User reviews

"The Mummy's Curse" was the fifth and final installment of Universal's mummy series and the third to star Lon Chaney as Kharis.

At the close of the previous film, "The Mummy's Ghost" Kharis and the reincarnated Princess Ananka are seen descending into a swamp located in New England. As this film opens we find out that they have magically been transported to the Louisiana bayous. Anyway, it seems that a certain swamp is about to be drained and the locals fear that the ancient mummy will be dredged up. As luck would have it, he is.

Dr. James Halsey (Dennis Moore) along with colleague Dr. Ilzer Zandaab (Peter Coe) have come to the area to recover the two mummies for a museum. Dr. Zandaab turns out to be the latest in along line of Egyptian High Priests charged with returning Kharis and Ananka to Egypt. Zandaab along with assistant Raghab (Martin Kosleck) revives Kharis (Chaney) in an old abandoned church and instructs him to find the Princess Ananka and to kill anyone who gets in his way. This he does.

Meanwhile Ananka (Virginia Christine) climbs out of the bayou and wanders aimlessly through the countryside. She is befriended and taken in by the locals. Eventually Kharis finds her and takes her back to Zantaab and.......

The film features a flashback sequence lifted in tact from "The Mummy's Hand" (1940) which itself was largely made up from footage taken from "The Mummy" (1932). In this sequence we see Tom Tyler as the unbandaged Kharis. The slim and muscular Tyler bore little resemblance to the heavier Chaney.

Watch for two veterans of the silent screen, William Farnum and Charlie Stevens in minor roles.

The Mummy was resurrected briefly for 1955's "Abbott & Costello Meet The Mummy".

Coming after THE MUMMY'S GHOST, this limp and repetitive last entry in the Kharis series may be the weakest of all four, and it's kind of gratifying that Universal finally stopped the cookie cutter here. It's by no means awful, but by now there's a severe case of "been here, done that" festering about and there isn't much new to help us along. Lon Chaney merely goes through the motions to get his paycheck and gives the most listless of his three mummy performances. Peter Coe takes the award as the worst high priest, but Martin Kosleck is an okay choice as his treacherous assistant even though he isn't given enough to do. The script is little more than a plodding chase which has the clumsy Kharis always coming within inches of seizing his beloved princess, only to narrowly miss her time and time again as she manages to escape from his grasp.

One redeeming quality is Virginia Christine's first appearance as the reincarnated Princess Ananka. Her resurrection sequence from a muddy swamp is not only the high spot of this picture, but it's one of the best in the entire saga. By the way, what's interesting is that if keen viewers of THE MUMMY'S HAND recognized from a quick hotel receipt shot that the story began in 1940, and then you add up the "30 years" later of THE MUMMY'S TOMB & THE MUMMY'S GHOST, and top it off with the "25 years later" of THE MUMMY'S CURSE, you'd see that this entry would take place in 1995 ... !?!?

** out of ****

Even in America we're not safe as bulldozers unearth the ancient Egyptian mummy and his favorite obsession, Princess Ananka

Kharis is on the loose again. Of course, being on the loose for this mummified foot-dragger means he's a danger only to those too dumb to run. Fortunately, these movies are loaded with slow-learners. Actually, this is one of the better of the series, with lots of shadowy atmosphere and a really nubile Mrs. Folger otherwise known as Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine). No wonder Kharis is so anxious to carry her off, especially in that flowing white gown. I'd trade for his bandages and gimpy foot any day. And catch her rising jerkily from the swamp. These moves are enough to make you doubt whether she's human or not.

Too bad the rest of the cast seems at times to be sleep walking, except for Addison Richards (Maj. Walsh) and Kay Harding (Betty) who manage some lively personality. Peter Coe is a particularly unfortunate choice as the high priest. He sounds about as scary and exotic as my next-door neighbor. But who cares. It's old tangle foot and the moody gloom that keeps fans like me tuned in.

This entry in the "Mummy series" is unlike all the others, but that's what makes it interesting!

One of THE most interesting sequences in this film is when the Princess awakens in the bog (due to the sunlight), and slowly rises to her feet, totally covered with mud, and staggers to town. A very dramatic scene!

This fourth and final movie in the original "The Mummy" franchise picks up from where the last one ended but despite being made the very same year has recast our leading lady which is a damn shame.

It tells the story of our mummy once against being brought back to seek out his reincarnated lost love. This time however after the events of the last film she is suffering from amnesia and every one in her life is in terrible danger.

Oddly the quality of this franchise in regards to cinematography has been inconsistent and this is one of the worst. Combine that with some hammy performances and yet again the movie cannot rise above being distinctly average stuff.

Despite all this the entire franchise has had a certain charm, but I think 4 movies were sufficient especially considering how similiar they all are.

A fitting finale.

The Good:

Carries on the story nicely

The Bad:

Timelines of the series make no sense

Cinematography has dipped

Recasting

Much of the plot is confusing

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Everyone who wears a Fez is evil

Amnesiacs are a great source of free labour

I can't take a character seriously if they're wearing a safari hat!

From 'The Mummy's Hand (1940) through 'The Mummy's Curse (1944)' some interesting things but none more bizarre than the fact Kharis and Ananka sank into the Massachusetts swamps in the 'The Mummy's Ghost (1944) but end up rising in the Louisiana swamps in 'The Mummy's Curse (1944)'.

How did they end up in Louisiana? All we know is the townspeople and the sheriff's office (supposedly) chased Kharis and Ananka to Louisiana but the last film was set in Massachusetts... they chased them that far??? LOL The one major flaw with The Mummy's Curse but the film is fine otherwise.

If can go with or overlook the strange explanation given and can get into the idea of The Mummy ending up in Louisiana then you will find the film is is really just about as good of a B-Film as rest of the films in this series. Kharis can finally rest in peace.

7.5/10

This was the fifth and last of the original series. We find the undead Mummy, Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) in the Louisiana swampland, how he got there from Egypt is weakly explained away as American archeologists accidently looking for Princess Ananka, instead finding the Mummy. Since this is horror, it's no big deal.

The problem is the whole thing looks like something Universal wanted to put out fast and cheap and be done with. The acting is wooden, with bad Cajun accents. Nothing really stands out. The only wrinkle is Ananka's anthropomorphism. The poor girl is being stalked by jealous boyfriend Kharis, so she hides out with the mortals, amazing everyone with her knowledge of Egyptology! In fact, Kharis isn't the worst villain; that honor belongs to the High Priest's acolyte, who becomes drunk with power upon learning the history of the Mummy and the elixir that are tana leaves. There is a positive though: the 63 minute running time.

The final entry in the Kharis the mummy series is also the weakest, although still a good watch. At the end of the last film, Kharis and Ananka disappeared into the swamp. Decades later, the swamp is drained. For some reason, this film moves the location of the swamp from New England to Louisiana! So obviously somebody didn't think continuity was that big of an issue. Anyway, Kharis is revived by yet another Egyptian high priest (Peter Coe). Meanwhile, Ananka resurfaces from the mud and we discover she is played by Virginia Christine. Why Ramsay Ames didn't return to the role I'm not sure, but Christine does fine. Needless to say, Kharis is once again anxious to find his lost love. This was Lon Chaney Jr.'s last turn as the mummy. This one's got some marks against it but it's a fun movie. Nice atmosphere and some creepy moments. Universal horror fans like myself will like it most.

By this time the Kharis series was out of ideas. In the last movie Kharis & his princess submerged into a new england swamp. As usual with the Universal programmers that was ignored and we are shifted to Louisiana.Once again Kharis wants to be reunited with his loved one.AGAIN!

The acting is decent while Kosleck gives a very slimy performance as a perverted Kharis follower.Chaney isn't given much except to stumble around and do some one armed strangling.The sets are nicely done as well. The scene where the princess breaks out of the ground is excellent.

The characters are cardboard and there is some offensive racial stereotyping typical of the 40's.What I want to know is why don't folks run from Kharis? He moves like a tortoise. Dance around the walking ragpile, grab a torch and roast marshmellows with him.He's thousands of years old! He'll go up in a heartbeat.

This movie doesn't require or deserve a lot of thought.It clocks in at 59 minutes so if you have an hour to kill it won't hurt you.Average.

Director: Leslie Goodwins, Script: Leon Abrams, Dwight V.Babcock, Cast: Lon Chaney Jr. (Kharis), Dennis Moore (Dr. James Halsey), Virginia Christine (Princess Anaka), Addison Richards (Pat Walsh), Kay Harding (Betty Walsh), Peter Coe (Dr. Ilzor Zandaab)

This was the fourth and final mummy movie from universal. The original Mummy film came out in 1932 around the same time as Dracula and Frankenstein right during Universal's heyday. The first sequel was made in 1940 and all the rest were made between 1940 and 1944. Other then the fact that it is about a mummy, the sequels have no resemblance to that original film. The mummy doesn't even have the same name. The four sequels do,more or less,run in a continuum.

The story takes place 25 years after the first film in the bayous of Louisiana. Kharis,the mummy, and the mummified Princess Ananka went down in this swamp as we know from the previous film. This film has one exception to the otherwise continuous flow from the previous three films. In the prior film, they went down in a swamp in Massachussetts. Somehow they end up in a swamp in Louisiana! We have men with too different motives here. Mr. Walsh, the head of an excavation company that is draining the swamp and the archaeologist,Dr. Halsey, who wants to use this opportunity to recover the mommy from the swamp. Mister Walsh does not believe in the 'curse of the mummy' mumbo jumbo and doesn't want Dr. Halsey and his crew to interfere with his work.

Meanwhile, little does Dr. Halsey know that his assistant,Dr. Ilzor Zandaab, is actually a high priest who revives the mummy with tana leaves. In the process, Princes Ananka also rises from the mud of the swamp. This is actually a rather impressive scene! The curse is lifted from her and she once again becomes a normal women. She does not know where she is or what had happened to her. The mummy kharis goes after her and kills anybody that gets in his way. Dr. Halsey defeats the high priest and falls in love with Mr. Walsh's niece who works as his secretary.

The first mummy film was a classic right up there with Frankenstein, and Dracula(I personally like it better than Dracula). The sequels are not a classic like the original but they really were not meant to be. They were 'b' films. That being said, they are still enjoyable to watch. If one takes it literally, it is hard to believe that this took place 25 years after the previous film. If one follows the chronology of the four films, they would be in the 1990's. Probably not too convincing.

There is still life in this curse, barely. The premise has ran its course. Too many familiar scenes and the thrill is just hanging on. This although is still creepy to watch and fun for a rainy night. The living mummy Kharis(Lon Chaney Jr)now seeks his lost love(Virginia Christine) in the bayous of Louisiana. Also notable are Kurt Katch and Jackie Lou Harding. A "mummy" fan's must.

The first Universal mummy sequel, The Mummy's Hand, took place in 1940. The next in the series, The Mummy's Tomb (1942), was set thirty years later, but still looked like the 1940s (not the slightest glimpse of any flares or flower power). The fourth mummy film, The Mummy's Ghost (1944), takes place some time after Tomb (Andoheb is still alive, but older and shakier), but still looks like the '40s. The Mummy's Curse, the final film in the series (not including Abbot and Costello Meet The Mummy), is set twenty five years after The Mummy's Ghost, which by my calculations would place it anywhere but the 1940s -- but guess what... it still looks like the 1940s.

Puzzling time-line aside, The Mummy's Curse still isn't a satisfying way to wrap things up, with a plot that makes little sense and offers nothing new. Kharis is brought back to life by a loyal follower after the wetlands into which he vanished (in The Mummy's Ghost) are drained. The mummy is revived with a brew made from tana leaves, but no such beverage is prepared for Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine), who inexplicably returns from the dead unaided, crawling from the mud, taking a wash in a river, and looking remarkably fresh-faced for someone who has spent a quarter of a century at the bottom of a swamp.

Kharis's mission is to find Ananka and return her to her sarcophagus, with orders to kill anyone who gets in the way. This results in a few very tame deaths, the mummy throttling its victims, usually out of shot. The horror is ineptly handled, the most comical moment seeing the mummy slowly approaching the car of Dr. James Halsey (Dennis Moore) and love interest Betty (Kay Harding), the couple totally oblivious to the manky creature only inches away; it's a 'Scooby Doo moment', good for a few giggles I suppose. On the other hand, Ananka rising from her swampy grave is supremely creepy thanks to the awkward body movements of the mud-caked Christine, but it's the only effective scene in a sea of mediocrity and tedium.

1944's "The Mummy's Curse" was the fourth and last of the Kharis series, third to star Lon Chaney in the title role, and the only one not included in Universal's popular SHOCK! television package, having to wait for 1958's SON Of SHOCK, the same fate that befell beloved classics like "Bride of Frankenstein," "The Ghost of Frankenstein," and "House of Dracula." Going from a Massachusetts swamp to the Louisiana bayou is certainly a stretch, but not as much as setting the date an incredible 25 years later. The unexceptional Peter Coe ("House of Frankenstein") is this film's bland High Priest of Arkham, Ilzor Zandaab (his screen time quite limited), his recent disciple, the lascivious Ragheb (Martin Kosleck), providing all the knife wielding villainy to spice up the proceedings. An excavation of the swamp leaves one man dead, the knife still in his back, and a space just large enough for a mummy; shortly afterwards, another finds a hand emerging from its burial place, revealing the now revived Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine), who had gone down with Kharis at the conclusion of "The Mummy's Ghost." Making her way to a nearby lake, the Princess emerges perfectly coiffured (every hair in place!), if a bit wet and amnesiac, spelling death for all those who take her in. There are solid roles for veterans Addison Richards, Holmes Herbert, Kurt Katch, Charles Stevens, William Farnum, and Ann Codee, criminally unbilled as Tante Berthe. Popular years later playing Mrs. Olsen in the Folgers commercials, Virginia Christine scores impressively as Ananka (her natural blonde locks hidden under a jet black wig), light years better than the insipid Ramsay Ames in "The Mummy's Ghost" (her other Universal horror was the doomed prostitute who encounters Rondo Hatton's Creeper in 1946's "House of Horrors"). This marked the end of Kay Harding's brief stardom at Universal ("Weird Woman," "The Scarlet Claw"), while Martin Kosleck, previously seen in the still unissued "The Frozen Ghost," continued his scene stealing ways in "Pursuit to Algiers," "House of Horrors," and "She-Wolf of London." For a role he so fervently despised, Lon Chaney's Mummy again fares well, his frustration palpable, continuously (even comically) one step behind his beloved Princess (the climax finds them both headed permanently to Manhattan's Scripps Museum). This appears to have been the most popular of his three outings, reprising the role in 1959's Mexican "La Casa del Terror" and on television's ROUTE 66 (the 1962 Halloween broadcast "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing," opposite Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre). "The Mummy's Curse" made a total of six appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater- Sept 25 1965 (following 1963's "Battle Beyond the Sun"), Feb 10 1968 (following 1933's "The Invisible Man"), Sept 30 1972 (following 1944's "House of Frankenstein"), Jan 25 1975 (following 1960's "The Lost World"), Sept 20 1975 (following 1969's "Godzilla's Revenge"), and Apr 23 1977 (following 1935's "Bride of Frankenstein").

I was the guy who thought the original "Mummy" movie wasn't that great, so I guess my hopes weren't very high for this. I had no idea what to expect, but what I got did little for me. I admit to not seeing most of the other films in the series, so there were probably things I missed. They still allude to the original film. The main problem is how the movie is so short. It's hard to really think of anything of this length as being significant. We do in fact get more of a traditional mummy story here. The main problem is that it's now clichéd.

I appreciate the 1932 film for having originality. This does improve on how we get to see the actual standard appearance of the mummy a lot more. A lot of these characters are pretty annoying and I think the black guy is a racial stereotype with how goofy he is. We get way too much exposition with characters just talking about stuff that we just saw or giving us backstory on something that just seems like filler. I wonder if this will be featured in the new season of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Love to know what shorts they'd show! **

The mummy's last shuffle, rife with a lot of the conventional trappings we've come to love (loathe?) about this series: jumbled continuity, a recap of the mummy's life story aided with generous amounts of file footage, another woman in a white dress who can't help getting swept off her feet by Kharis, another nitwit priest of Karnak/Arkham trying to force himself on some bland American girl (aye carumba).

Having been magically transported to a Louisiana bayou, Kharis spends what seems like most of the picture going through the rigmarole of chasing after the apparently scatterbrained Princess Ananka, who's calling his name one minute then running from him the next (just like any normal bride I imagine). The scene that left me in awe during all of this is when Dr. Halsey and Betty Walsh--the typically dull romantic leads--spot Ananka passed out in the woods and carry her to the doc's car. Kharis is creeping up right behind them during this entire scene but somehow the two drips never happen to glance up & spot the over 6 foot tall, hulking lurch in the bandages. Those mummy wrappings must make for some darn good camouflage.

I've always felt that as far as classic Universal monsters went, there was the big three--Dracula, Wolf Man, The Monster--and then there was the rest, particularly the mummy. The Universal Studios of the 1940s apparently had the same opinion of Kharis, content to just churn out second-rate features to tack on at the bottom of a double-bill. But, taken for what they are, the Kharis films can be enjoyable B-movie fodder.

Besides, any film that contains such immortal dialogue as "The Devil's on the loose and he's dancin' with the Mummy" can't be all bad. :-]

The last Universal mummy movie. This one transports Kharis and Ananka from Massachusetts to Louisiana! When last seen they sank in a swamp together. Here they're unearthed by yet another high priest from Egypt. He plans to bring them back to Egypt and will kill anyone who tries to stop them. However (in a genuinely eerie sequence) Ananka (Virginia Christie) claws her way out of the swamp and wanders around with no knowledge of who she is.

It's silly but it works. The setting is atmospheric, the acting isn't bad (Christie is excellent) and her resurrection is more than a little spooky. It also has an ending that left the room for no more sequels. Not a great movie but much better than "The Mummy's Ghost" which preceded it.

That is, final if you don't count Abbott and Costello. I have a new found respect for this movie after watching it again recently from the Mummy's Ghost/Mummy's Curse double feature DVD.

Yes, I'm aware of all its inherit problems; the wildly outrageous continuity issues, the embarrassing ethnic stereotypes (particularly Goobie), Lon Chaney's apathetic performance as Kharis. Yet, in spite of or maybe because of those issues, I still find CURSE to be extremely enjoyable (even moreso than the previous installment).

If you're willing to suspend your disbelief just a tad & accept the new Louisiana setting for this film, I think you may enjoy it that much more. I know it's not high art, but it's fun nonetheless and 60 minutes of your life you won't regret spending to watch this movie. Just my humble opinion.

The fourth and final entry in the 1940s Kharis mummy series from Universal, "The Mummy's Curse" features the series' usual tropes. Like "The Mummy's Ghost," released just a few months earlier in 1944, as well as the original 1932 "The Mummy," Kharis stalks his reincarnated love, and as usual, the girl does a good deal of screaming and fainting and being carried off by the monster. Once again, he takes her to the secret lair of the high priest, which is always atop a long staircase, no matter the location: Egyptian temple, a mill, or an abandoned monastery--even the house in "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942) had a long flight of stairs that the lumbering, foot-dragging mummy had to ascend. For reasons beyond my understanding, Universal in the 1940s seemed to be fascinated with a crippled monster going up and down steps. The place here, the monastery, does offer one scene of a bit of a holy war, though, with the "infidel" Catholic priest trying to evict the squatting "pagan" high priest of the Ancient Egyptian gods.

This one also borrows a couple of the worst narrative devices from its predecessors. Similar to "The Mummy's Tomb," which was set 30 years after the events of the "The Mummy's Hand" (1940), this one, according to Cajan Joe, takes place 25 years after the last film. Thus, either "The Mummy's Hand" takes place as far back as the 19th Century despite its 1940 contemporary appearance otherwise or this final entry takes place as far as the then-future as the mid 1990s. So, this Mummy series either offers some of the worst historical reconstruction ever put on screen, the most unimaginative futurism, or, what it most surely is, very lazy writing. The other device is reusing the pool flashback scene from the 1932 "Mummy," which "The Mummy's Hand" had already done, too. Here, they also superimpose the priest's face over the clips as he retells the tale we've already heard and heard again.

Like the prior films, the Mummy is associated with the Moon, as though he's a werewolf or something, and in this one Ananka is associated with the Sun, for no apparent reason--inundating the screen with repeated shots of the star. I suspect the film is still located in Massachusetts, where the last two films took place, but I can't be sure, and I suppose it doesn't matter. Anyways, the settings are quite different except for the swamp, but I suppose that's to be expected 25 years in the future. Even Ananka, who was in the last film, is played by a different actress, so....

What does this one have going for it? It has the best and most haunting scene in the series where Ananka emerges from the drained swamp. Otherwise, I think it's a bit more, perhaps, unintentionally funny than the others. The line, "The Devil's on the loose, and he's dancing with the Mummy," got a laugh from me, even though it came from a servile black stereotype named, of all things, "Goobie," and his running around yelling "massa" is a low point here. Of course, the entire series is largely built upon the stereotypical lascivious foreigner, with the Egyptian characters usually being portrayed by Americans or Europeans. That's what happens here again, as the priest's servant tries to rape the film's other girl. A couple surely unintentionally funny things about this one, besides the usual tropes, are how Ananka sneaks out behind the Mummy twice as he chokes someone else to death, and it just seems odd that there's one character wearing a fez and another a safari hat, as though the filmmakers forgot that they set this piece of Orientalism in the U.S. instead of Egypt. The swamp archaeologist in the safari hat is even oblivious enough to call Ananka's clothes "strange" at one point.