THE
MUMMY'S SHROUD (1967)Director: John Gilling
Anchor Bay Entertainment
THE
MUMMY'S SHROUD (1967)Hammer's mummy films were anything but exceptional. After Terence Fisher's beautifully-lensed, robust 1959 THE MUMMY (which lifted many themes from the Universal mummy flicks), the series went downward in terms of inspiration and further failed to breath any kind of new life into the proceedings. THE MUMMY'S SHROUD is a follow-up to the widescreen CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1964), but the films are totally unrelated.
The movie commences with a very unimpressive pre-title sequence narrated by a rather nasally sounding Peter Cushing. It is explained that in Egypt in 2,000 B.C., a young pharaoh, Kah-to-Bey, escapes persecution, but this is all shown amongst a backdrop of cardboard sets (unusual as Hammer' films always look so lavish) and a scant amount of extras in brown face make-up unconvincingly trying to simulate an overwhelming rebellion.
Move forward to 1920, and an exhibition led by Sir Basil Walden (Andre Morrel) unearths the king's tomb, discovering not only the mummy of the pharaoh boy, but also of his faithful servant Prem, aka "The Mummy" (played by Hammer stuntman Eddie Powell). The desecraters of the tomb are now cursed for their blasphemy, and after the Mummy is displayed in an archeological exhibit, he is revived by the fanatical tomb guardian (Roger Delgado, the original "Master" from the "Dr. Who" TV series) and is prompted to violently murder them.
THE MUMMY'S SHROUD was cheaply produced as the last Hammer film to be shot at Bray Studios, and using sets left over from any other productions of the time, it is actually able to convince the audience of its period Egyptian locales (aside from the shoddy pre-credit sequence). The cast is impressive, including Catherine Lacey (THE SORCERERS) as a hag fortune teller, and the late Michael Ripper as a mild do-gooder whose vicious death scene garnishes much empathy. Maggie Kimberly makes a pretty heroine, but she shows far less cleavage than the publicity photos would lead us to believe.
A bit too talky for its own good, THE MUMMY'S SHROUD can be fun if you take it in stride and savor the rewarding death scenes, as well as the effective ending which boasts some impressive effects by Les Bowie. Although at times the Mummy (who was supposedly made up to look like a "real" mummy) resembles a crash test dummy, director Gilling is able to conclude his tenure with Hammer with some stylish Dutch angles and several shots manifested from a crystal ball that are reminiscent of THE WIZARD OF OZ.
Anchor Bay's DVD is superb, with beautiful color and a great level of picture detail, so much so that it makes the film much more pleasurable to view. The original negative was culled as the source material, and the results are virtually flawless. It is adequately letterboxed at 1:66.1 and 16x9 enhanced. The mono sound is also terrific.
The extras include original theatrical trailer, two TV spots showcasing the double feature pairing with FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, the combo trailer and an episode of WORLD OF HAMMER entitled, "Mummies, Werewolves & The Living Dead." (George R. Reis)