La momia azteca contra el robot humano (1958)

Director:

Rafael Portillo

Writers:

Guillermo Calderón (writer)
Alfredo Salazar (screenplay)

Release Date:

1959 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

See the relentless machine battle the gruesome corpse

Plot:

A mad doctor builds a robot in order to steal a valuable Aztec treasure from a tomb guarded by a centuries old living mummy. |

Plot Keywords:

Mummy | Robot | Told In Flashback | Creature | MST3K

Cast

Ramón Gay	...	Dr. Eduardo Almada
Rosa Arenas	...	Flor Almada / Xochi (as Rosita Arenas)
Crox Alvarado	...	Pinacate
Luis Aceves Castañeda	...	Dr. Krupp
Jorge Mondragón	...	Dr. Sepúlveda
Arturo Martínez	...	Tierno
Emma Roldán	...	Maria, the housekeeper
Julián de Meriche	...	Comandante (as Julien de Meriche)
Salvador Lozano
Jaime González Quiñones	...	Pepe Almada (as Jaime Quiñones)
Ángel Di Stefani	...	Popoca, the Mummy (as Angelo De Steffani)
Adolfo Rojas
Jesús Murcielago Velázquez	...	Dr. Krupp's Henchman (as Murcielago Velasquez)
Enrique Yáñez	...	Dr. Krupp's Henchman
Guillermo Hernández	...	Dr. Krupp's Henchman (as Lobo Negro)

Also Known As:

Aztec Mummy vs. the Human Robot
El robot humano
The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy (USA) (dubbed version)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus (#6.21)" (1993)

It All Started Here...

This flick was the introduction for a lot of us to the works of K Gordon Murray. That's because it was easy to find. It was on every public domain label in the VHS era, and before that, a late night t.v. cult classic, double knee thigh slapper. Besides, HOW do you resist the title?

For late comers, a brief explanation of it's merit: Florida wheeler dealer K. Gordon Murray imported Mexican horror films, dubbed them into English, then made a mint with them at the drive in. The Mexican ORIGINALS were weird enough to begin with; American boundaries and accepted horror film conventions were cheerfully disregarded. Great, great set design and lighting were placed beside weird or laughable special effects. NOTHING in Hollywood was as close as these were to out and out strange. Now, mix in Catholic influenced social conventions, Mexican folk lore, and we are not in Kansas anymore.

Add to THAT the English scripts they were dubbed into. Most were written by Reuban Guberman, who wanted words to match movements of the actors lips ON SCREEN, not the literal translation. As a result the American soundtracks tended to run from overwrought to down right loopy. There's even a fan web site for Murray that prints the best, most over the top lines for each movie. First time viewers to the films complain about the pacing, the purple prose, the production values and are told it's SUPPOSED to be that way..while the people laugh with enjoyment over things normally considered fatal film flaws. It all must be very confusing if you don't have a taste for it.

This one was made back to back in 1957 with the two previous films in the series; THE AZTEC MUMMY and CURSE OF THE AZTEC MUMMY. All three are now available on the 3 disc AZTEC MUMMY COLLECTION (BCI) and it's about time. It has the K Gordon Murray version on one side, the original Mexican production on the other side. The contrast between the two is fascinating. A lot of the times the original Spanish is not much saner.

ROBOT/MUMMY starts off with a nice long flashback bringing you up to speed on the previous episodes, sort of..continuity was tossed out the window in number two, and it's downhill from there, logic wise. You don't even get The Angel back, or any mention of him in this final episode. Names, places, even family trees switch between films. After a while, you start LOOKING for the continuity changes.

By now, the series villain Doc Krupp is totally pig biting mad, nearly drooling with dementia and STILL wants to steal the Aztec breastplate. Rosita Arenas is sent back to the past with another nice edit of the AZTEC MUMMY floor show, and wanders out into the dark in her nightie to help find that doggone breastplate again. The mummy isn't any happier with this then he was last time.

The robot actually has a production credit. It was made by 'Viana & Co S.A.'. I mention this, because it looks like the grips came up with it between takes on a slow afternoon when the real costume went walkabout. Nope.

This was PLANNED.

Wait until you see the controller it runs from. X box, where WERE you when Krupp NEEDED you??? The Robot LOOKS crushed to death at the end, but actually came back in two more Mexican made movies..it had a FAN BASE..

All in all, a funny quirky finish to a three movie series. Sit back and enjoy.