The Mummy (1959)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Hammer's first take on the Mummy and probably their best stab at it--or for me, anyway--perhaps the only one worth watching. Lee and Cushing are back as the 2 great stars, and Yvonne Furneaux makes for a very lovely female lead. This Mummy takes more inspiration from the 2nd wave of the old Universal chestnuts, harking back to Prince Kharis rather than Karloff's Imhotep. As far as the old Universal cycle goes, I assume most horror fans agree that the "Karloff" version is the superior one, but the films with Kharis--mostly the ones with Lon Chaney Jr., are a lot of fun as well. At any rate, the Hammer version sticks to pretty much the same formula--not many deviations aside from the obvious technicolor & the fact that Lee as the mummy, can see with both eyes. Reportedly, after this role, Lee stated that he had had enough of playing mute, heavily bandaged monsters, but his take on the creature is excellent nonetheless. Just a subtle expression or a movement with the eyes can display some great emotion--for those actors with obvious talent.

Terence Fisher may not be that slam-bang action type of filmmaker that modern audiences might be used to know with blockbusters (such as decent ones like the 1999 Mummy, or bad ones like the 2017 Mummy), but he was an ideal choice for these color-filmed, handsomely mounted though modestly budgeted horror films from Hammer in the 50's. Following his great success on Dracula, it stood to reason he should do the Mummy, and what he came up with was at times creepy - and, I imagine if you saw this as a kid or decide to show this to small children, scary at points, like when the Mummy crashes through the window into the padded room at the asylum - and deliberately paced. In other words, it moves a little slow, but that's not to the detriment of the film; it's more your problem than the movie's if you find yourself frustrated, and unlike even the 32 Mummy, this doesn't lack a good many memorable sequences and visuals (the 32 Mummy did have some, but not enough).In this you also get of course Cushing and Lee, and I really liked their physicality in the movie. Cushing's character, the son of an archaeologist that has a history with the red-fez wearing Master-of- the-Mummy in this story, is hobbled with a bad leg, and this isn't just something that the writers give Cushing for as some crutch, no pun intended. Instead this ends up becoming important when the Mummy comes in ready to strangle people, and seeing Cushing moving about, whether it's in an action-y moment or otherwise, is fascinating in how he puts his body into things, as any good actor should. Lee, too, is thoughtful in what is a character with no spoken lines (if Lee does speak, I don't remember it, and I just watched the film), and he is remarkable perhaps due to limitations with his costume or injuries on set or what have you, and he makes him as memorable as the Karloff Mummy; you feel his presence in a room and his eyes do a lot of good work as well.There is a point midway through the film when Cushing reads from the history of this Karras character from thousands of years prior in Egypt when everything went down, and this is the one part of the movie that dragged for me. it's not to any major detriment of the film, but it's the one time I felt Fisher's style, which I otherwise loved in the film (i.e. that scene where the casket falls off the wagon, falls in the mud pond, and then when the character comes over later to say the things that make Karras come out of the ground, beautiful), start to get a little long. But this is a minor complaint in what is otherwise the best of the Mummy movies; it has a strong musical score, the acting is quality (yes, even the typical types you get in Hammer movies like the local British drunks at the bar), and the ending is almost bordering on tragic if you think about how this character has been depicted (the Mummy is the horror movie icon that doesn't have his own agency, or at least as much as the others).

This movie begins with an archaeological expedition headed by a man named "Stephen Banning" (Felix Aylmer) who is looking for the tomb of an ancient Egyptian princess by the name of "Ananka" (played by Yvonne Furneaux). To his great delight they end up finding it and while his associate, "Joseph Whimple" (Raymond Huntley) leaves the tomb to tell Stephen's son "John Banning" (Peter Cushing) the news Stephen continues searching for other items of interest. It's during this search that he finds an ancient manuscript known as "the Scroll of Life" and upon reading it aloud wakes up the mummified body of the high-priest of Karnak named "Kharis" (Christopher Lee) who has been placed there to guard the sanctity of the tomb. Kharis immediately attacks Stephen but is stopped by an Egyptian devotee of Karnak named "Mehemet Bey" (George Pastell) who has appeared out of nowhere and immediately orders Kharis back into his hidden chamber. Needless to say, Stephen is severely traumatized by these events and suffers from a stroke which leaves him in a comatose state as a result. The film then fast-forwards to three years later in England with the sarcophagus of Ananka being put on display in the British Museum of London and Stephen being confined to a nursing home due to the effects of the stroke. What none of the archaeologists know is that Mehemet Bey has recently arrived in London with a crate containing the mummy of Kharis with the intention of killing all three of the people responsible for desecrating the tomb of Ananka. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film is not a remake of the movie produced in 1932 known as "The Mummy". Instead, this movie incorporates bits and pieces from the original 1932 movie and combines scenes from several sequels that followed it ("The Mummy's Hand", "The Mummy's Tomb" and "The Mummy's Ghost"). As a result, there really is no comparison between the 1932 film and this particular picture. At least I don't think so. Be that as it may, this movie is certainly entertaining enough and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

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