The Mummy

Starring: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Yvonne Furneaux, Eddie Byrne, Felix Aylmer
Directed by: Terence Fisher
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Adventure
1959

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of British archeologists unearth a sacred Egyptian tomb, unleashing a Mummy who is an instrument of revenge for all who defile the tomb.

Review:

Tim: Maybe I should like Hammer Films' remake of The Mummy better than I do. It not only borrowed from the 1932 version, it also selected parts of The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb, and The Mummy's Ghost for its version. On the one hand, this is pretty smart- it combines the best aspects of previous films, bringing them together to create the most definitive Mummy movie yet (and in color!). You could certainly make the case that 1959's The Mummy is the best film featuring this character ever made, and you'd have a point. And yet, despite all that, I can't love this movie as much as I otherwise would. This is a film that borrows heavily (and I mean HEAVILY) from all those previous movies. In fact, it borrows so much that while watching this movie, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen this all before (because I already have). Besides one or two twists on the events from other films, this movie shows us what we've already seen before. I know that is the point of remakes, but there's been so many Mummy movies already, I want to move forward, not look backward.

This is the central hinge upon which your opinion of the 1959 version will rest. If you think it's brilliant that the film cherry-picked from the other movies to come up with the best version of the story, it'll be hard for someone to dispute that fact. You could easily argue this is the best Mummy movie ever made (at least until this point). I'm just personally going to argue the other way- that while I respect this film weaving events from multiple movies together, I wanted this to break new ground, to show us something we haven't seen before. As that does not happen, I was slightly disappointed in this version.

On the positive side, the movie is beautiful in color. The other Mummy movies have been black-and-white, which does create a certain creepy atmosphere. And yet, there's something great about watching the Mummy emerge from the swamp in color. I really appreciated the way the color added to the feel of the film. I also enjoyed the casting. Christopher Lee makes for a very imposing, memorable Kharis. I thought he did a good job in the role. Peter Cushing was fine as John Banning, and the supporting cast worked fairly well also.

As I've said, this is not a bad movie at all. For me, I've seen all the previous Mummy movies, and I just believe there's untapped potential in this franchise. I love the idea of remaking the film from a British perspective, and I sincerely hope that future Hammer Films Mummy movies explore new territory. This film is entertaining, but it's showing us things we've already seen before. For that reason, I couldn't quite like this movie (although even with that, I was impressed). In the end, I would call this version decent, but not quite what I was hoping for in a new Mummy movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Mummy (1932), The Mummy's Ghost, The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Hand