Blood from the Mummy's Tomb

'Blood From The Mummy's Tomb' isn't one of Hammer's very best, but it's still a ripping yarn about an expedition to Egypt which inadvertently awakens the powers of an evil Egyptian Queen with disastrous results. The movie is based on a Bram Stoker novel I'm not familiar with so I can't vouch for how faithful the adaptation is, but I found it to be extremely entertaining viewing. Andrew Keir, who had previously played Professor Quatermass in Hammer's excellent 'Quatermass And The Pit', is the leader of the expedition, and the stunning Valerie Leon, best known as a regular in the 'Carry On' series, plays the duel role of his daughter and the evil Queen Tera. The movie is full of thrills and chills, a strong supporting cast (including James Villers and the wonderful Aubrey Morris), and good production values, but I must admit I was as much mesmerized by Ms. Leon's killer cleavage as anything else on the screen! Hubba hubba! 'Blood From The Mummy's Tomb' is more remembered for the so-called curse during its production, but it deserves more than that. It's yet another enjoyable movie from the underrated Hammer studios, and is definitely worth a look. And not just to perv on Valerie Leon!

This is by a long way the best of the three adaptations so far of Bram Stoker's complex and disturbing novel of an Egyptologist's obsessive desire to revive an evil ancient Egyptian queen. (The novel was so worrying in 1903 that the ending was changed for the second edition: this movie keeps mainly to the original ending.) The cast ranges from competent to quite good, with the Queen/daughter suitably seductive but unreadable. The appearance is handsomely and oppressively Edwardian - the ancient Egyptian is rather silly - and the direction firm. Try this as a better taste of Stoker's obsessive psychological horror than any of the versions of "Dracula" except the long British TV adaptation.

This difficult-to-find gem (my copy is a bootleg--sorry about that) sorts oddly with the kind of trash Hammer studios was churning out in the early 70s--Lust for a Vampire and that sort of thing. The production seemed to be under a curse of its own--Peter Cushing was involved for the first two days of shooting but then had to leave due to his wife's death; director Seth Holt had nearly finished the film and then died of a heart attack. The final film, finished by Hammer producer Michael Carreras, was described as barely coherent in magazine reviews of the time, but makes perfect sense to this viewer. It's in the style of Don't Look Now, Rosemary's Baby, or Night of Dark Shadows--a story of the supernatural slowly seeping into a modern day setting, with fine character performances, especially from Andrew Keir, James Villiers and Rosalie Crutchley. Leading lady Valerie Leon was dubbed--not sure by whom, but the voice is effective.

This is an unusual tale for those who like subtly constructed stories with a focus upon character and atmosphere. The occasional schlock element doesn't really detract at all from the sinister thrall of the film's design.

At the exact moment that Egyptologist Professor Fuchs (Andrew Keir) and party are opening the tomb of the Egyptian Queen of the Darkness, Tara, Fuchs' daughter is born dead in a London hospital. The two events are connected as Tara's spirit enters young Margaret Fuchs (Valerie Leon) and bring her back to life. Unaware of their connection, Margaret grows up to be the spitting image of Tara. Nearing her 21st (?) birthday, Margaret begins having unsettling dreams of Tara. Thus begins Tara's resurrection. To complete the transformation, Margaret/Tara must collect the artifacts from her tomb that are now in the possession of Professor Fuchs' colleagues who assisted in the original expedition. Collecting the objects will lead to a trail of bloody bodies, each with its throat ripped out.

Writing that poorly worded plot synopsis was much more difficult that it should have been. The problem is that the plot in Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a mess of ideas going in several different directions. It's entertaining, but it is admittedly a mess. I quite enjoy the story, but as I've written before, I'm a sucker for Egyptian mumbo- jumbo. Throw in some hokum about an evil queen, possessed artifacts, stars aligning in just the right way, and a traveling, disembodied hand and I'll eat it up. So, despite the many flaws in the plot, none of it really matters to me as I always have great fun watching Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.

Watching the film last night for the first time in about 10 years, I realized I had forgotten much about the plot and really most everything else. One thing I hadn't forgotten was Valerie Leon. I defy anyone to watch this movie and not remember Ms Leon. I realize she wasn't hired for her acting ability, but she isn't all that bad. She may be a bit wooden in some scenes, but at worst, she's always watchable. I know Hammer used young women like Ms Leon, but at least Hammer provided her and others the opportunity to star in film. Hammer gave actresses like Ms Leon, Yutte Stensgaard, and Jennifer Daniel a chance for a role with some meat to it. None will be remembered as award caliber actresses, but all are memorable to fans in the various Hammer films/roles.

Beyond Ms Leon, the rest of the cast is surprisingly strong. Andrew Keir was a real pro and is quite good as Professor Fuchs. James Villers, as the scheming Corbeck, is a scene-stealer. He's one part smarmy and one part evil. An entertaining combination. The rest of the cast is solid with Aubrey Morris, George Coulouris, and Mark Edwards giving memorable performances.

To summarize, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb features a messy but very fun story, the memorable Valerie Leon, and a solid supporting cast. I'm keeping the 7/10 rating I gave it 10 years ago.

The grim reaper cast a long shadow over this Hammer production with Peter Cushing withdrawing after just one day's shooting due to the death of his wife (to be replaced by Andrew Keir); while director Seth Holt then came to a premature and ignominious end at the age of just 48 as the result of an attack of hiccups on the set of the last and easily the least of the three films he made for Hammer (the scenes in the asylum were shot after Holt's death by an uncredited Michael Carreras).

Despite the lurid title 'Blood from the Mummy's Tomb' was a good cut above the generally coarser films Hammer were then making, with Tristan Cary's music providing a veneer of quality aided by the photography and production design of Arthur Grant and Scott McGregor (both of whom also soon died) and contains the one leading role played by the magnificent Valerie Leon.