The Mummy's Hand

MORD39 RATING: *** (of ****)

THE MUMMY'S HAND is my favorite mummy film and easily the best in the Universal "Kharis" saga.

Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, Cecil Kellaway, and Peggy Moran make a very pleasant group of amateur explorers as they search out the tomb of Princess Ananka in Egypt. What they stumble upon instead was the first (in a now played-out) deadly mistake: a living mummy.

Kharis is a bandaged monstrosity kept alive by a high priest (George Zucco in his most sinister role) and is a protector for his long-lost love. When Zucco feeds him a fluid brewed from nine tana leaves, Kharis is kept stalking and dealing death to those who dared enter his lair.

Tom Tyler is for my money the best choice to portray the mummy. He creeps and crumbles perfectly, even gaining effect from his dark, staring eyes in chilling close-ups.

Some fans complain about the intrusive comedy during the film, and while I too am unforgiving of such practices, in this case I think they help the festivities rather than detract from them. All in all, THE MUMMY'S HAND remains one of the better efforts from the 1940's and definitely the best of the Kharis pictures.

Easily the best of the four "Kharis" films made by Universal as follow-up to their 1932 original The Mummy. The film differs dramatically in scope and mood from the original. Whereas the original was darkly romantic, mystical, creepy, this first sequel goes more for humour than suspense and romance. Dick Foran and Wallace Ford are two archaeologists out of work in Egypt who come across some pottery that leads them to the final resting place of the Princess Ananka. Just made High Priest of Karnak, George Zucco has pledged his life to defend the secret of her resting place. What ensues is a good, interesting, sometime humourous tale of Zucco trying to thwart Foran, Ford, and their backers, Cecil Kellaway and Peggy Moran. Obviously not backed with a huge budget, this mummy film is fun. Foran is very good as the male lead. Ford is bearable at best, but Kellaway is as always a charming, affable presence on the screen. Moran is beautiful and effective in her role. But it is George Zucco's film, as he utters the great lines that have come to be associated with the "legend" of Kharis. Zucco has great screen persona and this is really one of his great roles. Tom Tyler, a western star, plays the bandaged one with reasonable aplomb(okay, effectiveness if you prefer). Although nothing in stature to Karloff's interpretation of the Mummy, Karl Freund's methodic direction, and the dark atmosphere of the original The Mummy, The Mummy's Hand is enjoyable and has given us the story of Kharis.

"The Mummy's Hand" is actually quite a good film but it takes a bit of a while to warm up. The build-up takes up about 25 minutes or more but still good.

George Zucco - excellent as villains - is on good form as the evil Egyptian High Priest who plans the destruction of the people who desecrate the tomb of an Egyptian princess.

Tom Tyler is OK in the title character (now called Kharis).

Released in 1940, "The Mummy's Hand" was one of the earliest horror films from the second cycle from "Universal" studios.

One of a long long list of remakes of the original The Mummy (1932) and the first of 4 movies within the first Mummy franchise.

Now what struck me immediatly was the fact that the production values and general appearance of the movie are considerably weaker than the original which you wouldn't expect since it was made almost a decade later.

Second though advertised as a horror it most certainly isn't, this is closer to a comedy by far especially since our two leads crack wise from start to finish and much of it is really quite ahead of its time.

Once again we see an expedition go terribly wrong as a mummy rises from the dead and.........you know the rest.

Though it all looks pretty terrible the acting and writing is better than the original and though I'd certainly not say The Mummy's Hand is a good film I can definetly see the appeal.

The Good:

Some great characters

Some great writing and great comedy

Has a real charm

The Bad:

Looks even more dated than the 1932 original

Fall apart in the final act

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Even our comedic leads were more convincing than Tom Cruise in the 2017 remake

Not a sequel to Boris Karloff's THE MUMMY (1932), but the start of an entirely different series of unrelated films featuring a new mummified prince called Kharis. A group of amateur but likable treasure seekers search for the tomb of an ancient princess, but they encounter the still-living mummy instead, bent on destroying anyone who would dare defile the ancient Egyptian gods.

While not a great Universal horror movie by any means (one critique would be the re-usage of the same exact shot again and again of Kharis shambling about in the wilderness) this was the first and best of four Universal films featuring the mummy Kharis. At this stage of the game the formula was still fresh and not at all clichéd or monotonous, so that already places HAND at a distinct advantage over its other sequels and spin-off's. Tom Tyler makes one very creepy mummy, all arthritic and twisted, with weird eyes that are optically blackened out for full effect in chilling closeups (albeit the same repeated closeup). George Zucco takes top honors as the deliciously mad High Priest who keeps the mummy alive and killing via the sacred brew of nine ancient tana leaves. Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, Cecil Kellaway and the perky Peggy Moran are all very pleasant as the awkward explorers who stumble upon Kharis' cursed tomb. Comic relief is well used throughout, but never becomes intrusive, as the action always remains dead serious whenever the mummy takes center stage.

*** out of ****