A Praga da Múmia

This fourth and final movie in the original "The Mummy" franchise picks up from where the last one ended but despite being made the very same year has recast our leading lady which is a damn shame.

It tells the story of our mummy once against being brought back to seek out his reincarnated lost love. This time however after the events of the last film she is suffering from amnesia and every one in her life is in terrible danger.

Oddly the quality of this franchise in regards to cinematography has been inconsistent and this is one of the worst. Combine that with some hammy performances and yet again the movie cannot rise above being distinctly average stuff.

Despite all this the entire franchise has had a certain charm, but I think 4 movies were sufficient especially considering how similiar they all are.

A fitting finale.

The Good:

Carries on the story nicely

The Bad:

Timelines of the series make no sense

Cinematography has dipped

Recasting

Much of the plot is confusing

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Everyone who wears a Fez is evil

Amnesiacs are a great source of free labour

I can't take a character seriously if they're wearing a safari hat!

"The Mummy's Curse" was the fifth and final installment of Universal's mummy series and the third to star Lon Chaney as Kharis.

At the close of the previous film, "The Mummy's Ghost" Kharis and the reincarnated Princess Ananka are seen descending into a swamp located in New England. As this film opens we find out that they have magically been transported to the Louisiana bayous. Anyway, it seems that a certain swamp is about to be drained and the locals fear that the ancient mummy will be dredged up. As luck would have it, he is.

Dr. James Halsey (Dennis Moore) along with colleague Dr. Ilzer Zandaab (Peter Coe) have come to the area to recover the two mummies for a museum. Dr. Zandaab turns out to be the latest in along line of Egyptian High Priests charged with returning Kharis and Ananka to Egypt. Zandaab along with assistant Raghab (Martin Kosleck) revives Kharis (Chaney) in an old abandoned church and instructs him to find the Princess Ananka and to kill anyone who gets in his way. This he does.

Meanwhile Ananka (Virginia Christine) climbs out of the bayou and wanders aimlessly through the countryside. She is befriended and taken in by the locals. Eventually Kharis finds her and takes her back to Zantaab and.......

The film features a flashback sequence lifted in tact from "The Mummy's Hand" (1940) which itself was largely made up from footage taken from "The Mummy" (1932). In this sequence we see Tom Tyler as the unbandaged Kharis. The slim and muscular Tyler bore little resemblance to the heavier Chaney.

Watch for two veterans of the silent screen, William Farnum and Charlie Stevens in minor roles.

The Mummy was resurrected briefly for 1955's "Abbott & Costello Meet The Mummy".

There is still life in this curse, barely. The premise has ran its course. Too many familiar scenes and the thrill is just hanging on. This although is still creepy to watch and fun for a rainy night. The living mummy Kharis(Lon Chaney Jr)now seeks his lost love(Virginia Christine) in the bayous of Louisiana. Also notable are Kurt Katch and Jackie Lou Harding. A "mummy" fan's must.

The Mummy's Curse (1944)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Twenty-plus years after the events in the previous film, another high priest enters the Louisiana swamps to bring Kharis (Lon Chaney, Jr.) back from the dead. This time out Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine) comes back to life but can't fully remember why she knows so much about Kharis. Soon the mummy is trying to track her down and is willing to kill anyone who stands in his way.

THE MUMMY'S CURSE would be the last of the Universal mummy movies until Abbott and Costello would bring him back towards the end of their careers. I think the film is an improvement over the previous entry and thankfully the movie runs at an extremely fast-pace and manages to provide several good moments. There are several fun moments throughout but one of the highlights has to be the Louisiana setting. I thought the swamp setting added a lot of atmosphere to the picture and there's no question that it help the entertainment value. Another great scene happens early on when the priest and his servant brings the mummy back to life.

Chaney probably gives his best performance of his three mummy roles here, although that might not be saying too much since he's pretty limited as to what he can actually do. Instead of just stumbling around, at least this time out he appears to be into what he's doing. Peter Coe makes for a good lead and Chrstine certainly fits her role nicely. Another plus is the make-up from Jack Pearce who manages to make the mummy look a lot better than the previous two films.

THE MUMMY'S CURSE certainly doesn't have a great story or anything but there are still many good moments that make it worth seeking out. The most famous scene happens to be the one where Princess Ananka rises from her grave and it's still quite chilling to watch after all these years.

The final entry in the Kharis the mummy series is also the weakest, although still a good watch. At the end of the last film, Kharis and Ananka disappeared into the swamp. Decades later, the swamp is drained. For some reason, this film moves the location of the swamp from New England to Louisiana! So obviously somebody didn't think continuity was that big of an issue. Anyway, Kharis is revived by yet another Egyptian high priest (Peter Coe). Meanwhile, Ananka resurfaces from the mud and we discover she is played by Virginia Christine. Why Ramsay Ames didn't return to the role I'm not sure, but Christine does fine. Needless to say, Kharis is once again anxious to find his lost love. This was Lon Chaney Jr.'s last turn as the mummy. This one's got some marks against it but it's a fun movie. Nice atmosphere and some creepy moments. Universal horror fans like myself will like it most.