The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb (1964)

As mentioned in my review of The Mummy, I'm not a big fan of mummy movies. So the fact that I enjoyed that film and, to a lesser extent, this one too should bode well for those who like to see their bad boogeymen shuffling around while swathed in bandages.

Michael Carreras directs, and writes, this time around and the first half of the movie is very familiar territory. A tomb is opened, treasures are removed and deaths start to occur. The second half brings in one fresh idea but by then all the fun is to be had watching the mummy go about its business anyway (and I, for one, thought that this particular mummy had a great look to it . . . . . in as much as a mummy CAN look good).

The cast are a real mixed bag. Ronald Howard is the standard Hammer hero, a solid gentleman always ready to help a damsel in distress in between his academic pursuits. Terence Morgan is smooth as Adam Beauchamp, Jack Gwillim is okay in the first half of the movie but doesn't really convince in the latter half as his character becomes a bit of a drunkard, Fred Clark is great fun as an American entrepreneur wanting to make big money from the discoveries and George Pastell plays a character very similar, superficially, to the one he played in The Mummy. And Michael Ripper pops up, too. Oh, then there's Jeanne Roland, one of the most irritating women I have watched in a Hammer movie. I'm sorry to say it but her accent felt like nails on a blackboard to me. That may seem unfair, considering the fact that she was dubbed but her acting wasn't all that good either.

It's definitely not up there with the better Hammer horror movies but The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb is a decent enough, consistently entertaining, entry in their extensive catalogue. Boredom never sets in and the ending provides a satisfying mix of tension and tragedy. Worth a look.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Curse-Mummys-Tomb-DVD/dp/B000HWXQHU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350997685&sr=8-1