In 1959, Hammer
released The Mummy, another remake of
a Universal classic, to follow
The Curse
of Frankenstein and
Horror of Dracula
(aka
Dracula). Like its
predecessors,
The Mummy was a
stylish, gothic rendering filled with action, shocks and topnotch performances
from Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. But quite unlike the previous two,
sequels were slow to follow and weren’t nearly as memorable.
The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964) was
a sluggish B-movie, while
The Mummy’s
Shroud (1967), admittedly a vast improvement over
Curse, is still largely unremarkable. Seth Holt’s
Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971) would
prove to be a much different film.
 |
| Tera in her sarcophagus |
An archaeological
team unearths an ancient tomb in Egypt, in which resides the body of a
priestess. The decision to disturb the tomb has dire results even before they
take relics – the wife of Fuchs (Andrew Keir) dies giving birth to the couple’s
daughter, Margaret, at the same time the discovery is made. Years later,
Margaret (Valerie Leon) is the mirror image of Tera (Leon again), the Egyptian
priestess, whose perfectly preserved remains lie in a sarcophagus in Fuchs’
basement, a recreation of the tomb. Margaret’s birthday is looming, and it’s
the ideal time for Tera’s resurrection, her lost soul collecting her purloined
relics, as well as the lives of the people who are holding them.
 |
| This tomb doesn't look inviting. |
Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb,
adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel,
The
Jewel of Seven Stars, is a stellar film, drenched in atmosphere and a
markedly somber tone. There’s nothing to marvel in the Egyptian tomb--it’s
dark and dank, like the place of death that it is. The nights are covered in
fog; a mental institution, where one of the archaeological team winds up, is a
place of long corridors and deep shadows; and Margaret stands in never-ending gusts
of wind without a visible source.
This relentlessly
spooky ambiance comes through characters and performances as well. Dandridge
(Hugh Burden) is petrified when he sees the grown Margaret, before the audience
knows the full story of Tera (“It was her… She who has no name”). Corbeck
(James Villiers) is hiding in a seemingly abandoned house across the street
from Fuchs. Helen (Rosalie Crutchley), working as a fortune teller, sees a
foreboding image of the seven stars (the same seven that form the Big Dipper). Director
Holt also gives life to the inanimate relics by way of shadows and their mere
presence when people are attacked by something unseen. Even the recurrent image
of Tera is chilling, despite spending most of the film lying in a sarcophagus, eyes
closed and looking very much dead.
 |
| She's tall, too. |
Valerie Leon is
impressive in the lead. For a good part of the film, Margaret is mesmerized, making
return trips to the basement to stare at the priestess or the slowly restored
relics. It’s a gradual transformation: she’s initially dazed but eventually
it’s hard to tell if Margaret is simply captivated or if Tera has completely
possessed her. The beautiful, rather lanky actress – just an inch shy of six
feet – either matches her co-stars in height or towers over them. It’s an imposing
posture that augments an already marvelous performance.
Peter Cushing was
originally cast as Margaret’s father, Fuchs. But he left after just a day of
filming because his wife was ill. Director Holt died with a week of shooting
remaining, and filming was completed by producer/director Michael Carreras, son
of Hammer co-founder James Carreras. Cushing’s wife also died before the production’s
end. Carreras’ work on the film is seamless with the scenes already shot by
Holt; it certainly doesn’t look like a movie made by two different directors.
 |
| Corbeck's hiding place. |
Blood
from the Mummy’s Tomb wasn’t
the only adaptation of the Stoker novel. The 1970 British telefilm,
Curse of the Mummy, actually made it to
screens (albeit small) first. Later versions included
The Awakening (1980), Mike Newell’s feature film debut, with
Charlton Heston, Susannah York and a pre-
Remington
Steele Stephanie Zimbalist; Fred Olen Ray’s
The Tomb (1986), starring John Carradine, Cameron Mitchell and
Sybil Danning; and the 1998 straight-to-video
Bram Stoker’s Legend of the Mummy (aka
Bram Stoker’s The Mummy) with Louis Gossett, Jr. and featuring
Aubrey Morris playing a doctor, much like his character in
Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb. Margaret’s boyfriend, played by Mark
Edwards, is named Tod Browning after the director of another Stoker adaptation,
Universal’s classic 1931
Dracula.
Leon,
unfortunately, was not cast in leading roles very often. She also starred in a
number of Hammer’s
Carry On movies
and had appearances in both an official and unofficial Bond film – she was a
hotel receptionist in
The Spy Who Loved
Me (1977) with Roger Moore and one of Bond’s conquests in 1983’s
Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery.
Villiers starred in a Bond film as well,
For
Your Eyes Only (1981), as the MI6 Chief of Staff; he and Geoffrey Keen as
the Minister of Defence were essentially sharing the role of M, after the
script was rewritten due to the death of the original M, Bernard Lee. Villiers,
however, did not appear in future 007 outings. Actor Morris specialized in cult
films, also cropping up in Stanley Kubrick’s
A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Robin Hardy’s
The Wicker Man (1973).
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| Alleys: Just as spooky as tombs. |
Blood
from the Mummy’s Tomb did not receive much notice or acclaim when first released--it was released as a
double-bill in support of Roy Ward Baker’s Dr.
Jekyll and Sister Hyde. But it has since gone on to become a cult film. It
is definitely one of Hammer’s best – a mummy film so gripping and moody that it
didn’t even need the iconic bandage-wrapped figure. Just a tall, radiant,
alluring woman. In a coffin.
This post is part of the
Hammer Halloween Blogathon hosted by the Classic Film & TV Café. Click here view the complete blogathon schedule.
