Review: Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb

In the early 1900s, American businessman Fred Clark finances an expedition to Egypt where the tomb of a pharaoh is uncovered. Clark, being shameless, plans to show off the finding across the globe and make millions. Unfortunately, something gets lost before Clark can do that. Namely that the damn mummy disappears. Then members of the expedition party start turning up rather dead. Ronald Howard and Jack Gwillim play Egyptologists, with Jeanne Roland playing Howard’s fiancé. Hammer good luck charm Michael Ripper is uncomfortably cast as an Egyptian servant named Achmed, whilst George Pastell plays an Egyptian official who is totally not going to side with the mummy. Terence Morgan turns up as a rich guy crucial to the plot at some point.

 

One of the lowest points in Hammer Films history, this stuffy 1964 mummy film was written and directed by Hammer producer Michael Carreras. Carreras also directed the mostly dull “Maniac”, and partially directed “Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb” (which is terrific) as well as “Shatter” (which is not). There’s a couple of lively turns by Fred Clark and George Pastell, but the rest of the cast is a dud here. Particularly awful is Jeanne Roland, who simply can’t act a lick. Even the normally reliable Jack Gwillim is boring. The film really needed a Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, or even a Patrick Allen in there I think. By far the best thing here is the score by Carlo Martelli who really tries to give this thing a pulse to little avail. It’s a dusty, ancient relic of a film. There’s a nice severed hand at one point but the real highlight here – if there is any – is a scene where the mummy emerges through a window and smashes a bloke’s head with a wine bottle until dead. The mummy suit is pretty decent, I will admit. Otherwise, this one was a chore and a bore.

 

Good-looking but stuffy and stiff with the music, and colourful performances by Fred Clark and George Patell not nearly good enough to save it.

 

Rating: D+

 

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