FAQ

1895. When three British archeologists -- John Banning (Peter Cushing), his father Stephen (Felix Aylmer), and his uncle Joseph Whemple (Raymond Huntley) -- discover the tomb containing the body of the 4,000 year old mummy of Egyptian Princess Ananka (Yvonne Furneaux), Stephen accidentally brings Kharis (Christopher Lee), the mummified high priest of Karnak, back to life when he reads from the Scroll of Life. It is Kharis' duty to avenge anyone who dares to desecrate Ananka's tomb.

Hammer Film Productions' version of The Mummy was based on ideas presented in three Universal movies...The Mummy's Hand (1940) (1940), The Mummy's Tomb (1942) (1942), and The Mummy's Ghost (1944) (1944). The screenplay was written by Welsh screenwriter Jimmy Sangster. It was followed by The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) (1964), The Mummy's Shroud (1967) (1967), and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) (1971). The story was rebooted in The Mummy (1999) (1999).

Aarmed with a shotgun, John anxiously waits in his study as a decoy, while Inspector Mulrooney (Eddie Byrne), Isobel (Yvonne Furneaux), and two other policemen hide outside, everyone keeping vigil for Kharis' next attempt to kill John. However, Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) kills the two policemen and Kharis knocks out Mulrooney. Bey and Kharis then enter the house, and Kharis goes after John, disarms him, and begins to choke him.Hearing the shotgun fire, Isobel rushes into the house and orders Kharis to stop. After she lets down her hair, Kharis recognizes her as Ananka and disobeys Bey's order to kill her, killing Bey instead. Isobel faints, and Kharis carries her to the swamp, followed by John, Mulrooney, and several other policemen. As Kharis carries the unconscious Isobel into the bog, John shouts her name to wake her up. He tells her to order Kharis to put her down, which he does reluctantly. As Isobel slowly moves away from Kharis, the police open fire on him. In the final scene, Kharis slowly sinks into the mire, taking the Scroll of Life with him.