HAMMER: Mummy Films (1959-71)

The Mummy (1959)

Dir. Terence Fisher

HAMMER had successfully set Lee against Cushing in Dracula (1958) and The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), so it made sense to have the pair return for a third year running with classic horror's third big hitter. But the franchise quickly ran out of steam, reaching only four films, in comparison to Dracula's nine and Frankenstein's seven.

Archaeologists (i.e., sophisticated thieves) forcibly enter the well-lit tomb of an Egyptian high priestess and in so doing invite the wrath of a centuries old curse upon their educated heads. Their transgression was in the name of education not profit, but the distinction is unobserved by certain parties, one of which is a very bandaged Christopher Lee who has every right to be pissed off.

Jimmy Sangster's script is attentive to the relationships, familial on one side and romantic on the other, which helped make the film more than a simple tale of dusty revenge.

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)

Dir. Michael Carreras

Mummy feature number two has a dramatic title, but the actual film is pretty standard stuff for the most part: a tomb is raided and soon afterwards the people associated with the raid start to die off in mysterious circumstances.

Interestingly, it's not a sequel to the previous film. Instead, it moves from Egypt in the year 1900 to London with an entirely new wronged party being resurrected, a one-time Prince of Egypt.

Having none of the studio's regular stars on-board shouldn't really be a handicap, but it kind of is, and the story isn't strong enough on its own to compensate. The stand out scenes are the bandaged menace's eventual first appearance and the long, rolling tour of the tomb interiors.

The Mummy's Shroud (1967)

Dir. John Gilling

Film number three begins with an event that's almost biblical in fashion, albeit one that's acted out in an amateur dramatic way. Still, I liked it.

It's split between two camps for a time, a lost party and a search party, but when they come together things get more entertaining.

The use of shadows and camera placements are periodically praiseworthy. The woman's role is on equal standing with that of her companions. And the kills are brutal by HAMMER standards.

What's more, the shroud of the title is actually relevant to the plot - a fact that leads me nicely into the next film...

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)

Dir. Seth Holt

HAMMER's fourth and final Mummy film was the first of the series I ever saw many years ago, and may actually be responsible for sparking what has become a lifelong interest in ancient Egyptian culture and magic.

I want to stress that while there's certainly a feeling of nostalgia attached to each viewing, I genuinely do think it's deserving of the feelings I have for it.

It's an excellent film overall. Some folks will disagree, with cries of "There's no actual Mummy!"

It's true. The film is based on Bram Stoker's The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903) novel, focussing on the restless spirit of an Egyptian Priestess (played by Valerie Leon), with no dusty bandages in sight. But there's plenty of blood, atmosphere and the connection between past and present is integrated better than usual.