La momia azteca (1957)

Experimenting in hypnotic regression to past lives, Dr. Almada discovers that his fiancée, Flor, is the reincarnation of an Aztec maiden who was put to death for loving an Aztec warrior, ... See full summary »

Director:

Rafael Portillo

Writers:

Guillermo Calderón (original story), Alfredo Salazar (original story),

Stars:

Ramón Gay, Rosa Arenas, Crox Alvarado

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ramón Gay	...	Dr. Eduardo Almada
Rosa Arenas	...	Flor Sepúlveda / Xochitl (as Rosita Arenas)
Crox Alvarado	...	Pinacate
Luis Aceves Castañeda	...	Dr. Krupp
Jorge Mondragón	...	Dr. Sepúlveda
Arturo Martínez	...	Tierno
Emma Roldán	...	Criada
Julián de Meriche	...	(as Julien de Meriche)
Salvador Lozano
Jaime González Quiñones	...	Pepe Almada (as Jaime Quiñones)
Ángel Di Stefani	...	Popoca (as Angelo De Steffani)
Jesús Murcielago Velázquez	...	El Murciélago (as Murcielago Velazquez)
Enrique Yáñez	...	Esbirro del Murciélago
Guillermo Hernández	...	Lobo (as Lobo Negro)
Alberto Yáñez	...	Esbirro del Murciélago

Storyline

Experimenting in hypnotic regression to past lives, Dr. Almada discovers that his fiancée, Flor, is the reincarnation of an Aztec maiden who was put to death for loving an Aztec warrior, her body placed at the entrance to a hidden chamber in the Great Pyramid of Yucatan where the treasures of the Aztecs were hidden, and her lover mummified but cursed to remain alive and guard the treasure. With her recovered memories, Flor is able to lead Almada, his wimpish assistant Pincate, and her father to the now-skeletal remains of the maiden. Attached to them is a golden breastplate with a map detailing the route to the treasure. But to their horror, the party is intercepted by the mummified warrior, Popoca, and flee with the breastplate back to Mexico city. Popoca follows. In the meantime, Prof. Krup, an unscrupulous colleague of Almada's, recruits a gang of thugs, whom he leads from behind a mask and known only as "The Bat". Both Krup and his gang, and the mummy, converge on Flor's house to ...

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Plot Keywords:

mummy | regression | tomb | pyramid | reincarnation | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish Nahuatl

Release Date:

13 November 1957 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Attack of the Aztec Mummy

Filming Locations:

Estudios CLASA, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Frankenstein (1931)

User Reviews

Get this instead of Apocalypto

This is the find of the year (2006), a film that was on EVERYBODY'S lost list. One story even had Jerry Warren hacking up the original negative for one of his edit bay epics. Now you can buy it for bargain prices. THE AZTEC MUMMY looks really great on the new three disc set THE AZTEC MUMMY COLLECTION (BCI),and the remastering is nearly perfect. The exterior parts with the mummy are done on real Mexican ruins and look sensational. You get a feel for the SIZE of the buildings, their age. The flashbacks star a native dance troupe, and the way that THEY recreated their heritage as of the 50's. Some of them are so proud to be in a REAL MOVIE that they grin right into the camera. I like that.

Tastes have moved on since then, and what they regarded as totally authentic seem dated now, but don't be too fast to throw it over. The group worked long and hard to get the routines down, and are on par with a lot of the dance troupes that you see on Ed Sullivan reruns. This is also how Mexicans saw their own culture, and as such should not be taken too lightly. And the background instrumental grows on you in a world music sort of way. The plot has something to do with returning a beautiful lady (Rosita Arenas) by hypnosis to her past to locate an Aztec breastplate proving the existence of previous lives. There's a masked super villain who wants the breastplate for his own nefarious ends, a cowardly second banana, car chases, gun battles, you know: something for the whole family. You also get the essential plot of Apocalypto stripped down to less then one reel and without the blood and guts that would give the kiddies nightmares..and APOCALYPTO doesn't have an evil masked doctor in it, or policemen with machine guns. When the Aztec Mummy finally decides to get up and get moving, the scenes are on par with anything Universal came up with in later Mummy movies. Very effective. A lost movie saved from the ashes