1 THE FINAL TWO MUMMY MOVIES!
The Mummy's Ghost is the 3rd Mummy sequel and the second starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the Mummy. The events in this movie take place just a couple of years or so after the events in the Mummy's Tomb, where we saw Kharis go up in flames at the Steve Banning house.
High Priest Andoheb (george Zucco) is shown STILL alive. Old and frail he sends yet another young priest of Arkan (changed from Karnak for some reason) to America to recover Kharis and the body of Ananka and return them to Egypt. This time the priest Yousef Bey, is played by John Carradine.
Meanwhile, back in Mapleton, MA the Mummy is shown walking again...with NO explanation as to how he escaped the fire or what was done with his body after the fire. Just another one of those fun Universal plot inconsistencies...
At Any rate a Professor Norman recreates the Tana leave experiment sending Kharis on his merry way to commit murder and mayhem. Bey reaches the museum with Kharis but when he goes to take Anankas body she simply disinegrates into a heap of dust and bandages, sending Kharis into a destructive rage, killing a security guard.
Bey guesses that Anankas spirit has been reincarnated into a new body which they soon discover is that of Amini Mansouri played by 40's scream Queen Ramsay Ames. The remainder of the film deals with Bey and Kharis looking to capture Ames and the local sherrif and townsfolk looking to stop the mummy.
Chaney has much more to do in this film than in the previous one. He gets to really go on a rampage a couple of times and show some genuine emotion.
Carradine is fun as Yousef Bey even if he doesn't look remotely Egyptian. Ames is pretty standard as the damsel in distress and basically spends the movie screaming and fainting. Her fiancee Tom, played by Robert lowery, is the usual dim-witted, wooden romantic lead in the great tradition of David Manners.
I liked The Mummy's Ghost. It was more action packed than the two previous entries and Chaney really made the mummy terrifying.
In the Mummy's Curse we are treated to an odd bit of Universal continuity craziness...in previous movie the mummy disappeared under the swampy waters in Mapleton, MA..only to reappear in the swamps of Louisiana!!! Wow! what a trip!
Well we have a new high priest of Arkam who attempts to find the bodies of Kharis and the reincarnated Ananka and return them to Egypt. Peter Coe plays the high priest Zandaab aided by his servant Ragheb.
Oddly enough they find a very gothic looking and abandoned monastery atop a hill in the Bayou!!! They revive Kharis (played again by Chaney Jr.) and send him out to find Ananka.
This movie actually has one of the more chilling scenes in any mUmmy movie since the original, when the reincarnated Ananka digs here way out of the dirt and grime of the swamp. She staggers along covered in muck not unlike a zombie out of Night of the Living Dead. Quite scary given the time period.
She has no desire to go back and constantly runs from Kharis who kills anyone in his way including a female tavern owner.
I think Curse may have been the best of the Chaney Jr. Mummy offerings. Some genuinely scary moments. Only problem was that this was really the weakest supporting cast with no realy big name stars like Zucco or Carradine in supporting roles.
2 I'm a MUMMY!
Man, the reviewer a couple below hits the nail on the head when he asks why anyone would be embarrassed for enjoying these classic films.
These and the other Universal Calssic Monsters set the bar for quality in the genre and had a huge impact worldwide.
Consider Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, directed by the amazing James Whale. Who would argue that these are not just excellent horror films, but simply excellent films. Creature from the Black Lagoon. Again, it may be dated somewhat, but what movies from this era aren't? It still delivers tension and creeps.
The Mummy series of Universal films may be my favorite of the lot. This particular DVD reissue is an essential edition to any horror or classic film afficionado's collection and is a great introduction for the next generation as well.
3 Wonderful old Classics!
When I read some of these reviews where the writer apologizes, as if greatly embarassed, about how much he/she secretly enjoys the mummy or wolf man or Frankenstein movies, I want to scream louder than Evelyn Ankers. Why apologize? Why act embarassed? There's nothing to cringe about when you settle in and watch a movie that brings you great enjoyment. I've watched my collection of Universal shockers--especially"The Mummy's Curse," "The Mummy's Ghost," repeatedly for years and I never tire of them. On DVD, they're even better. "The Mummy's Ghost" haunts many of its first-time viewers with the extraordinary beauty of heroine Ramsey Ames and her horrific ending in the quicksand. Virginia Christine creates one of the most stunning sequences in fantasy films when she emerges from the quicksand as the ancient Princess Ananka--all accompanied by a powerful musical score and expressionistic shots of a racing sun and clouds. All of these beautifully made old black and white chillers from Universals are part of my permanent film library. Think of it like this: Universal fright movies made tons of money for the studios when they were released. Millions of customers lined up at the box offices around the world to thrill to these black and white masterpieces. I've seen old newspaper photographs of armies of fans in New York waiting in line to see "Night Monster," "The Mummy's Ghost," etc. These movies were produced by masters on modest budgets. Just compare the lush black and white photograpy in "Mummy's Ghost" and "Night Monster" with that of "Citizen Kane," "Since You Went Away," etc. Musical scoring for all these Universal movies were fabulous. Snippets from the Charles Previn/Frank Skinner scores from "Son of Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man" were brilliantly interwoven with the Mummy movies. The Universal Monster collection is justly famed for its expert, smooth,productions and talented casts. So, when you feel the urge to apologize, shrink or confess that you're a fan of these timeless gems, then don't utter your apologies around these parts. Or you'll have Kharis, Larry Talbot and Frankie boy coming after you!
4 Still a Fave of Mine
The Mummy movies have been the most disparaged of Universal's classic monster series, and I guess that's pretty understandable. There's almost no plot variation from one film to the next. You get a quivering George Zucco handing off his title of Head Priest to the next adept in line (Turhan Bey/John Carradine/Peter Coe), you get the obligatory flashback, you get the Tana leaves, you get the reincarnated Princess...In other words, why come up with an original idea when the same formula that made us money before, and the time before that can make us money yet again (an idea that seems even more prevalent in the Hollywood of today)? Chaney allegedly hated the Mummy role, and that is also understandable. Not much room for characterization here. I consider myself a Chaney fan, but anybody with a hefty build and a lumbering, shuffling gait could have slipped on the Mummy mask and basically done the same job. And it has become something of a cliche' about how laughably slow-moving the Mummy is but it's true- a geriatric Tortoise on medication could probably peregrinate more quickly and lethally than Kharis does here. The relative ease with which Kharis dispatches his victims, given his arthritic pace, strains the limits of credulity. Yes, the zombies in a movie like "Night of the Living Dead" didn't move much faster, but then there were a lot more of them, and a convincing sense of menace was conveyed. Even as a kid, the realization that I could outwalk Kharis even on a bad day rendered him far, far less frightening than the other monsters who populated Universal movies (Frankenstein, Wolfman, Dracula, etc.). And yet, having said all this...I still love these Mummy movies. There's something truly creepy about the concept of a withered Mummy being revived after centuries in an Egyptian tomb, and a certain poignancy about a thwarted, doomed love enduring on through the centuries. It is this eerie duality, perhaps, that lifts these films above their unintentionally comic elements, their plodding cookie-cutter storylines, and their often offensively stereotypical characters into something that, at its best, is memorable and entertaining and, at its worst, is at least still more fun to watch than much of what passes for horror these days. Certain moments from these films have haunted me through the years- the final scene with Lon Chaney and Ramsay Ames in "Ghost" and much of "The Mummy's Curse." Indeed, "Mummy's Curse" is probably my favorite of the whole series, an opinion that certainly puts me at odds with most everyone else reviewing these films. I saw the scene where Virginia Christine emerges from her grave in a Louisiana swamp as a little kid, and it never left me. To me, this is one of the most haunting images that ever came out of a Universal film, laugh if you will. Equally effective is the final image of Christine in her sarcophagus, returned once again to her mummified state and forever denied a chance at a normal human life; an image that is then almost immediately negated by the empty-headed, happy-go-lucky bantering of the other characters. There are compelling little touches in this movie that the others lack. There's a scene where Kharis (Chaney's Mummy) is strangling the character of Tante Berthe and she pounds on his chest and shoulders, raising clouds of dust. A small detail, perhaps, but only on a number of such small details can a convincing suspension of disbelief be created and sustained. Unfortunately, the banality of the rest of the picture mitigates
what's truly chilling about it. With the exception of Christine and Martin Kosleck, a wonderful character actor from the 1940's, the other actors fail to breath much life into their bland, cardboard characters. And talk about racial stereotypes! If you've ever wondered why blacks are still so enraged over the way they were portrayed in the old movies, check out Napoleon Simpson in the role of "Goobie" here. I loved his line, "The Mummy's on the loose and he's dancin' with the devil" (repeated more than once) but one line, even if it were written by Tolstoy, cannot redeem such a painfully embarrassing character. This is probably the most ambivalent review I've ever written. There's a lot here that's ridiculous, and laughable, and even downright boring. And yet, I love these movies and consider them to be valuable additions to my collection. How much of that reverence is objectively arrived at and how much of it is colored by my early childhood memories? I'm probably not in a position to say, but you've been warned. You'll probably either love these movies, for all their flaws, or you'll hate them. I can't imagine there would be a middle ground.
5 1940's Mummy serial films comes to DVD!
Having already purchased these releases on VHS plus the Laserdisc box set, I did not rush out pell-mell to get the DVD's. When I did I remebered how much I had enjoyed the films as a kid. I immediately brought extras copies for some contemporary "kids". While lacking any real extras, not even the poster and photo still collection on the Laserdisc release, it still made for a great DVD. There was a little more print damage on "The Mummy's Ghost" than on the Laser release, but the picture quality was stronger overall, due to DVD transfer process. The print quality on "The Mummy's Curse" was about the same and the sound quality on both was excellent. Considering that these films were nearly 60 years old when the DVD was produced Universal has down an admirable job. Contrary to other reviews these movies were in fact not filmed back to back. "The Mummy's Ghost" was actually made in 1943, see opening credits, but was released theatrically in 1944. "The Mummy's Curse" was released over Christmas 1944 on a double bill with "House of Frankenstein", with some of the same actors working in both films, including Lon Chaney, Jr. The scene of Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine) rising from the ground in "The Mummy's Curse" is a classic and is used in many later films. Make some popcorn and share these with the "kids" of all ages. Thanks, CAL
6 So bad it's good
I've only seen the Mummy's Curse so far but it's amazingly bad.
Still, it has that cool, B&W Universal vibe, and if you like that, you'll like this. Actress Virginia Christine looks like a very contemporary alternative bohemian girl (sort of a wavy-haired Betty Page) and the DVD Bio reveals what well-known personality she became in later decades. It's by no means a great film, but I liked it.
7 The Mummy's Ghost/The Mummy's Curse
The Mummy's Ghost has the mummy kidnapping the girl, and having the whole town come to track them down. There is more to that, but the thing that makes these mummy movies of this era so great, is they a alike, but also different. The Mummy's Curse is probably the odd one out, but in a good way, The Mummy and Princess Ananka come up from an old swamp. Both these movies are a must for mummy movie lovers.
8 Excellent Quality,Fun Movies
Ignore the bad reviews, this double feature DVD is the best that these classic "B" movies have ever looked on home video. The moody black and white cinematography yields a gray scale feast if viewed on a correctly calibrated display device. The picture is sharp and the contrast is excellent. GHOST has a few scratches on the print but otherwise looks crisp. CURSE is near flawless. Only a full scale Million dollar restoration like the one given CITIZEN KANE by Warner Home Video could produce a better black and white image. As for the Production Notes, they are written with an obvious love and affection for the genre and have lots of information unavailable anywhere else. If you enjoy these movies, buy them; they've never looked better than they do on this reasonably priced double feature disc.
9 What were they thinking.....????
I've seen these movies, have them on VHS. But was looking forward to the DVDs. Whats up with this? This should have cost [less] for how little effort went into these. And this is just a personal but I like the VHS packaging UNIVERSAL did before they when with the "movie poster" packaging. Maybe someday well be luckey enough to get a deffinitive collectors eddition box set with some super cool packaging. But as for these double features... the only benifit is the space youll save over VHS. therefore... ONE STAR.
10 Mummy's curse
The mummy's curse is the fourth and final of the "real" mummy movies. It's the one that you have probably seen on late night horror fests growing up. When I watched the Mummy's ghost I realised that I had never seen it, nothing about it rang a bell at all. It's an ok spook fest with a good number of suprises. The treat here is finally getting the Mummy's curse. It looks great, very crisp, great sound (mono), great dvd packaging as well. Somehow this is THE one. I have all 5 MUMMY movies in the original series and this is the famous one. 1-4 seemed to get lost or have just became obscure even though they were famous films. If you're trying to figure out the name of the Mummy movie you remember watching as a kid it's probably this one. The hammer films Mummy series is also pretty darn GODlike. They are all out as well. (The Mummy's shroud is the killer one there). please avoid the 1999 & 2001 remakes, they are painful beyond words!! all hail the one and only true universal MUMMY.
11 DVD Dud!
I completely agree with the other reviewer who said this DVD edition of two super mummy movies is a real dud. There's nothing extra except for a criminally skimpy "production notes" and "cast" biographies. Even the $9.00 DVD's you find in the bargain basement barrel have more goodies than this pathetic issue of my two favorite horror flicks. I was going to buy the entire series of these new double-features but am now glad I only brought this one. SAve your money. Your old VSH tapes look better than this miserable DVD. And to think I've waited a whole year for this!
12 Poor, Mediocre DVDs!
I agree with my fellow reviewer that these long-awaited DVD double-features are shocking in their lack of extra goodies. I also agree that we fanatics of the great old Universal horrors were spoiled by the magnificent DVD presentations of "The Mummy," "The Wolf Man," etc. I've got them all and watch them every month. But my copy of "The Mummy's Ghost" and "The Mummy's Curse" look as if a summer intern put the "production notes" and "cast and crew" data together. You could find all this stuff in any reference book. They're amazingly skimpy. I can't see any improvement on the DVD movie than my old VHS tapes. Thank God I only brought the "Mummy's Ghost" and "Mummy's Curse" and "Son of frankenstein" and "Ghost of Frankenstein." I was going to splurge and buy the entire new double-feature series. I'm completely disgusted with this series. Universal, how dare you betray us young and old addicts of these fantastic horror classics? And I waited...and waited...and waited for a year and now find the wait was a waste of time. Stick to your video copies and save your money.
13 Universal Takes a Snooze... Leaves Out Horror Tidbits
I know, we've all waited a long year for these films to come out and it's the juiciest selection of antique chillers that we've seen on DVD all at one time. But wow, was I ever disappointed at the quantity of fun-stuff on this DVD. Let's face it...Universal spoiled us with last year's releases of the Monster gang. They were full of hours of entertainment, from animated menus with haunting music to shorts and commentaries. Not so with this bunch of releases I guess. Not even an audio track on the menu. In addition, I can't even seem to switch back and forth between movies without turning off the machine and restarting the menu. The disc doesn't seem to allow this extravagant feature. At least you don't have to flip it! (ie. Fox Double Feature DVD's) I know..."we got 2 movies on the disc for the price of one so just be happy," right? I sure hope that the person who's in charge of the person who headed up this project is reading this at Universal. Do better next time! You still have a chance to redeem yourself with The Mole People and the Creature of the Black Lagoon sequels.
14 Kharis Lives!!
Universal's third Mummy sequal, "The Mummy's Ghost", is a great and unusual movie.
Kharis is revived for "The Mummy's Tomb", still looking for his long-lost love, Princess Ananka, who is mummified herself. With the help of his new keeper and high priest (John Carradine, who played Dracula in "House of Frankenstein" and "House of Dracula", both outstanding Universal releases). After realizing she's not all she's "cracked up" to be, Kharis (played by the legendary Lon Chaney Jr.) falls in love with a collage student, who thinks that she is the reincarnation of Ananka. With the help of the high priest, Kharis wants make the young girl immortal, drinking his elixer of tana leaves. But does Kharis succeed?
This movie is my favorite of the series for the story, and the surprise ending.
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Released in the same year as "The Mummy's Ghost", "The Mummy's Curse" is the fourth and final of the outstanding series. By now you should know that there is yet another new high priest, this time played by Peter Coe, and taking place 25 years after the last one, sees Kharis and Ananka and the high priest and angry town people all fight it out in the New England countryside. This movie shows that the Mummy series really didn't have anywhere else to go, and although the hurried production shows at times, it closes the Mummy movies in a neat way, and will forever enshrine the Mummy in the mighty pantheon of classic monsters.
