expedition, to exact revenge on Banning and his team, for desecrating his beloved Princess Ananka's tomb. Directed by Terrence Fisher, this film has good lighting and music score, as well as costumes and make-up, which brings that classic element of horror to the screen, that we all know and love. This is a definite keeper for the Hammer fan, (the price is certainly right,) but I think we can all agree, that Karloff will be best known for owning the role of 'The Mummy'. August 21, 2008

Great acting but terrible cheap sets.

The movie has some great acting, but it is ruined by the cheap production and the cheap looking sets. It will give you chills, but somehow the B-Movie production values ruin the effect. August 12, 2008

NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE KARLOFF ORIGINAL! 2 1/1/2 STARS!

I have to wonder if the people reviewing this Hammer interpretation of the Mummy watched the same film I did. I found this to be one of the lesser Hammer productions. Hammer began making some good looking horror films because the genre was getting tired and Universal was churning out low budget horror flicks for a quick buck. This version of the Mummy is not even on par with the 1940's Universal Mummy films which spanned four serial type horror sequels. Forget about the original film starring Karloff, it doesn't hold a candle to that moody,somber masterpiece! Karloff's performance is creepy and Jack Pierce's make-up is absolutely incredible! Christopher Lee may have size but, he does nothing with the role of the undead protector of the tomb. Even though he does walk faster then the laughable Mummies from the 40's, it's not so fast that he could catch anyone. As slow as the Mummies were in those Universal 40's films there was a sense of relentless pursuit, normal people get tired mummies don't. I guess with thousands of years of sleep they can go for a long time! LOL! The brilliance of the 1932 classic with Karloff was that he was supernatural and he killed his enemies with curses! You can't run from that and it makes it all the scarier that there is no place to hide. I rate this film 2 1/2/ stars for some effort and seeing the Mummy in color. I hope the sequels are better than this one. It's just didn't add much new to the character. January 14, 2008

A Lot of Fun

This movie is a lot of fun. As with all Hammer movies, it has good production values and excellent color cinematography. Although a fairly standard "mummy" plot is in play, this movie stands out for the excellent background sequence set in ancient Egypt. Lee and Cushing are both masters of the genre and always fun to watch. Four stars instead of five only because the ending seems a little abrupt and weak, but it's not enough to detract greatly from the overall pleasure of the flick. November 5, 2007

Visually Beautiful, Tremendously Moody, and a Lot of Fun

England's Hammer Studios existed primarily as a distributor--until the low budget 1955 THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT suddenly put the studio on the map. Sensing an untapped market, Hammer began to develop similar titles and by the early 1960s developed a style that mixed Victorian sets and costumes with bouffant hairstyles, bared breasts, and lots of blood. The films were largely responsible for jolting the horror genre back to life on both sides of the Atlantic, as popular in the United States as they were in England.

Released in 1959, THE MUMMY was among Hammer's earliest color films and helped lay out the visual style that come to dominate "Hammer Horror" for more than a decade. Drawing from Universal's 1932 THE MUMMY and 1940 THE MUMMY'S HAND, it opens with a band of Victorian-era archeologists in Egypt, where they discover the lost tomb of Princess Ananka--and in the process unleash a mummy cursed to guard her throughout eternity. It is a curse that follows the men back to England, where they are stalked to their deaths one by one.

Director Terence Fisher and cinematographer Jack Asher worked a number of Hammer films, including the earlier HORROR OF DRACULA and REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Although some of the lighting may give you pause--judging from all the backlighting and colored filters it would seem the ancient Egyptians had mood lighting installed in their tombs--their efforts result in a series of truly arresting visuals; in their hands, bright color is no obsticle to moodiness. The cast plays it out extremely well, with the lovely Yvonne Furneaux a classic Hammer beauty, Peter Cushing as her archeologist husband, and (yes, the posture and bearing really is unmistakeable) Christopher Lee under wraps for the title role.

The DVD contains no extras beyond the original trailer, and although the transfer is not pristine it is nonetheless very good indeed. Hammer Horror may not save the world, but it is often a lot of fun--and THE MUMMY is easily among the studio's best. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Still laughing at the negative voter. October 17, 2007

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