Customer Reviews

The Mummy's Curse [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Universal had pretty much milked the whole Kharis the mummy thing dry by the time this fourth and final Kharis movie was released in 1944. Even Lon Chaney doesn't seem to care a whole lot about the project as he slides and stumbles his plodding way through the swamps of Louisiana. It's really best not to question how Kharis and the ancient Egyptian princess Ananka wound up buried in a swamp in Cajun country; just accept it and go from there. Ananka, once she rises from the muck and gets herself cleaned off, is quite the dish this time around, although her whole schizophrenic, dual identity, amnesia thing can be a little off-putting. The beauty and doe-like eyes Virginia Christine brings to the role of Ananka helps explain why Kharis is still stubbornly pursuing her after more than three millennia. I mean this guy just won't give up, nor will he take no for an answer. Every time he approaches Ananka, she runs away screaming, yet he just bows his filthy bandaged head and starts the whole search over again. At least the supporting cast is pretty good. You can't help but like a guy called Cajun Joe - well, unless you're an ancient mummy, anyway. And then there is my favorite character, the wide-eyed Goobie (Napoleon Simpson) who runs around hollering "The mummy's on the loose and he's dancin' with the devil" every time something bad happens.

The plot of this particular quartet of mummy films was really starting to wear thin by this point. You've got two Egyptian mummies calling Louisiana home, then you've got this new high priest who has come over to find Kharis and keep giving him the old "three Tana leaves" juice that keeps him going. You can't even feel sorry for Kharis' millennia-old love problems anymore because Ananka clearly wants nothing to do with the filthy, tongue-less collection of dirty linen strips. The fact that the film runs for barely an hour is indicative of the fact that the magic was all but gone by this point; there comes a time when the same old same old begins to sound rather silly, and The Mummy's Curse comes close to crossing that line on several occasions.

In reading the cover for this video, I read that the mummy Kharis will meet his princess Ananka and the two will "wreak havoc together." I don't know what the writer of these words saw, but it was not this movie. Although the mummy attacks those who get in his way, there is no duo of mummies doing anything.

In this film, a public works crew is working to drain a swamp in the American South. Given the character of Cajun Joe, we can assume that this is Louisiana. As the crew is draining the swamp, the mummy is retrieved by his acolytes. With their knowledge of the sacred tanna leaves, they work to help Kharis find his princess. The movie gives us the battle between the modern age and the mystical times long ago.

Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the mummy in this film. For the most part, he plays it well and sets the pace for any actor playing a mummy. The outstretched arm with the other arm close to the chest and the dragging foot all give us the standard for a mummy.

I would recommend seeing this movie.

This final film in the series chronicling the adventures of Kharis the Mummy (still played by Lon Chaney) as he continues his quest to find princess Ananka. The is the best of the Mummy sequels Everything in it is perfect, just like in "The Mummy's Hand."

This, the last of the series finds Kharis and Ananka accidentially dug up in a swamp.United with the new High Priest, the mummy bgins searching for Ananka.This was my favorite because it is so unique to the rest and is very eerie. Skipping the ordainment of the new priest by George Zucco(which ocurred in the prequels), this film cuts to the chase:The mummy commits murder on his way to findan evading princess.Because of the eerie swamp sets, this film proves one of Universal's scariest thrillers. The acting is good. All of the other movies were pretty much the same all in all, but this one is completely different and very entertaining. Don't listen to people saying it's "the same old trash". This isn't exactly GONE WITH THE WIND. It's strictly for thrills and entertainment. Go watch it to have a fun time, not to be a critic!

The final Universal Studio's mummy movie, The Mummy's Curse, is a fairly lame attempt at the whole mummy mythos.

I saw the film on VHS and the quality was fairly bad. There were some scenes that were so dark that you could not even tell one actor from the other. If I were to see this again, I would most likely plop down my five bucks to get the DVD version.

Anyway, the film starts out with a song in a bar. Hey, is this a monster movie or a musical? There was enough character development here to have us care for the barmaid and I chose to ignore the bad dubbing job.

There are people dying in the swamp and we don't know why. The foreman doesn't care, he just orders them back to work, those silly, superstitious Louisiana Frenchmen! Oui, qui!

The museum has sent over a couple of guys to go through the swamp to recover the bodies of Kharis and his sweetie, the princess Ananka. Except they're beaten to it by a cult of Egyptians who have been sniffing their Tana leaves a bit too strongly as The Mummy (all caps) rises.

The body count rises and though some care, no one calls the cops, really. And the foreman reacts to the deaths as he would an errant hang-nail. So the acting is not that hot.

Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the scuffling mummy with the limp and keeping his hand to his chest quite well, but this could have been done by any other actor. His super strength is incredible, but he can easily be knocked out by falling brick walls, that kind of thing.

The most memorable scene is the resurrection of the princess Ananka. She rises out of the mud (not sure how or why - there were no actions by the cultists) and wanders into a lake. She washes off her mud and wow, a modern dress and complete with make-up! And amnesia, too, poor girl. And she's hot enough for the former high priest of Egypt to chase her after three millennia.

As a warning, there are stereotypes with the Louisiana Frenchmen and the black laborers (Oh, massa! Oh, massa!) that might be offensive to some.

The VHS version is fairly bad. And the acting and plot are fairly predictable and lame. The film is certainly no Karloff! Recommended for only the most die-hard of Mummy fans!

Better:

The Mummy (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection)
The Mummy

The Mummy's Curse is one hour and was released on December 22, 1944. This is the final movie in the Universal Mummy series. This takes place in Louisiana Cajun marshes. So how we went from Massachusetts to Louisiana is anybody guesses. The movie does not explain how. Virginia Christine takes over the roll of the girl carried into the swamp; Ramsay Ames was the person in The Mummy's Ghost. During the clearing of the swamp, Kharis and the Princess Ananka are unearthed, but not together and not at the same time. So as usual, Kharis has to go on one of his killing sprees to find his true love. It ends with the Princess Ananka turning back into a mummy and Kharis kills Ragheb for killing Zandaab. While trying to kill Ragheb part of the monastery wall falls on the both of them. This time around Kharis is not showed that often as he was in The Mummy's Ghost. During a flashback to explain why Kharis is still alive we are shown footage of Tom Tyler from The Mummy's Hand and if you look closely you will see Boris Karloff in that same stock footage. Footnote about this movie; in the last three movies it is three tana leaves to keep Kharis heart beating and nine tana leaves on the cycle of the full moon to give him movement. In the Mummy's Curse it is reversed or the actor saying this unknowingly said it backwards and no one caught the mistake. Everything in this movie is C+ quality.

"The Mummy's Curse", was the last of the four Mummy films that Universal released in the early 1940's and coming hot on the heels of their previous release "The Mummy's Ghost", this installment suffered a little from the feeling that alot that was covered in its story had been done effectively before. While all the Universal Mummy films indeed have a familiar feel to their storylines this last film still managed to keep a little individuality to it and certainly contained a couple of startling scenes that still impress today. Universal had a way with their horror films and it constantly impresses me just what they could do with limited budgets and very short shooting schedules which still managed to create a polished looking final product.

The tale of the doomed high priest Kharis and his eternal quest for his lost love the Princess Anana is well known to horror fans and in "The Mummy's Curse", Lon Chaney Jnr plays for the final time the Mummy who has become one of the most famous of the Universal monsters. This film continues on from the conclusion of the previous film and despite the confusing change in the locale of where Kharis was buried at the previous films conclusion (he is now found in a dried up swamp in Louisiana)the story flows along with good elements of mystery thrown in. A land works excavation team are draining the whole area for redevelopment when a strange coffin shaped recess is found in the ground. Immediately the workmen start to get frightened fearing that they have unearthed the resting place of the mummy which terrorised the area years before. Their fears seem to be justified as despite the warnings of Dr. Zandaad to stop developing the area, a number of weird sightings are reported and then a strange girl emerges out of the bayou (in the most visually stunning scene in the whole film) who is unsure of who she is, but who in actual fact is the Princess Ananka risen from her swampy grave. With Kharis in hot pursuit of the Princess the murders in the area begin and it is revealed that Dr. Zandaad (Peter Coe in a wonderfully eerie performance) is in actual fact the latest of the high priests from the Temple of Karnak who is hiding Kharis among the ruins of an old Monastery in the area while he attempts to seek out the Princess. Ananka in the mean time stumbles into the camp of some of the local workers and it is there that Kharis comes in his quest to find her and murders happen as the unfortunate men encounter the Mummy. After the Mummy abducts Ananka and takes her back to the Monastery one of the female workers who befriended Ananka, Betty Walsh is led there by Dr. Zandaab's secret assistant Ragheb (Martin Kosleck), who has developed a passion for her. When other members of the team catch up to her a fight develops which sees Dr. Zandaab killed and the Mummy bring down the whole building on top of himself and Ananka as he kills Ragheb. The team then decide to dig out the two Mummies at a later date and take them back to the Museum from where they were originally taken by the earlier High Priests.

Despite being the last of the Mummy series this entry has a good eerie feel to it. Virginia Christine makes a stunningly beautiful Ananka and Peter Coe's performance as the usual sinister High Priest is also of much interest. Lon Chaney Jnr by this stage had played the Mummy three times and despite his well publicised hatred for playing this role he still manages within the obvious limitations of such a role to instill a bit of sympathy into an otherwise unlikeable horror character. His visual look as Kharis is top notch and really has been the bench mark for how all subsequent Mummies should appear with the mouldering bandages, dry dusty features and killer arm that can strangle anyone within reaching distance. The visual settings of "The Mummy's Curse", are it's real strong point and are very much above those of the previous entry in the Mummy series. The misty swamp scenes of the deep South, the Monastery set and best of all Ananka's wonderful rise from the mud in the swamp at the beginning of the story really make this one of the better efforts by Universal in their saga of Kharis the Mummy.

"The Mummy's Curse", makes light entertaining viewing and was just the escapism that wartime audiences lapped up before the war's conclusion. This film marked the real end of the Mummy films however until Hammer Studios embraced and revived the Mummy for their own series of films in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The film is short in running time and takes little time in getting into the main action of the story and the dramatic ending to Kharis's sad story is well worth waiting for. A "B" film it may be but it ranks as a worthy horror addition to any horror buff's collection. Enjoy Kharis searching one last time for his lost love the Princess Ananka in Universal's "The Mummy's Curse".

The last of the Kharis quartet. At the end of "The Mummy's Ghost" Kharis and Princess Ananka sink into the bog of a Massachusetts swamp. Logic aside, they surface in Louisiana. Don't think about it, just go with it. Actually, Ananka's resurrection scene is the best part of this thriller. Drawn by the intense heat of the bayou sun, Ananka rises slowly from the bog and stumbles off searching for Kharis. The shot of her two hands reaching out of the mud raise the hackles. Kharis himself is among the ruins of an abandoned monastery on a hillside that juts incongruously above the swamp. He is under the care of Dr. Zandaab (Peter Coe), the latest holder of the sacred amulet of the ancient Egyptian gods. Lon Chaney, Jr. as Kharis again shambles around the countryside, dressed in moldy ace bandages, and strangling anyone that tries to keep him from Princess Ananka. No criticism of Chaney, but almost anyone could play this role. The make-up defines the character. Trivia buffs take note: Virginia Christine, who plays Ananka, evolved into TV's Mrs. Olson of Folgers coffee fame. It's amusing to discover that motherly Mrs. Olson was sexy as a young woman. Tannis leaf fluid and the full moon again bring grim death to those who lack reverence for the gods of ancient Egypt. The brief running time of 61 minutes keeps the pace moving right along. Collectors of classic horror films need this movie for their home library. An entertaining monster movie jolt for 12 year-old kids of all ages. ;-)

Although the formula had worn quite thin by the time of its release, this final entry in the "Mummy" series is quite a bit better than some of the Universal "product" of the era. For some reason, Kharis and Ananka surface in Louisiana, after having sunk into a swamp in New England! However, despite the highly illogical opening, the story offers some fresh angles, largely as a result of the new setting. Virginia Christine is quite good in taking over the role of Ananka, and the rest of the supporting cast is also good. Some original twists and turns in the plot make this one well worth watching, so just don't worry about how they got to the bayou; just enjoy the story for what it is - you'll enjoy it.

Virginia Christine, best-known to most of us in the Folger Coffee ads as "Mrs. Folger" was also a much in-demand character actor on TV and in movies. Here, she's terrific as the missing Princess Ananka whose pursued throughout this movie by the stumbling Kharis the Mummy. Christine's opening scene where first her hand comes up through the ground, then the rest of her mummified body is a knockout. Even here, she imbues her character with pathos. A real mystery is why Universal didn't star her in bigger roles, especially after seeing how she steals all the scenes with that stumbling old hambone, Lon Chaney as Kharis the Mummy. Maybe it's because he hated the role so much. Kudos to Universal's costume designer, Vera West, for always designing such gorgeous white silk gowns for the mummy's brides--especially the gorgeous Ramsey Ames, who played the bride, in the best of the series, The Mummy's Ghost.