DVD Features:
Full Screen Version
Other:Digital Mono in English and French Trailer on Side A

"The Mummy" is one of the better looking Hammer films, thanks to Bernard Robinson's production designs and Jack Asher's cinematography, the high point of which is the lengthy Egyptian flashback sequence. Peter Cushing plays John Banning the hero with a sense of melancholy attributable to not only his crippled leg but sadness over the tragic consequences of their treasure expedition. George Pastell's Mehemet is one of the most thoughtful and pious villains you will ever find in a horror film. As Kharis, Christopher Lee has another silent role that forces him to communication his longing for Ananka through his eyes and gestures. Lee's mummy is much more muscular and athletic than Karloff's original. No slow shuffling monster here, the scene where Kharis smashes through the sanitarium window to attack Stephen Banning is one of the best action sequences in Hammer's history. It is not surprising Lee suffering physically because of this film. "The Mummy" stands out from other Hammer films not only because the monster is different this time around, but more because it does present the black and white division between Good and Evil we come to expect in Fisher's films. After all, Kharis has suffered for ages in unspeakable torment and kills only to protect Isobel thinking she is Ananka, so there is a degree of pity involved, while we have some feelings of disgust towards the archeologists who are so dismissive of native beliefs. Clearly there is more depth here to the characters than we find in the contemporary block busters where the appeal is pure special effects.


OK Hammer take on the mummy....   October 27, 2002
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

OK color production by Hammer of the mummy motif. Good acting and rather elegant period sets give the film a spooky feel but when Christopher Lee enters as the title creature things really liven up. He's an interesting mummy--jerky and spasmodically stomping around like a wind-up robot gone berserk. Peter Cushing seems right at home in his role. The beautiful Yvonne Furneaux (as Cushing's wife and a dead ringer for the mummy's lost love) comes in near the end of the film to get carried off into the swamp. Why her character has to enter so late is a mystery. She would have at least brought something more into the movie. For discerning adults it's rather juvenile but for kids it's fine. It's a good way to introduce younger audiences to classy horror films.


WHY IS THIS CLASSIC NOT YET ON DVD?   June 21, 2001
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

THE MUMMY is hands down the greatest film Hammer ever produced, even surpassing HORROR OF DRACULA. The Egyptian sequence with its air of authenticity and dream-like horror, superb acting (especially by Peter Cushing and Lee, who marvelously conveys the stunted feelings of Karis via his eyes), memorable cinematography, intelligent dialogues, (this film has NO CAMP APPEAL! I HATE THE WORD CAMP!) exciting set pieces as the very physical Lee-mummy crashes through doors and strangle his victims, all converge to make a timeless classic. Oh yeah, this is also the best mummy movie ever made. As if there is a real competition. Ha ha.


Make supple the limbs...   January 26, 2006
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

In the world of horror, the mummy sits right next to vampires and werewolves -- creepy supernatural things that can rip you to bits.

And they are rarely scarier than they are in "The Mummy," a classic horror movie with no blood, no gore, not even any curses. Yet this is creepier -- and more frightening -- than any dozen fright flicks from Hollywood now. Of course, having Christopher Lee lurching through locked doors helps.

A pair of archaeologists uncover the tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka, but once inside, Stephen Banning (Felix Aylmer) collapses into gibbering madness. Three years later, a mysterious box arrives in England, at the same time that Banning tells his son John (Peter Cushing) that something is coming to kill him. He's found strangled in a padded cell.

It turns out that Stephen was murdered by a "living mummy," a disgraced priest who was buried alive in Ananka's tomb to protect his beloved. Now a zealot has brought the mummy to England, and is using it to kill off anyone who dared go into the tomb. Now John must stop them both, using his wife's resemble to Ananka...

"The Mummy" got a big-budget, low-talent remake in the late 90s, which shares a few things with this movie, but the Hammer Horror version is probably the most memorable and well-made. Partly that is due to the hulking, silent, menacing mummy, and partly due to solid scripting and some very good acting.

Okay, the Egyptian sets are hokey, and the Hammer people had little knowledge of ancient Egypt ("Karnak" is a place, not a god). But the film blossoms as it gets back to England, full of misty bogs and dark country mansions. It's an unlikely spot for a 4000-year-old Egyptian to wreak havoc, but it works surprisingly well.

The script injects a poignancy to the mummy's story, since he suffered a fate worse than death for love, and even now gets all mushy over a woman who looks like Ananka. At the same time, he's also a ruthless killer who strangles his victims without batting an eye.

Cushing plays the role, again, of a man who battles the forces of evil, no matter how bizarre or out-there they may be. And he does a solid job. Lee is outstanding, especially considering that his head is covered in papier-mache. The change of expression whenever he sees Isobel, a dead ringer for Ananka, is magnificently poignant.

"The Mummy" remains one of Hammer Horror's best films, with its solid acting and taut direction. Still creepy after all these years.


NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE KARLOFF ORIGINAL! 2 1/1/2 STARS!   January 14, 2008
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I have to wonder if the people reviewing this Hammer interpretation of the Mummy watched the same film I did. I found this to be one of the lesser Hammer productions. Hammer began making some good looking horror films because the genre was getting tired and Universal was churning out low budget horror flicks for a quick buck. This version of the Mummy is not even on par with the 1940's Universal Mummy films which spanned four serial type horror sequels. Forget about the original film starring Karloff, it doesn't hold a candle to that moody,somber masterpiece! Karloff's performance is creepy and Jack Pierce's make-up is absolutely incredible! Christopher Lee may have size but, he does nothing with the role of the undead protector of the tomb. Even though he does walk faster then the laughable Mummies from the 40's, it's not so fast that he could catch anyone. As slow as the Mummies were in those Universal 40's films there was a sense of relentless pursuit, normal people get tired mummies don't. I guess with thousands of years of sleep they can go for a long time! LOL! The brilliance of the 1932 classic with Karloff was that he was supernatural and he killed his enemies with curses! You can't run from that and it makes it all the scarier that there is no place to hide. I rate this film 2 1/2/ stars for some effort and seeing the Mummy in color. I hope the sequels are better than this one. It's just didn't add much new to the character.