Director: Christy Cabanne
Writers: Griffin Jay
Stars: Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford
1 Hour, 7 Minutes
Get it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zIQRUK
A man in the fez rides his camel through the countryside. The old high priest of Karnak is dying, and the man in the fez is here to replace him.
The holy smoke shows them a flashback showing Kharis attempting to bring Ananka back to life and getting caught by the guards. Kharis gets his tongue cut out and was condemned to be buried alive. With him was buried a great quantity of tana leaves, and then all the slaves were killed. For over 3,000 years, Kharis has waited in a cave on the other side of the mountain. Kharis never really died.
The old priest shows the younger one the box that contains the tana leaves. He explains the rules: three leaves keeps Kharis alive, but if needed, give him nine leaves to give him strength to fight desecrators. Never, under any circumstances, should he burn more than nine leaves, as that would be bad. The younger man swears loyalty, and the old priest dies.
Steve and Babe are in Cairo and are getting ready to return to the States. They are failed archaeologists. Steve checks, and they have $84 to their names, but he risks $75 on a broken vase. They go to the museum and get the marks on the vase translated. It tells the location of Ananka’s tomb. Professor Andoheb says it’s a fake, and the location it points to is the most dangerous place in Egypt. The men leave and Andoheb reveals that he’s out to protect the tomb. He is the man in the fez.
Babe hustles cards for drinks in the bar. Unfortunately, he chooses to try his hand against Solvani, the magician who entertains at the hotel. They manage to convince Solvani to finance their dig. The Fez Man’s flunky starts a bar fight and steals something from Solvani.
Then, the Fez man/high priest/Professor Andoheb goes to see Marta, Solvani’s daughter, and claims that StEve and Babe are swindlers. Marta and Solvani have a silly argument while Solvani does tricks throughout. Marta takes her trick gun and tries to get the money back from Steve and Babe. Steve explains that they are on the up-and-up, and she insists on going along.
Finally, they get digging, along with Dr. Petrie, another archaeologist. They find bodies and some remnants of an expedition here from two years ago. The detonators go off too soon, and blows a hole in the mountain. They’ve found the tomb! They open it up, and it’s not Ananka, it’s a man, and there aren’t any gold or jewels. They’ve found Kharis. They find a bunch of leaves buried with him.
Andoheb confronts Dr. Petrie. “Since you’re here, I think you should see what you’ve stumbled upon.” He gives the solution of nine tana leaves to Kharis. Kharis then kills Petrie.
The mummy has a limp arm and leg, and Andoheb says he can get more of the fluid to fix that by tracking down the vial he has hidden in Marta and Solvani’s tent. The man, Ali, finds the vial, and then the Mummy kills Ali.
Later that night, Kharis grabs Marta and goes back into the tomb. They go out the secret door in the back. Steve shoots the beggar who is Andoheb’s man. The beggar has an amulet that shows the location to the passageway. Kharis takes Marta to Ananka’s tomb, where Andoheb is waiting. Kharis leaves, as he needs a recharge.
Andoheb wants to make Marta and himself immortal, like Kharis. He explains, “If Kharis were to find the rest of the tana leaf fluid, he would become a monster the likes of which the world has never known.” Babe shoots Andoheb dead, leaving Kharis with no master.
Steve shoots the mummy several times with no effect. They fight. The urn with the fluid is spilled, and Kharis gets down on the floor to lick it up. Steve then sets him on fire.
Later, Steve is promoted to the head of the museum, and all four of them head home with the treasure.
Commentary
It’s a very simple story with simple characters and plot. The comic elements between Babe and Steve is unnecessary, and made this feels like an Abbott & Costello movie (“Abbott & Costello Meets the Mummy” didn’t happen until 1955). The film can’t decide if it wants to be a scary comedy or funny horror, and it doesn’t really succeed at either.
This film introduces Kharis, who is not the same guy as Imhotep, the Boris Karloff mummy. It also introduces the rules for the tana leaves and the fact that the mummy can only be reanimated under the cycle of the full moon. It’s also the first where the mummy drags one foot behind him all the time.