Universal Monsters in Review: The Mummy’s Curse (1944)

And thus we have arrived. Sadly, I must say, The Mummy’s Curse will be the last of the Mummy movies to be reviewed here on this series. It is very sad. The mummy character has been one of my favorites during Universal Monsters in Review, starting of course with Boris Karloff as the original Mum in The Mummy (1932). The Mummy’s Curse (1944) is certainly not the last we’ll see of the cursed Egyptian priest. Lest we not forget, there was a resurgence of classic monsters back in the 1960s and 70s with those darling UK Hammer productions staring, typically, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Marvelous films those were. On today’s agenda, of course, we look back to the last time Lon Chaney will be forced through hours of prosthetic makeup and wardrobe. As with The Mummy’s Ghost, also released in 1944, the performances were kicked up a notch, as was the storytelling. The Mummy’s Curse was set upon a simple and easy to follow trajectory. No lazy appearances this time around, the mummy is actually unearthed from the swamp in which he fled at the end of The Mummy’s Ghost. Along of course with damsel the stereotypical damsel in distress Amina Mansouri, played by the beautiful Ramsay Ames in the last film, now replaced by Virginia Christine, in which he took with him into a watery grave. If you remember, at the end of The Mummy’s Ghost, Amina was kidnapped by the mummy and used to resurrect the soul of Princess Ananka, or she was a reincarnation of her, its hard to say exactly. Here we find the same tragedy, Amina is not quite herself, nor is she quite Ananka either. And for this, I applaud The Mummy’s Curse, for the curse is not really so much about the mummy Kharis, but rather, about Amina Mansouri and Princess Ananka, an innocent bystander who is thrust into this nightmarish world, and with Ananka, a princess who died naturally. There are some other elements with The Mummy’s Curse that I have not seen, or have seen rarely, in other Universal films during this era. What I’m referring to is Napoleon Simpson playing the role of Goobie (ugh), a very stereotypical “massa” and “sho’ ’nuff” style African American. His character was not comedic, nor was he useful in carrying the plot. Only in so much as screaming and running around crying for help. But again, we have to remember the era in which this film was made. Segregation was still the law, aka Jim Crow. And women could not vote. Homosexuality was also considered a crime. It doesnt make it right, but we also cannot expect to take a 1940s American film and judge it by modern standards. When looking at a historic film, one must remain (as much as possible) objective. Okay…I’ve seemed to ramble on quite a bit here. Let us venture forth and see what our esteemed guest has to say regarding The Mummy’s Curse.

The Mummy’s Curse (1944)

By Pembroke Sinclair

I’ve been struggling with where to start this review.  It’s not that the movie was terrible, but it wasn’t exactly stellar, either.  This film was pretty short, coming in at 1 hour long.  Not a whole heck of a lot happened in that time, except that the mummy rose from the dead, killed a few people, then was defeated.  There wasn’t much time for characters to be fleshed out, so I didn’t really feel for any of them.

Racial stereotypes ran rampant throughout the film, although my first impression was that I was impressed that several different cultures were portrayed.  The film takes place in the swamps of Louisiana.  Of course, the white man has come in and is planning to drain it for irrigation purposes, and when the workers refuse to work because of rumors about the mummy, he takes on an I-know-best attitude to get them to finish.  As you can imagine, this leads to death and murder.

From a surficial viewing of this film, it wasn’t anything special.  There weren’t any jump scares, and the storyline actually confused me just a bit.  Kharis (the mummy) was punished in his previous life (thousands of years ago in Egypt) because he was trying to raise his love (Princess Anaka) from the dead.  I couldn’t really follow the story of his punishment, but some slaves were killed and he was buried alive and forced to be the guardian of the princess’s tomb.

There was something about special leaves that could bring the dead back to life, and that was what Kharis stole from the gods to bring Anaka back.  After he was caught, they buried him with those leaves—and I’m not really sure why.  I mean, if they have that power, why make it readily available to someone who might have inclinations to raise the dead?  But when does horror always make sense?

Anyway, this story takes place 25 years after Kharis sunk in some quicksand (I’m assuming this happens in a previous movie, but I didn’t see it, so I don’t know).  Kharis is raised from the dead from some priests so that he can find his princess, who also happens to be buried somewhere in the swamp.  (She’s unearthed later by a bulldozer.)

So, in addition to the workers who are trying to drain the swamps, there are also archaeologists who are looking for the sarcophagi so that they can go to a museum.  But one of these scientists (Ragheb) is looking for them so he can send them back to Egypt so that the dead can rest in peace.  He’s the one who raises Kharis so that he can find Anaka.  It sounds noble, for sure, but t becomes violent because Ragheb tells Kharis that he can kill whoever gets in his way while looking for Anaka.  And, as you can imagine, people do, so they get strangled.

I became confused about a couple things.  1) Why did Princess Anaka retain her beauty after bathing in the river?  Why didn’t she looked like hammered hell like Kharis?  2) If she was Kharis’s true love, why was she so afraid of him?  There were indications that she was looking for him also—she would fall into a trance and repeat his name over and over—but when he showed up, she would freak out and run.  3) The love story between Dr. Ilzor Zandaab and Betty felt tacked on.  I get that it needed to be there as a juxtaposition between Kharis and Anaka, but it needed to be developed.

This also might play into the point about the film, however.  The title is The Mummy’s Curse, and he was punished because he was trying to reunite with his true love.  In this film, he can’t resurrect himself, and humans have to intervene by giving him his potion of leaves.  In a sense, he becomes a pawn to be used by whoever resurrects him.  And perhaps Anaka not recognizing him and running away in fear is also part of his curse.  He’s forever trying to possess something he can’t have.

Sure, he kills and is a walking corpse, but is he really that bad?  Would he kill if he wasn’t instructed to?  Is he truly the monster in the film or is it the others around him?

There were a few things that surprised me: the women in the film had some stereotypical roles (fainting and needing to be rescued), but they also had some powerful roles.  For example, Betty on multiple occasions talks back to her uncle and lets him know how she feels about things.  Anaka is shown using a microscope and expresses her knowledge about ancient Egyptian culture—mainly because she had lived through it, but she doesn’t remember that at the time.

While this film isn’t something I’d watch again for pure entertainment, I believe that there are some deeper meanings hidden within the text.  Like all horror films, there is social commentary buried beneath the surface, and I’d watch it again to find these commentaries and figure out what they are saying.

Pembroke Sinclair is a literary jack of all trades, playing her hand at multiple genres. She has written an eclectic mix of fiction ranging from horror to sci-fi and even some westerns. Born in Rock Springs, Wyoming–the home of 56 nationalities–it is no wonder Pembroke ended up so creatively diverse. Her fascination with the notions of good and evil, demons and angels, and how the lines blur have inspired her writing. Pembroke lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with her husband, two spirited boys, a black lab named Ryder, and a rescue kitty named Alia, who happens to be the sweetest, most adorable kitty in the world! She cannot say no to dessert, orange soda, or cinnamon. She loves rats and tatts and rock and roll and wants to be an alien queen when she grows up. You can learn more about Pembroke Sinclair by visiting her at pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com. You can follow the very talented Pembroke on Facebook  Amazon Twitter Or at her blog.