The Mummy (1959)

In 1895, British archaeologists find and open the tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka with nefarious consequences.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writer:

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	John Banning
Christopher Lee	...	The Mummy / Kharis
Yvonne Furneaux	...	Isobel / Ananka
Eddie Byrne	...	Inspector Mulrooney
Felix Aylmer	...	Stephen Banning
Raymond Huntley	...	Joseph Whemple
George Pastell	...	Mehemet Bey
Michael Ripper	...	Poacher
George Woodbridge	...	Police Constable
Harold Goodwin	...	Pat
Denis Shaw	...	Mike
Gerald Lawson	...	Irish Customer
Willoughby Gray	...	Dr. Reilly
John Stuart	...	Coroner
David Browning	...	Police Sergeant

Storyline

In the 1890s a team of British archaeologists discover the untouched tomb of Princess Ananka but accidentally bring the mummified body of her High Priest back to life. Three years later back in England a follower of the same Egyptian religion unleashes the mummy to exact grisly revenge on the despoilers of the sacred past.

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Plot Keywords:

princess | tomb | archaeologist | mummy | high priest | 

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Taglines:

ALL NEW! IN TERRIFYING TECHNICOLOR (original U.S. print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mummy

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 97 min (original release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although intended as a remake of The Mummy (1932), the film's plot and most of its principle characters are taken from The Mummy's Hand (1940) (1940) and The Mummy's Tomb (1942). The 1932 film's famous and early scene of the sight of the mummy walking across the tomb floor driving a member of the archaeological team insane is recreated here but not seen in any of the 1940s series; the finale of The Mummy's Ghost (1944) is also interpolated into this picture's plot, albeit with a somewhat different outcome. Despite all this, there is no credit to any preexisting source material at all.

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Goofs

While Kharis is attempting to bring Princess Ananka back to life whilst reading from the Scroll of Life, Ananka's eyelids move. This shows that the spell was beginning to work.

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Quotes

Poacher: I've seen the likes tonight that mortal eyes shouldn't look at.
Irish Customer: You've been around to Molly Grady's again.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: 1895

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Connections

Featured in The World of Hammer: Mummies, Werewolves & the Living Dead (1994)

User Reviews

influential and fun cheapie from my buddies at Hammer

The Mummy capped off an impressive initial run of horror movies from Hammer Studios. Believe it or not, it was mostly downhill from here; the company's subsequent efforts tended to be tackier and cheesier. But the "big three" (Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Mummy) are all solid horror flicks with, oddly enough, some of the most crisp and colorful photography I've ever seen.

There are some weaknesses here, though. The Egypt flashback waffles on for quite a while, and then we get ANOTHER flashback when Banning Sr. resurrects the mummy. However, the beginning and ending are well-paced and exciting, so most sins are forgiven. Lee's Mummy is spectacular; he's goddamn huge, and it's very impressive to watch him crashing through doors and French windows, absorbing shotgun blasts as if they were pinpricks (I hear Lee actually got injured several times making this movie; I can't say I'm surprised!)

My favorite scene is the ideological debate between the Egyptian badguy (a very cool performance by George Pastell) and Peter Cushing's snooty archaeologist character. Their heated exchange adds a bit of texture to the story and even makes me sympathetic to the villain's POV. However, subtext goes out the window again for the violent final confrontation.

On a side note, the exceedingly brilliant BBC show Doctor Who practically remade this movie twice. The episode "Tomb of the Cybermen" features Pastell as a guest star in a story involving an ill-fated archaeological dig, and "Pyramids of Mars" once again pits a hapless poacher against killer mummies. Just thought I'd mention it.