The Mummy can, in many respects, hold claim to being the most unloved of the classic movie monsters – if not, then surely the most inconsistently served. The oft-quoted line from Kim Newman, that the issue lies with “no foundation text” upon which to base the creature, certainly carries some weight, though Mummies had certainly been written about in the 19th Century – notable works include Poe’s short story, Some Words With a Mummy (1850), Conan Doyle’s Lot No. 249 (1892), the latter establishing the Mummy as a malevolent predator seeking revenge, as well as touching upon elements also explored in later films, such as the methods of resurrection and the supernatural control of a ‘master’.
Poe’s tale is rather more barbed, the bandaged cadaver reanimated by electricity and quizzed upon its ancient knowledge (or lack of), a side-swipe at both modernist self-aggrandising and the Egyptomania which had swept through both America and Europe since Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign of 1798-1801. The fascination of the general public in all levels of society lasted throughout the Victorian era, peaking again when Howard Carter uncovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. This obsession didn’t stop with the collection of Egyptian artworks and an influence on fashion and architecture – it was not uncommon in both America and Europe (though England especially) for the upper classes to purchase sarcophagi containing mummified remains at public auctions and then charging interested parties to a literal unveiling at what became known as ‘mummy unwrapping parties’. Though many of these were under the slightly dubious guise of scientific and historical investigations, the evidence of publicity material listing admission prices for children rather suggests a more obvious parallel of the fascination with freak shows, as well as the ever-popular grave robbing and body snatching.
It is such unbalanced factors which contributed to the Mummy onscreen as such a difficult to pin-down character. Bram Stoker’s 1909 novel, The Jewel of Seven Stars, concentrated on the attempts to resurrect a mummified Egyptian Queen but is full of the author’s own clear obsession with the subject, detailing minute features of objects and environment. Even looking at these three texts, very different perspectives are offered:
- The curse
- The resurrection (either via electricity, potion or supernatural means)
- Love across the ages
- The exotic nature and history of Egypt
Mummy films are somewhat doomed to pick one or more elements of this and then factor in the very nature of a Mummy – a zombie with bandages with a grudge. Most films dealt with this threat as a singular foe, one with pre-determined victims in a relatively limited environment (either in his native Africa/South America or relocated to a museum elsewhere). Fundamentally, it’s not easy the share the fear of the pursued – the regularly featured greedy archaeologist or treasure hunter clearly would not have many rooting for them, the similarly omnipresent character of the innocent damsel being mistaken by old clothy for his bride from B.C. is often equally wretched.
The first documented films concerning Mummies are 1899’s Georges Melies‘ Cleopatra (French: Cléopâtre), also known as Robbing Cleopatra’s Tomb, which, at only two minutes in length, is pretty much the synopsis, action and epilogue all in one. Despite a false alarm in 2005, no copy of the film now exists, a fate shared by another French film, 1909’s The Mummy of the King Rameses (French: La Momie Du Roi). Though literature was raided for ideas in some of these early efforts, in particular 1912’s The Beetle, based on the Rich Marsh 1897 novel of the same name, the general tone was of mystery, over-egged comedy and slushy drama, the long-lost tombs of nobility and monarchy gripping audiences without the need for too much in the way of ravenous corpses.
1932’s Chandu the Magician just pipped Universal to the post as an Egyptian villain stalked America’s screens with a recognisable actor in the role of the baddy, Bela Lugosi kidnapping all and sundry in a bid to possess a death ray (he later appeared as the hero in the follow-up, 1934’s Return of Chandu). As with so many of Universal’s introductions of classic monsters, many elements of 1932’s The Mummy leeched into films right up to the present day. For first-time viewers, the biggest surprise is the incredibly short screen time of the bandaged one, though the slowly-opening eyes of the revived Mummy is one of the great moments in horror film.
It is as the reawakened Ardath Bey that Boris Karloff spends most of the film; Jack Pierce’s excellent make-up giving ‘life’ to a cadaverous-featured, be-fezzed Casanova seeking his love whom he believes has been reincarnated. The Egypt of the film is populated by aloof and cultured Westerners working in a land of subservient and befuddled locals, including Horrorpedia favourite, Noble Johnson as ‘The Nubian’ and can be seen as a view of a colonial viewpoint of ‘foreigners and their strange ways’, sometimes quasi-religious, at others playing on the public awareness of the so-called Curse of King Tut’s Tomb, an event only a decade prior. Egypt is still as remote, uncouth and dangerous as the forests of Romania and the invented village of Vasaria – the notion that this place actually exists and that tombs were still being uncovered lending an extra, illicit thrill, modern science at war with religious belief and customs. Bey/Imhotep stalks his beloved in a more stealthy manner than that of Dracula, the quick nip on the neck replaced by a rather more sinister, unspoken threat of capture, death and sex, the latter two being interchangeable. This, of course, remains unspoken but presumably an inevitability, Universal instead charging the film with shots of unbridled romance, both in set-design and, importantly, a specifically-composed score by James Dietrich and Heinz Roemheld, the first for a Universal Horror. This was underpinned by passages from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, another nod to Transylvania.
Though a success at the box office, it was a full eight years before Universal unleashed a Mummy again, the 1940 film The Mummy’s Hand not being a sequel but rather a reintroduction of the monster. Universal flex their creative muscle here, rather like 1941’s The Wolf Man, their invented lore (the poem of how a man is doomed to turn to beast) it is a given ‘fact’ that a Mummy can be brought back to life and indeed sustained by a potion of ‘tana leaves’. Evidently aware of the lack of an actual Mummy in its 1932 effort, the studio pushed the bandaged monster to the fore, plot and backstory being secondary to getting him on screen and tormenting people. It was a simple enough conceit that it was this Mummy, Kharis who would appear in the film’s sequels, The Mummy’s Tomb, The Mummy’s Ghost and The Mummy’s Curse, all of which would feature Lon Chaney Jr as the monster, the quality always sinking ever lower but still with Pierce’s sterling work on the costume and make-up, much to Chaney’s chagrin.
If the lack of genuine horror in the films wasn’t enough, the ever-present comedy or cartoon featuring Mummies again gave the character a persona that was not to be taken seriously. No matter how hard you tried, if you put bandages on a violent, ever-living zombie, there was a danger of farce. This can be evidenced with attempts such as the RKO-distributed Wheeler & Woolsey film, Mummy’s Boys (1936), The Three Stooges’ We Want Our Mummy (1939) and Mummy’s Dummies (1948) and on to Abbott and Costello’s encounters in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), a threadbare affair in both costume and entertainment – comedy often leaned on the fact Mummy is an un-threatening sounding word with two meanings as well as the opportunity to sing and dance in a manner audiences might expect from Egyptians (or not). Bandage unravelling was a given.
It would be two other countries which would rescue the Mummy from the filmic doldrums, at least in sparking an audience’s interest. 1957 saw the release of two Mexican films – The Aztec Mummy (Spanish title: La Momia Azteca) and The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (Spanish: La maldición de la momia azteca), neither likely to win awards for outright quality but giving Mummies in new life in a new environment, the ancient Aztec culture and wacky wrestling superhero (in this case El Ángel) marrying easily with the tropes already laid down by the earlier American films. The films offered enough promise for Jerry Warren to recut, dub and add additional scenes for an American audience. The films were a success in both markets and led to two further sequels, The Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy (1958) and Wrestling Women vs.The Aztec Mummy (1964).
Britain’s bandaged offering, inevitably from Hammer, was 1959’s The Mummy. Here, Hammer borrowed heavily from Universal (again, overlooking the studious 1932 film and cutting straight to the monster-driven sequels) but brought out the big guns; Terence Fisher directing and the double-whammy of Lee and Cushing. For all the film’s faults, and there are several, the film finally gives the monster the strength and terror that his complex evolution and background demands. Here, Lee towers over the other characters both literally and metaphorically, emerging from a swamp in a scene which should be considered as iconic as any in Hammer’s canon. No longer a shuffling bag of bones, the Mummy here is athletic and merciless, with the strength and stature of Frankenstein’s Monster with the eternal threat of Dracula.
Two of the sequels misfired quite badly, 1964’s Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and 1971’s Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb yet both have the odd moment of inspiration (the latter’s scenes involving voluptuous Valerie Leon in particular!) but running out of things for the Mummy to do. On the other hand, Hammer’s The Mummy’s Shroud (1967) is instantly forgettable.
Interestingly, Egypt’s own attempt at filming its own national monster feasted liberally on Abbott and Costello romping, the result being 1953’s Harem Alek (literally ‘shame on you’, retitled as Ismail Yassin Meets Frankenstein). Shrieking and gurning abound in a very close relation to the American comedians in their meeting of Frankenstein, the mummy in question being much nearer to the bolted creature.
One of the oddest appearances for a mummy was a narrator – voiced distinctively by Valentine Dyall – for Antony Balch’s 1969 British low budget anthology film Secrets of Sex aka Tales of the Bizarre. A healthy dose of dark humour, plus copious nudity from both sexes, has ensured that there is still a cult following for this eccentric entry.
Grabbing the monster by the scruff of the neck was Spain’s Paul Naschy, never one to tip-toe around a subject. 1973’s Vengeance of the Mummy (Spanish: La vengance de la momia) is gory, lurid and enormous fun, the hacking and head-crushing monster being completely self-governing and with the added bonus of an alluring assistant, played by Helga Liné, though sadly her rumoured nude scenes have yet to surface. Naschy played the Mummy once more, in the all-star monster fest of 1988’s Howl of the Devil.
The Mummy often appeared as part of an ensemble of monsters, giving the film-maker an answer as to what to do with it – from singing puppet mayhem of Mad Monster Party? and 1972’s animated semi-prequel Mad Mad Mad Monsters to encounters with Scooby Doo and rock band Kiss, the monster remained an also-ran and supporting character. Though managing to get on screen in 1987’s Monster Squad, missing out on the action of 1981’s The Monster Club suggests his standing in the pantheon of monsters was less than stellar.
1980’s The Awakneing was a latter-day attempt at filming Stoker’s novel – though managing to capture visually a sense of antiquity and some pleasing shots of Egypt, it lacks fire and threat and once again a classic monster is reduced to dreary, slow-paced banality. On the other side of the coin was Frank Agrama’s 1981 brutal guts and gusto Dawn of the Mummy, which sees the restless ones reanimated by the hot lights of a fashion shoot. This at least forgives lots of manic running around and a conflict between the modern day and the ancient, gloves off and with little regards to sense or history. The title alone should lead the audience to expect a more zombie-based event and though frequently silly and frayed, largely due to the low budget, it does at least give the sub-genre a shot in the arm.
Later films perhaps tried too hard – 1982’s Time Walker pitched the Mummy as actually being an alien in stasis; 1983’s baffling and boring Scarab throwing Gods, Nazis and scientists into the mix but only ending up with a mess; Fred Olen Ray’s breast-led 1986 effort, The Tomb. None came very close to succeeding in any sense.
The 1990’s was possibly the most desperate time for Mummies worldwide – whether it was the schlock of Charles Band (The Creeps, 1997), the critically-mauled 1998 film Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy or Russell Mulcahy’s flying Mummy of Talos the Mummy (1998), the monster suffered more than most at the hands of those trying to use new technology at the expense of plot and character to succeed. Only in 2002 with Don Coscarelli’s film Bubba Ho-Tep did The Mummy make a meaningful return, pleasing both fans of Bruce Campbell and too-cool-for-school scouts for cults as they happen, as well as horror fans desperate to see their bandaged hero as a tangible threat.
When Hollywood finally decided to throw some money at a reborn franchise, there was to be disappointment – the Indiana Jones-type action of 1999’s The Mummy, as well as its sequels and spin-offs were an exercise in CGI and tame thrills. Speakers were blown, images were rendered but whatever fun audiences had, omitted the scare factor.
2014’s R-rated The Pyramid promises Rec-style horrors and a return, successful or not, to the concept of a straight-forward monster released from its tomb. Further field, Universal have promised/threatened to relaunch their entire world of monsters, beginning with The Mummy from 2016.
Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia
Mummy Filmography:
1899 – Cleopatra
1909 – The Mummy of the King Rameses (aka. La momie du roi)
1911 – The Mummy
1912 – The Mummy
1912 – The Vengence of Egypt
1912 – The Mummy and the Cowpuncher
1913 – The Egyptian Mummy – comedy short
1914 – Naidra, The Dream Worker
1914 – The Necklace of Rameses
1914 – Through the Centuries – short comedy
1914 – The Egyptian Princess
1914 – The Mummy
1915 – The Dust of Egypt
1915 – When the Mummy Cried for Help
1915 – Too Much Elixir of Life
1916 – Elixir of Life – comedy short
1916 – The Missing Mummy – comedy short
1917 – The Undying Flame
1917 – The Eyes of the Mummy
1918 – Mercy, the Mummy Mumbled – comedy short
1921 – The Lure of Egypt
1923 – The Mummy
1923 – King Tut-Ankh-Amen’s Eighth Wife
1926 – Mummy Love
1926 – Made For Love
1932 – Chandu the Magician
1932 – The Mummy
1933 – The Ghoul
1934 – The Return of Chandu
1936 – Mummy Boy
1939 – We Want Our Mummy
1940 – The Mummy’s Hand
1942 – The Mummy’s Tomb
1943 – The Mummy Strikes
1944 – The Mummy’s Ghost
1944 – A Night of Magic
1945 – The Mummy’s Curse
1953 – The Mummy’s Revenge (Spain)
1953 – Harem Alek (Egypt)
1955 – Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy
1957 – Curse of the Aztec Mummy (Mexico/USA)
1957 – Castle of the Monsters
1957 – Curse of the Pharaohs
1957 – Robot versus the Aztec Mummy (aka “La momia azteca contra el robot humano, Mexico)
1958 – Dos Fantasmas y una Muehacha (Mexico)
1958 – House of Terror (aka “Face of the Screaming Werewolf,” Mexico/USA)
1958 – The Man and the Monster (Mexico)
1959 – The Mummy
1960 – Rock n Roll Wrestling Woman vs the Aztec Mummy
1962 – I Was a Teenage Mummy
1963 – Attack of the Mayan Mummy
1964 – Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb
1965 – Mummy’s Dummies
1965 – Orgy of the Dead
1966 – Death Curse of Tarta
1966 – Carry On Screaming!
1966 – Mad Monster Party?
1967 – The Mummy’s Shroud
1967 – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea “The Mummy” (TV episode)
1968 – El Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monster (Mexico)
1969 – The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals
1969 – Secrets of Sex aka Tales of the Bizarre
1970 – Santo in the Vengeance of the Mummy (aka Santo En La Venganza de la Momia, Mexico)
1970 – Dracula vs. Frankenstein” (aka ‘Assignment Terror, Italy/Spain/Germany)
1970 – The Mummies of Guanajuato (Mexico)
1971 – Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb
1972 – Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters
1972 – Dr Phibes Rises Again
1973 – Vengeance of the Mummy (La vengance de la momia, Spain)
1973 – The Cat Creature
1973 – Chabelo y Pepito vs. Los Monstruos” (Mexico)
1973 – Son of Dracula
1974 – Voodoo Black Exorcist
1975 – Demon and the Mummy (US TV Movie)
1978 - KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park
1980 – Fade to Black
1980 – The Awakening
1981 - Dawn of the Mummy
1981 – The National Mummy (La Momia Nacional, Spain)
1981 – Sphinx
1982 – Secret of the Mummy (Brazil)
1982 – Time Walker
1982 – Scarab
1985 – The Tomb
1985 – Dear Mummy (Hong Kong)
1985 – Transylvania 6-5000 (US/Yugoslavia)
1987 – Night of the Living Duck (US animated short)
1987 – The Monster Squad
1988 – Howl of the Devil
1988 – Saturday the 14th Strikes Back
1988 – Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (US animated short)
1988 – Waxwork
1989 – Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2 (Hong Kong)
1990 – I’m Dangerous Tonight (US TVM)
1990 – Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
1990 – I’m Dangerous Tonight
1992 – I was a Teenage Mummy
1992 – Nightmare Asylum
1992 Franky and his Pals
1992 – Bloodstone: Subspecies II
1993 – Bloodlust: Subspecies III (US/Romania)
1993 – The Mummy Lives
1993 – The Mummy A.D. 1993
1993 – The Mummy’s Dungeon
1994 – Stargate
1995 – Monster Mash
1996 – Le Siege del l’Ame (France)
1996 – The Mummy (Pakistan)
1996 – Birth of a Wizard (Japan)
1996 – La Momie Mi-mots” (aka “Mummy Mommy, France)
1996 – The Seat of the Soul” (aka “Le siege del Time, Canada)
1997 – The Creeps
1997 – Bram Stoker’s The Mummy
1997 – Mummy’s Alive
1997 – Under Wraps (TV Movie)
1998 – Trance
1998 – Talos the Mummy
1999 – Ancient Desires
1999 – The Mummy
1999 – The All-New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy ‘For the Love of Mummy’
2000 – Curse of the Mummy
2000 – Lust in the Mummy’s Tomb
2000 – Ancient Evil – Scream of the Mummy
2001 – Mummy Raiders
2001 – The Mummy Returns
2002 – Bubba Ho-Tep
2002 – The Scorpion King
2002 – Mummy’s Kiss
2003 – Scooby-Doo! Where’s My Mummy?
2005 – Legion of the Dead
2005 – The Fallen Ones
2006 – Seven Mummies
2006 – The University of Illinois vs. a Mummy
2007 – Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy
2008 – The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
2008 – Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
2010 – The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec
2010 – Pink Panther and Pals ‘And Not a Drop to Pink’ (TV episode)
2012 – Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption
2014- Scorpion King 4 – Quest for Power
2014 – The Mummy Resurrected
2014 – The Pyramid
