The Mummy's Curse (1944)

Well, here’s a real boneheaded clunker for you. “The Mummy’s Curse” was released in 1944, and is apparently the last in the line of Universal mummy flicks up until the 1999 remake. I say apparently because I’ve only seen the Karloff version and now this one, which is the fourth film in a loosely related series that started with “The Mummy’s Hand” (1940), “The Mummy’s Tomb” (1942), and “The Mummy’s Ghost” (1944). Got it? These films all center around a mummy named Kharis, who suffers from the same obsessive love as did Karloff’s mummy, Mr. Im-Ho-Tep. Jeez, are these Egyptian guys pussy-whipped or what?

Now, since I haven’t scene the previous Kharis movies, I must assume that at some point they switched the series over to America, for this one opens up in the Louisiana swamps where Kharis and his princess were last seen sinking to their deaths in the swamps muddy waters. For reasons I’ve already forgotten, some dude who doesn’t believe in undead mummies has a plan to drain the swamps. This isn’t going over very well with the local swamp workers, who are all terrified of the superstitious mummy stories and don’t really wanna work with a mummy nearby. Now enter two archeological types who are here to investigate the mummy stories and possible bring Kharis back to New York with them. Notice that one of the archeologists is Egyptian, so just how do you think he’ll figure into all of this? That’s right, he’s one of those high priest types who wants the mummy to kill honky infidels and other such niceties. Soon a bulldozer unearths Kharis’s body, and faster than you can say “beware the beat of the cloth wrapped feet”, Kharis is on the prowl searching for his lost Princess who has also risen and stumbled into town, sporting the latest hair and make-up styles of 44’ of course. Soon the locals are dropping like flies as Kharis tries to reclaim his lost love whom apparently can’t recall being an Egyptian princess and is clueless as to why this frigging mummy has a hard on for her.

All I can really say about this one is thank god it only runs about an hour long. Things are just so darn stupid here that it really grated on my nerves, and not in a “bad film appreciation” type of way. Lon Chaney Jr. is the mummy who basically only has one good arm and leg, yet still is able to outmaneuver and strangle anyone in his way. This movie also makes the mummy, as far as movie monsters are concerned, extremely inept and well, sorta stupid. I can almost picture Kharis, after just missing a potential victim muttering to himself ala Charlie Brown, “lord help me, I’m just not that bright”. This one was so bad, I’m actually sorta curious about tracking down the previous Kharis movies, they can’t be as bad this one…can they?