The Mummy (1959 film)



The Mummy is a 1959 British horror film, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. It was written by Jimmy Sangster and produced by Michael Carreras and Anthony Nelson Keys for Hammer Film Productions. The film was distributed in the U.S. in 1959 on a double bill with either the Vincent Price movie The Bat or the Universal film Curse of the Undead.

Though the title suggests Universal Pictures' 1932 film of the same name, the film actually derives its plot and characters entirely from two 1940s Universal films, The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb, with the climax borrowed directly from The Mummy's Ghost. The character name Joseph Whemple, the use of a sacred scroll, and a few minor plot elements are the only connections with the 1932 version.

Plot
In Egypt in 1895, archaeologists John Banning (Cushing), his father Stephen (Felix Aylmer) and his uncle Joseph Whemple (Raymond Huntley) are searching for the tomb of Princess Ananka, the high priestess of the god Karnak. John has a broken leg and cannot accompany his father and uncle when they open the tomb (According to Cushing's diary, he had twisted his leg before the filming, so the script was adapted to let him recover.) Before they enter, an Egyptian named Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) warns them not to go in, lest they face the fatal curse against desecrators. Stephen and Joseph ignore him, and discover within the sarcophagus of Ananka. After Joseph leaves to tell John the good news, Stephen finds the Scroll of Life and reads from it. He then screams off-screen and is found in a catatonic state.

Three years later, back in England, Stephen Banning comes out of his catatonia at the Engerfield Nursing Home for the Mentally Disordered, and sends for his son. He tells him that when he read from the Scroll of Life, he unintentionally brought back to life Kharis (Lee), the mummified high priest of Karnak. He was sentenced to be entombed alive to serve as the guardian of Princess Ananka's tomb as punishment for attempting to bring her back to life out of forbidden love. Now, Stephen tells his disbelieving son that Kharis will hunt down and kill all those who desecrated Ananka's tomb.

Meanwhile, Mehemet Bey, revealed as a devoted worshiper of Karnak, comes to Engerfield under the alias of Mehemet Akir to wreak vengeance on the Bannings. He hires a pair of drunken carters, Pat and Mike, to bring the slumbering Kharis in a crate to his rented home, but the two men's drunken driving cause Kharis' crate to fall off and sink into a bog. Later, using the Scroll of Life, Mehemet exhorts Kharis to rise from the mud, then sends him to murder Stephen Banning. When Kharis kills Joseph Whemple the next night, he does so before the eyes of John Banning, who shoots him with a revolver at close range, but to no effect.

Police Inspector Mulrooney is assigned to solve the murders but, because he is skeptical and deals only in "cold, hard facts", he does not believe John's incredible story about a killer mummy, even when John tells him that he is likely to be Kharis' third victim. While Mulrooney investigates, John notices that his wife Isobel bears an uncanny resemblance to Princess Ananka. Gathering testimonial evidence from other individuals in the community, Mulrooney slowly begins to wonder if the mummy is real.

Mehemet Bey sends the mummy to the Bannings' home to slay his final victim. However, when Isobel rushes to her husband's aid, Kharis sees her, releases John, and leaves. Mehemet Bey mistakenly believes that Kharis has completed his task, and prepares to return to Egypt. John, suspecting Mehemet Bay of being the one controlling the mummy, pays him a visit, much to his surprise.

After John leaves, Mehemet Bey leads Kharis in a second attempt on John's life. The mummy knocks Mulrooney unconscious, while Mehemet Bey deals with another policeman guarding the house. Kharis finds John in his study and starts to choke him. Alerted by John's shouts, Isobel runs to the house without Mulrooney; at first, the mummy does not recognise her, but John tells her to loose her hair and the mummy releases John. When Mehemet orders Kharis to kill Isobel, he refuses; Mehemet tries to murder Isobel himself, but is himself killed by Kharis instead. The mummy carries the unconscious Isobel into the swamp, followed by John, Mulrooney and other policemen. John yells to Isobel; when she regains consciousness, she tells Kharis to put her down. The mummy reluctantly obeys. When Isobel has moved away from him, the policemen open fire, causing Kharis to sink into a quagmire, taking the Scroll of Life with him.

Cast

 * Peter Cushing as John Banning
 * Christopher Lee as Kharis
 * Yvonne Furneaux as Isobel Banning / Princess Ananka
 * Eddie Byrne as Inspector Mulrooney
 * Felix Aylmer as Stephen Banning
 * Raymond Huntley as Joseph Whemple
 * George Pastell as Mehemet Bey
 * Michael Ripper as Poacher
 * George Woodbridge as P. C. Blake
 * Harold Goodwin as Pat
 * Denis Shaw as Mike
 * Gerald Lawson as Irish Customer
 * Willoughby Gray as Dr. Reilly
 * John Stuart as Coroner
 * David Browning as Police Sergeant
 * Frank Sieman as Bill
 * Stanley Meadows as Attendant
 * Frank Singuineau as Head Porter

Production
Originally the scenes of Kharis' tongue cut out, and shotgun demise were more graphic, but were trimmed for the British censor.

In the video, Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror, Peter Cushing claims that he suggested the scene in which he drives a spear through the mummy. He was inspired by the pre-release poster (see image above) which shows the mummy with a shaft of light passing through it.

Critical reception
The Mummy was a success with critics. The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films wrote of the film: "Structurally little more than a string of picturesque and nice-lit killings, The Mummy ' s melancholic presentation and romantic undertow grants it a certain atmosphere which elevates this bandaged brute far beyond its cinematic predecessors." It currently holds a very positive 100% "Fresh" on film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes with a rating average of 7.9/10 based on 8 reviews.

In other media
The film was adapted into a 12-page comic strip for the July 1978 issue of the magazine Hammer's Halls of Horror. It was drawn by David Jackson from a script by Steve Moore. The cover of the issue featured a painting by Brian Lewis of Christopher Lee as Kharis.

Surviving props
A glass fiber replica of a sarcophagus created for the film is in the collection of the Perth Museum and Art Gallery.