The Mummy

1959 "Torn from the tomb to terrify the world!"
6.7| 1h28m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 16 December 1959 Released
Producted By: Hammer Film Productions
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

One by one the archaeologists who discover the 4,000-year-old tomb of Princess Ananka are brutally murdered. Kharis, high priest in Egypt 40 centuries ago, has been brought to life by the power of the ancient gods and his sole purpose is to destroy those responsible for the desecration of the sacred tomb. But Isobel, wife of one of the explorers, resembles the beautiful princess, forcing the speechless and tormented monster to defy commands and abduct Isobel to an unknown fate.

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Reviews

KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?
Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Leofwine_draca Here's another colourful classic from those chaps at Hammer, made at the peak of their popularity in the late '50s. From here on they were on their way down, forced into lower and lower budgets in the '60s (forced to shoot two lots of films back-to-back in 1965 in order to utilise sets), remaking the same types of film again and again, and desperately trying to cling on to the last remaining viewers in the early '70s with added gore and sex. THE MUMMY is a faithful retelling of previous entries in the genre, only this time with different names and lots of colour. Hammer made their mummy (played by Christopher Lee) a frightening, towering figure of evil, and scenes of it striding across the countryside, caked in mud and slime after rising from a bog, manage to be very frightening indeed.It's also a surprisingly tame film, at least in the version I saw, tame enough to get a PG rating in the UK. The only grisly moment comes when Lee gets his tongue cut out in flashback, but MARK OF THE DEVIL this isn't! We witness the event from behind Lee's head instead. Supposedly, racier/gorier versions were shot for foreign markets, and I'd love to see a print of one of these one day - it would certainly make interesting viewing.Anyway, in the tradition of their previous hits THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and Dracula, this film has a great score from James Bernard, good photography and lots of nice scenery/sets and costumes. Full use is made of the colour film available to Hammer, making it a very nice picture to look at. My only real complaint with this film would be the running time, which feels very short (although it isn't really). A fair quarter of an hour is taken up with a lengthy flashback scene explaining how Lee came to be buried in the princess' tomb. Therefore the film feels very short, and there's not a lot of opportunity to build up atmosphere. Instead what we get is a surprising amount of action and lots of shots of Lee coming out of his tomb and prowling the countryside while menacing music plays on. What more could you want from Hammer? Of course the third pairing of Cushing and Lee is the factor that really makes this film unmissable (just about any film starring the pair is a classic, with perhaps the exceptions of THE GORGON, I, MONSTER, and NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT). Lee plays the monster once more, using only his eyes to convey loneliness and sadness as the titular character. Indeed he puts in a sympathetic performance, yet still manages to be frightening when we first meet up with him. Cushing, on the other hand, does what he does best, i.e. be the hero and fight evil. He does get a couple of excellent fight scenes with Lee set in a library, where he rolls over desks in a display of sudden agility and even spears the mummy with a poker (an idea of his own). Cushing's character is typically noble and intelligent, yet not as interesting as his Doctor Frankenstein or Van Helsing - in fact, John Banning is quite a bland role, but Cushing breathes life into it with his typical skill and makes all of the scenes in which he appears professional and worthy.An excellent supporting cast flesh out the ranks, including Yvonne Furneaux as the glamorous damsel in distress (given shamefully little to do, though, aside from be carried by the mummy). Felix Aylmer is the fussy, selfish elder Banning, who probably deserves the strangling that he gets, when the mummy breaks through the bars of his padded cell and attacks him (again a great moment). Further down the cast list, Michael Ripper puts in a comic bit part as a drunk poacher who can't believe his eyes, George Pastell is suitably evil as a suspicious foreigner, and old-time performers like George Woodbridge (a staple for Hammer) lend solid support.The special effects are limited, but there are some excellent scenes involving the mummy getting shot where huge holes are blown in his chest - very convincing too. The ending sees the mummy taking Banning's wife and walking back into the bog, before putting her down and getting gunned to death by surrounding policemen (KING KONG anybody?), which manages to be quite tragic and fitting. The Egyptian scenes and flashbacks look convincingly done on a low budget, and the mummy kills a string of people to keep the horror content flowing. In all, this is another well-made classic from Hammer, with all the correct elements, and the best mummy movie I've seen so far.
Wizard-8 I wouldn't call "The Mummy" one of Hammer's BEST movies, but I was reasonably entertained by the end results. Despite its flaws (which I'll get to shortly), the movie has enough merit to make it worth a look. The cast does a professional job, particularly Christopher Lee in a challenging title role where he does not utter a word. The mummy attack sequences are well executed, and the makeup job on Lee is very well done as well. Most importantly, the movie is never boring.However, there are some significant flaws that prevent the movie from reaching classic horror (Hammer or otherwise) status. Some parts of the movie come across as dated in this day and age, like the unconvincing indoor sets depicting various parts of the Egyptian desert countryside. The main problems come with the script. There are a few noticeable plot holes (How did the villain get into the tomb when the hero's father was in it? Why did the mummy not kill the Cushing character the first time it visited the hero's home?), and while I said that the movie never gets boring, there is some obvious padding here and there (like with some flashbacks). The movie could have also used a few more mummy attacks, and the swamp climax is resolved in a somewhat abrupt manner.The movie is still worth seeing despite these flaws. Just don't have your expectations too high and think you are going to see a Hammer horror classic.
TheLittleSongbird Anything that stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and with them together, plus with Terrence Fisher as director always promises a lot, and The Mummy sure doesn't disappoint. I do agree that the flashback is too talky and goes on for too long, otherwise The Mummy is excellent, for a Hammer film(one of their best in my opinion along with 1958's Dracula) and as a film in general. And from personal view it, although the Boris Karloff film from Universal is great and the 1999 film was enjoyable, is the best of "The Mummy" films.It looks great for starters. It may have been low-budget and done on studio sets but they don't show, the film is shot absolutely beautifully and the colours used are sumptuous but also eerie, the sets are handsome and much is done to make the film as atmospheric as possible like with the foggy grounds. The music score is wonderfully ominous and fits the mood perfectly while never being too obvious and although wordy the script is intelligent and fun with padding thankfully kept at minimum, the flashback excepted. The story is paced well on the whole and is nothing short of enthralling, it doesn't feel too long, it doesn't feel like it's over stretching itself and it doesn't try to do too much. Even better is the atmosphere created, the film is beautifully moody, but the scares that any scene with the Mummy creates makes one's hairs stand up on the back of their necks even from a young adult perspective.Peter Cushing plays his mild-mannered role with marvellous crispness, Yvonne Furneaux is beauty personified and George Pastell is a cool "villain" without falling into cartoon territory(for a character that was in danger of doing so). But Christopher Lee walks away with the film, he oozes with imposing authority as the high priest and is just terrifying as the Mummy, even the look of him freaks you out, a brilliant performance that ranks among his best in a Hammer horror. Terrence Fisher directs adroitly. To conclude, an excellent Hammer horror that has Lee as the main selling point. 9/10 Bethany Cox
SnoopyStyle It is 1895. British archaeologists John Banning (Peter Cushing), his father and his uncle discover the tomb of Princess Ananka. John stays in his tent after injuring his leg. Egyptian Mehemet Bey warns them not to go in. Once inside, his father finds the Scroll of Life, reads from it and gets struck down in a catatonic state. Mehemet is able to steal the Scroll. Three years later back in London, his father revives to tell John that the mummified high priest of Karnak, Kharis (Christopher Lee), was reanimated. John doesn't believe him and then Mehemet unleashes the mummy on his father using the Scroll.This is B-horror done relatively well, which means that this is still a minor bore. The dialog and the staging is stiff but the acting is better than most. It's helped by some good British actors starting with Cushing. The mummy emergence from the mud is a good idea. He looks much better dirty and muddy. The kills are done off screen. It's still the old way but it's done well.