Rate the Hammer Big 3-Part 3: The Mummy

[Johnny Alucard]

Its Time for part 3 of Rate the Hammer big 3. This time The Mummy.
There are only 4 movies to this series and only 3 that have a Mummy so
This won't be as long but here goes:

1.) The Mummy(1959): This is the only one of the Big 3 were I like the original the best
but this movie combines the traditional Mummy story with some of the fun
of the Universal Kharis Mummy sequels. This combination results in a very good
Hammer movie that moves at a good pace.

2.) Blood From the Mummy's Tomb(1971): This was one of the few Hammer movies that I had
not seen until recently with its release by Anchor Bay. I had heard and read much praise
on this movie over the years and it did live up to it. It is not a traditional Mummy movie.
There is no Mummy. It is actually more of a possession/ghost story movie with the
Egyptian theme. The results are a little unusual but very rewarding and the movie is actually
one of the gorier Hammer films which surprised me. It does take two viewings to truly appreciate
but that's what home video and DVD is for. This Bram Stoker story was remade twice once as
a Charlton Heston movie "The Awakening" and once by Lucio Fulci "Manhatten Baby". I can
say without a doubt that the Hammer version is the best of the three.

3.) The Mummy's Shroud(1967): This movie usually gets unfairly bashed as the worst of the Hammer
Mummy movies. Its actually a pretty good Hammer film. Not a classic by any means but a fun and well paced B-movie. It features the most brutal Mummy attacks of the Hammer Mummy films.

4.) Curse of the Mummy Tomb(1964): Not a bad Hammer film but a slow one. Not much Mummy until
The final 25 minutes of the movie. Great ending and a must see in Scope the only 2.35.1 Hammer
Mummy film.

Well that's it for the Hammer big three.

Johnny

[Yowie]

1. "The Mummy". Yep, the first mummy movie is definitely the best. Not only that, but it's also one of the best Hammer movies. Beautiful colors, sweeping music and marvellous sets; Hammer at its best. Lee's mummy is fast as lightning which makes for some terrific action sequences. It has almost become a cliche' to praise Cushing's performances, but he IS great most of the time and this is certainly one of them.
2. "Shroud". Not everyone's favorite but I think it's very good and sadly underrated, which I'll never understand. The mummy action is well executed, and some of the attacks are actually scary. Michael Ripper delivers one of his best performances for Hammer, and stuntman Eddie Powell does a fine job as the mummy. It's bound to become cult.
3. "Blood". A somewhat "intellectual" mummy movie. I used to find this movie highly overrated, but lately I find myself liking it more and more. At first I found it boring, but it's only boring if you're looking for action. -There's little of that, but there's plenty of atmosphere and plenty of Valerie Leon, so why complain ?. Good cast.
4. "Curse". Now, this one is boring. The action is sparse, and when it occurs it's dull. Even the comic relief isn't funny. I only have it in pan & scan, so that makes it even worse to sit through. It's difficult to really judge this movie because I've only seen it once or twice, and I'm sure a letterboxed version would improve upon it a lot. If that ever happens I'll definitely give it another chance, but as it stands now; this is one sleepy mummy. The cast is not very exciting either, and I don't think Michael Carreras was first choice of director (again). In my opinion, Hammer blew this opportunity to make a "smashing" mummy movie.

[Andrew]

Just got my Mummy disc AND my DVD player back today! I'm watchin' it tomorrow!

[Hammicus]

Has Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb ever been released or shown on TV in it's proper ratio?, were would one get a copy if so?

I'd have to agree it's the least appealing of the Hammer Mummy films, and I've only ever sat threw it once, getting a widescreen copy would give me encouragement to watch it again.

[Yowie]

I'm not entirely sure on this, but I seem to remember reading somewhere it was shown letterboxed on UK TV once. I could be wrong about that, so perhaps some of the British Hammer fans on the board know if this is true ?. It certainly hasn't been released on video other than in pan & scan.

[Johnny Alucard]

Curse of the Mummy's Tomb has never been released on video in any form in the U.S. Columbia has not released very many of their large Hammer films library on any home video format.
AMC(American Movie Classics) has shown it on T.V.
both Letterboxed and Pan & Scanned. They still do ocaasionaly show it so check your listings if you get AMC and hope for the Widescreen version. They usually show the Widescreen versions later at night.

Johnny

[Dark Lord]

Finally got my hands on these films, except COTMT, here are my rating on a scale of 10.

The Mummy(1959): 7/10
Blood From the Mummy's Tomb: 6.5/10
The Mummy's Shroud:7/10
Curse of the Mummy's Tomb: Never saw this one.

[RabidFulci]

1. The Mummy(1959) ****1/2
2.Curse of the Mummy's Tomb(1964) *1/2
3.The Mummy's Shroud(1967) ***
4. Blood From the Mumy's Tomb(1971) ****