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| THE MUMMY (1959) |
Who?
Director: Terence Fisher
Producer: Michael Carreras
Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster
Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, Eddie Byrne, Felix Aylmer, Raymond Huntley, George Pastell, Michael Ripper, George Woodbridge, Harold Goodwin
How?
On account of the phenomenal business which Hammer's Dracula had done worldwide, in 1958 Universal Pictures made a distribution deal with Hammer which opened Universal's library of horror pictures for remaking. Hammer decided first on a remake of The Mummy, with the same team behind it as Dracula and the Frankenstein pictures, although this time Michael Carreras would produce. Terence Fisher therefore returned to direct a Jimmy Sangster script, with Jack Asher as cinematographer, and Bernard Robinson on production design. Hammer's Mummy would not, however, be a straight remake, but an amalgam of ideas from the Universal series, with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee again teaming up, supported by French actress Yvonne Furneaux, Felix Aylmer (who would go on to star in Hammer's controversial Never Take Sweets From a Stranger later that year), and a host of Hammer 'regulars'. Shooting took place at Bray Studios, apart from a brief period at Shepperton Studios to shoot the Egyptian scenes.
What?
In ancient Egypt Princess Ananka (Furneaux) has died and is given a full royal burial and sealed in her tomb by the High Priest Kharis (Lee). However, Kharis was secretly in love with Ananka and returns at night to resurect her with the magical Scroll of Life. Discovered before he can complete the ritual, he is wrapped in bandages and sealed alive in her tomb, with a curse placed upon any who in future desecrate her resting place. Forward in time, an archaeological expedition led by Charles Banning (Aylmer) and his son John (Cushing) has found Ananka's tomb. They are warned by Egyptian official Mehemet Bey (Pastell) not to disturb it because of the curse but, ignoring him, the expedition break the seal. Alone in the tomb, Charles Banning begins reading the Scroll of Life, and the door behind which Kharis was sealed slowly begins to open. Hearing a scream of terror the others find him driven mad. And on returning to England John Banning and the others find that what drove Charles mad is now hunting them.
So?
The Mummy, along with The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958), is regarded as one of Hammer's 'classic' horror films. All paired Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and each was to become the first in a series of films - although the Mummy series was to be notably shorter than the others. And that perhaps points to a weakness that is inevitable in any of these Mummy movies - there is only so much one can do with a mute, shambling, bandage-covered monster. Indeed, by Hammer's final film in the series, Blood From the Mummy's Tomb (1971), such a creature had been abandoned altogether. That being said, The Mummy is an enjoyable first installment. Helmed again by the, at that time, ever-present Terence Fisher The Mummy is a solid, if slightly predictable picture. Jimmy Sangster did enough with his screenplay to give Hammer's version a certain freshness after Universal's series, and being the first Mummy feature in colour certainly helps, but there is a definite feeling of having seen all this before.
While the opening scenes in ancient Egypt do set the tone nicely for what is to follow, there is a certain air of a 'school play' about them - budgetry restrictions no doubt playing a part there; Robinson's sets are very good but do still have a rather 'stagey' feel to them, and it is obvious that a small number of extras are being used to maximum effect! But the killing of the handmaids and the extraction of Kharis' tongue still have a certain power to shock. Christopher Lee makes an imposing Kharis, and he and stuntman Eddie Powell make an equally imposing Mummy for the remainder of the film - helped enormously by Roy Ashton's make-up, which really is very good. Lee manages to express a full range and depth of emotion with just his eyes, eliciting real sympathy for the Mummy's torment, and Powell also gives the Mummy a real raw brute physicality. Cushing does a fine job, as usual, in his role as Banning - particularly enjoyable is his fight with the Mummy; during which he skewers it with a spear (Cushing's idea apparently). He and Lee play off particularly well against each other here - there is a real chemistry between them. Furneaux makes an attractive Ananka / Isobel, although neither role requires too much of her! What make The Mummy truly enjoyable, however, are the bit-players - Michael Ripper's poacher and Harold Goodwin's pub customer (along with the rest of it's inhabitants) are great fun.
Primarily, The Mummy is an enjoyably spooky experience because of its location - the action is quickly transferred from Egypt to the foggy moors of rural England, a perfect location for letting loose a monster. The sight of the Mummy rising from the boggy waters is a classic Hammer image, and atmospheric set pieces such as this make The Mummy worthwhile - so also the ever-reliable crashing through the French windows, and the tearing through the window bars into the locked asylum cell. The Mummy, however, does require a little more suspension of disbelief than we are perhaps used to. That Banning's wife is the exact replica of Princess Ananka is a coincidence that's just a lttle too good to be true! And the vigil in the garden to catch the Mummy before he makes off with Isobel must be one of the most inept in screen history! However, the finale with the Mummy waist deep in bog, Furneaux in his arms, makes it all worthwhile. It even manages to evoke sympathy for the poor guy as he gets blasted with gunshot and sinks beneath the waters. So, while The Mummy doesn't really offer anything new, its sheer atmosphere, wonderful scenes that stay in the mind, and some great characters make it all worthwhile, and a worthy member of the triumvirate of classic Hammer monsters.
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