The Mummy's Ghost

"The Mummy's Ghost" is haunting and unforgettable thanks to the appearance of probably the most ravishing starlet to ever grace the screen: Ramsey Ames. She portrays the doomed Princess Ananka/Amina Monsouri heroine with a brooding, tremulous quality and when she sinks into the quicksand at the end with the mummy, you're shocked by watching her age into a 1000 mummy's bride. John Carradine is in great form as the high priest of arkham. Robert Lowery is unusually surly as the boyfriend. Reginald LeBorg directed this l944 classic. He originally wanted Acquanetta as the heroine but this sultry starlet fell and injured her shoulder on the first day of shooting. Ames was criminally ill-used by Universal but looked great in a short bob for the Republic serial, "G-Men Never Forget" in l947. Before she died two years ago from throat cancer, she remembered that Lon Chaney, who played the mummy, created many problems but she wouldn't specify. Other reports have it that Chaney was usually drunk by 12 noon. Ames was terrified he would stumble with her on the long, steep boardwalk to the remote shed and also into the swamp.wonderful atmosphere, classic musical scoring (originally from "Son of Frankenstein). Vera West does brilliant job in designing Ames beautiful white silk gowns.

None of the four Universal Kharis films are particularly great, and to me The Mummy's Hand is the only one that is near-good. This said, neither of them are bad either, and of the sequels to The Mummy's Hand my vote for the best of them goes to this, The Mummy's Ghost.

What makes The Mummy's Ghost the best of the sequels(if not exactly by much) is that it is the only one that tried to do something different. Even if the basic plot is still very flawed and formulaic, The Mummy's Ghost contains by far the boldest and most shocking ending of the four(and in a very good way, it's the highlight of the film), and is the only one to have almost non-existent stock footage material. The Mummy's Ghost does contain some campy fun with John Carradine and a few scenes with Kharis have some creepiness(others however just read of repetitive running around).

There are some attractively made sets, some atmospheric lighting and Ramsey Ames' costumes are to die for, though on the most-part The Mummy's Ghost is not one of Universal's most accomplished-looking films. Three performances register quite well. Best of all is John Carradine, who is deliciously diabolical and although he doesn't feature in much of the film he is still very memorable. George Zucco's role is also brief, but nonetheless played with sinister authority. Lastly, Lon Chaney Jnr's performance as Kharis is more consistent this time round, he intimidates much more and lumbers less, there even was glimpses of effort at giving Kharis a human side despite not having much to work with.

However, apparently The Mummy's Ghost was made very quickly and it does show in some shoddy editing, some terribly staged close-ups of Kharis and Kharis basically looks like a man very poorly wrapped up in bandages. While Chaney, Zucco and Carradine fare well, the rest of the cast on the other hand are bad. Ramsey Ames' alluring appearance and beautiful costuming are not enough to make up for how she spends her whole screen time looking bewildered and on edge, while Robert Lowery is hopelessly wooden to the point he veers on irritating. The chemistry between the two of them is non-descript.

The story does try to do things differently, but still manages to be on the paper-thin and formulaic side, with much of the plot reading of a series of familiar plot devices routinely handled. It also takes too long to get going, with an incredibly dull first third to the extent that the final fifteen minutes feels like a real relief, and is let down even further by tediously padded out college scenes(that are poorly played and add very little to the storytelling) and a sickeningly saccharine and passionless romantic subplot that seemed to only be there for the sake of it. The college and romantic scenes also suffered from the worst of the film's erratic(mostly lethargic) pacing and incredibly trite dialogue. The direction shows little care and style, with occasional glimpses of atmosphere that stops it from falling into ineptitude, and the characters are even more thinly written than the story, and some like Lowery and his friends are annoying.

All in all, has a lot lacking but has just enough to make it watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Third in the Universal Kharis series, continuing after THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1942). Despite the increasingly familiar nature of these Mummy sequels, this one still has enough to make it brisk and enjoyable. A significant boost is added in casting John Carradine as the newest high priest who keeps Kharis (Lon Chaney) well fed and back on the march - this time with a new angle in trying to reunite the mummy with his princess Ananka, who is now reincarnated into the form of a sexy modern woman (Ramsay Ames).

For some lucky reason, Chaney thankfully invests some character into Kharis this time, allowing him to become visibly angered, frustrated, and even saddened during the course of the movie. The biggest drawback for this chapter is that Robert Lowery and Ramsay Ames are pretty lousy as the two leading lovers. Universal stock music is used to great effect in many sequences, and there is an offbeat ending that may be the best one of the series.

*** out of ****

A "tough, old bird" may not be an apt enough description of George Zucco's high priest character in the Mummy series. Somehow, still alive and shaking, he passes on the priesthood of what is now referred to as "Arkham" to Yousef Bey (John Carradine) & once again feels the need to recap the mummy's life history, which has been altered since "Mummy's Tomb". Now the story goes that the once exalted Princess Ananka died an accursed death and that Kharis was buried with her. Now it's the task of Yousef to go to Mapleton and bring the royal dead of Egypt back to their homeland.

Meanwhile, the wafting scent of tana leaves in the air attracts Kharis to the home of one Professor Norman. As Kharis shambles his way towards the cup of life, a young dish named Amina Mansouri (Ramsay Ames) gets a chance to show off her talents in filling out a nightgown as she sleepwalks her way to the very same house. Anyone else notice that black cat that ran in front of Ames during this scene? I believe that's called foreshadowing.

The reincarnation angle from the original Karloff "Mummy" gets dusted off. The spirit of Ananka has left its mummified shell & taken residence in the body of Amina. Now Kharis must go about what must be for him a pleasant task of carrying off yet another woman clad in white (it's the only activity that gets his "dead" arm to work) and hope that another high priest won't succumb to any lascivious thoughts lurking in the back of his mind.

But, that's not how things work out, for the life of an undead character stuck in repetitious sequels penned by unimaginative story writers is a hard one. The only merciful thing to do would've been to let Kharis & his Princess drown in eternal bliss, but the call of the box-office demanded one more sequel (Amon-Ra help us).

This horror yarn gives new meaning to term " 'til death do us part." This was a real quickie movie and it shows. However, it's one redeeming value is the mummy finally wins the girl, albeit, it may leave one with that sinking feeling.