The Mummy

9/10/2019

Gorgeous & Creepy Hammer Horror Winner. Hammer Film Productions rework some of the classic Universal Studios mummy material to great effect. Directed by Terence Fisher, this is not a remake of the seminal 1932 movie of the same name. Starring Peter Cushing (John Banning), Christopher Lee (Kharis/The Mummy), Raymond Huntley (Joseph Whemple) and Yvonne Furneaux (Isobel Banning/Princess Ananka), the film is written by Jimmy Sangster and was filmed at Bray & Shepperton Studios in England and is photographed in Eastman Color. I mention the latter because Eastman Color has a different hue to it, something that makes this movie all the more affecting as a horror piece. The plot sees three archaeologists (Stephen & John Banning & Joseph Whemple) desecrate the tomb of Egyptian Princess Anank

2/8/2020

While falling a bit short of the earlier Frankenstein and Dracula "reboots" from Hammer, this one is still quite good, again due to the talents of Fisher, Cushing, and Lee. It's story, while borrowing many elements from the 1940s Universal sequels, is quite good and this is probably the best version of the Kharis character ever filmed. Christopher Lee's interpretation brings an aggressive, monstrous, and emoting mummy, not the slow, lumbering version of the 1940s (apologies to Lon Chaney). A first rate offering from Hammer.