Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)

An archaeological expedition brings back to London the coffin of an Egyptian queen known for her magical powers. Her spirit returns in the form of a young girl and strange things start to happen.

Directors:

Seth Holt, Michael Carreras (uncredited)

Writers:

Christopher Wicking (screenplay), Bram Stoker (novel)

Stars:

Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon, James Villiers

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Keir	...	Fuchs
Valerie Leon	...	Margaret / Tera
James Villiers	...	Corbeck
Hugh Burden	...	Dandridge
George Coulouris	...	Berigan
Mark Edwards	...	Tod Browning
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Helen Dickerson
Aubrey Morris	...	Doctor Putnum
David Markham	...	Doctor Burgess
Joan Young	...	Mrs. Caporal
James Cossins	...	Older Male Nurse
David Jackson	...	Young Male Nurse
Jonathan Burn	...	Saturnine Young Man
Graham James	...	Youth In Museum
Tamara Ustinov	...	Veronica

Storyline

On the night before her anniversary, Margaret Fuchs receives an ancient Egyptian ring with a red stone as a birthday gift from her father, Prof. Julian Fuchs. Margaret has frequent nightmares about an expedition in Egypt with five members, including her father, finding the tomb of Queen Tera, an evil sorcerer with a severed hand. The members collect the sarcophagus with a totally preserved mummy, the severed hand with the ring with a red stone, and three relics. Margaret is possessed by the spirit of Tera and chases the expedition members to retrieve the objects and gives life back to Tera.

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Plot Keywords:

mummy | sarcophagus | nightmare | relic | cleavage | 

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Taglines:

A severed hand beckons from an open grave!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Duffell and Gordon Hessler were asked to direct.

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Goofs

Every time the sarcophagus is opened, the lid is simply slid across. Yet the girl inside, headdress and all, is elevated above the base by at least 6 inches.

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Quotes

Corbeck: The meek shall NOT inherit the earth. They can't be trusted with it.

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Crazy Credits

Sunbronze Danny Boy as Tod's Cat

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Alternate Versions

The 1971 cinema version was cut and this seems to have become the definitive version for all videos/DVDs since (Region 1 and 2 releases). The cuts were: A shot of a hospital orderly striking an inmate was removed.

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Connections

Follows The Mummy's Shroud (1967)

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Soundtracks

The Temple
(uncredited)
Music by Monia Liter (uncredited)
Boosey & Hawkes Ltd

User Reviews

Intellectual retelling of the mummy story

As almost always was the case with Hammer, this is a rather studiobound, but still lavish-looking movie (shot by the always reliable Arthur Grant who had almost a midas-touch when it came to cinematography), despite it's low budget. You also get a long list of old pros like Andrew Keir and Rosalie Crutchley in important parts plus the sultry charms of Valerie Leon, former model and star of british sex-comedys. She is not the greatest actress in the world but does a very competent job with her part, managing the sudden moodswings convincingly. The story is based on a lesser-known Bram 'Dracula' Stoker novel, filmed two more times ('The Awakening' is big-budget but does nothing with all those bucks, just manages to be mostly boring even in the murder-scenes). It does not feature the usual, gauze-wrapped, mummy but it is instead a tale of possession. It is maybe a bit talky in places, but the atmosphere is always right and menacing. Main director Seth Holt died during the last days of shooting so producer Michael Carreras had to do the scenes in the asylum and they are among the most impressive. Horrormovie-fans today will probably find this movie incredibly old-fashioned, but if you are tired of the hundreth film about Jason, Freddy or your average neighborhood slasher, give this a second glance.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb

Filming Locations:

EMI-MGM Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor ®)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1