The Mummy's Hand (1940)


The Mummy was a major hit for Universal when it came out in 1932.  Unlike Frankenstein and Dracula it didn't spawn a number of sequels.  The story of Imhotep ended with the one film, but Universal kept the rights to the character.  It was just a matter of time before the Mummy rose once again but, second time around, he was a disgraced royal guard named Kharis.

As the High Priest of Karnak (Eduardo Ciannelli) is dying he reveals the secrets of their order to his successor Andoheb (George Zucco).  A living mummy named Kharis (Tom Tyler) is entombed nearby, forever guarding the resting place of the princess he loved and once tried to bring back to life.  He is given specific instructions of what to do and what not to do, with a warning that Kharis could pose a threat to the entire world.

Archaeologist Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his partner Babe Hanson (Wallace Ford) are about to give up on finding anything worthwhile in Egypt when Banning finds a vase in a Cairo marketplace.  It appears to lead to an undiscovered tomb.  Lacking funds to start an expedition themselves they manage to get the help of magician Mr. Solvani (Cecil Kellaway), whose daughter Marta (Peggy Moran) is none too happy.  They find a tomb, but that of Kharis, and run afoul of the secret priesthood who aims to make sure they never leave the site alive. 

Unlike The Mummy this movie is played more as a comic adventure than a horror film.  There are the usual horror elements of a living corpse coming back to life, and the makeup is well-done, but unlike before where we had a clever and crafty villain in Imhotep we have Kharis as nothing but a tool of the High Priest.  

The humor comes with the chemistry between Foran and Ford who, not billed as a comedy duo, are pretty good at it.  They are also good and getting serious quickly once people at their camp start dying.  There is the usual romance, including a damsel in distress and the expected ending.  

Unfortunately, The Mummy's Hand is a bit more ambitious than its budget would allow.  It wants to be an action film.  The problem is that what they had allowed them to go out camping behind the backlot of Universal Studios, but didn't give them enough to film any major chase scenes.  The flashback scenes are recycled from The Mummy in order to save some cash as well and make this look like it's got higher production values than it does.  Still, some of what director Christy Cabanne did with what he had is impressive even if Griffin Jay's script is rather pedestrian. 

The sudden lust by Andoheb for Marta toward the end seems out of place and a desperate attempt to find some way to end the movie, but for the most part this is a decent entry and an in interesting attempt to reboot the character.  It was successful enough to spawn three sequels. 

The Mummy's Hand (1940)
Time: 67 minutes
Starring: Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, Peggy Moran, Cecil Kellaway, George Zucco, Tom Tyler
Director: Christy Cabanne

 

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