Michael_Elliott The Mummy's Hand (1940)*** (out of 4) Universal decided to reboot the 1932 film with entry, which started the series from scratch. This time out, Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his buddy Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) lead an expedition in search of the tomb to an Egyptian princess but instead they find the body of the mummy Kharis (Tom Tyler). Soon the mummy is brought back to life by a professor (George Zucco) who plans to use him for evil reasons.In my opinion THE MUMMY'S HAND is the best mummy film the studio ever made. Whereas the original with Boris Karloff might have been better made, it's was also rather boring in spots and there's no doubt that it left you wanting more of the mummy. That's certainly not the case here as we're given an excellent cast, some great locations and best of all is that the mummy is used quite often and to great effect. Tyler certainly has the right build for the part and he manages to make for a very effective mummy. The costume itself is extremely good but the highlight has to be his pitch black eyes.The film has some nice comedy running throughout but it also works well as an adventure tale and a horror film. The horror elements are extremely good with an effective music score, some great locations and the before mentioned mummy. It also doesn't hurt that we're given a terrific cast with both Foran and Ford doing fine work in their parts and Peggy Moran is good as well. Cecil Kellaway is also nice in his bit and there's no question that Zucco owned his role.THE MUMMY'S HAND kick-started the series and while future films were entertaining, there's no question that they dropped a bit into "B" movies. This one here was certainly the best the studio ever made and remains a solid picture.

AaronCapenBanner Christy Cabanne directed this loose remake of the Karloff classic(also produced by Universal Studios) Here, Dick Foran and Wallace Ford play Steve Manning and Babe Jenson, two unemployed archaeologists who get a magician named Solvani(played by Cecil Kellaway) to fund an expedition to excavate the Egyptian tomb of princess Ananka. His daughter Marta(played by Peggy Moran) is furious and skeptical about this, but goes along since the money is all spent. They do unearth her tomb, but also her protector Kharis(played by Tom Tyler) a living mummy who goes on a murder spree to avenge the violation of her tomb, since that is his mission, enabled by a cult of priests, the last of whom is played by George Zucco. Though fun to a point, with a good cast, this is hurt by far too much comedy relief with Babe. Not enough atmosphere to compensate either; worked much better with Karloff. Still, this was a hit, and followed by three sequels.

JohnHowardReid I love reviewing "B" pictures. There's always plenty to talk about. This one is distinguished by the presence of George Zucco who, with his penetrating voice and staring eyes, always makes a great villain. Tom Tyler is rather scary too as the Mummy, while Cecil Kellaway has an interesting part – or rather a part which he makes interesting by various clever tricks of sleight-of-hand. Adorable "B"-picture star, Peggy Moran, makes a super-attractive heroine, though Dick Foran and especially Wally Ford as the hero's let's-go-back-to-Brooklyn buddy, are cast in more conventional mold. Eduardo Ciannelli contributes a riotous performance as an aged priest. In fact, the dialogue as a whole is a marvelous compendium of unintentionally hilarious clichés. My top favorite is spoken by Dick Foran: "There are a lot of strange things happening around here that need a lot of explaining – but there's nothing we can do about it tonight!" Alas, Woody Bredell's photography is a bit below his usual high standard. The picture was obviously made in haste, though the sets are very impressive. However, the shot where the hunters first burst into the cave tomb, is such a great composition with its rim lighting, it makes up for the otherwise very ordinary lighting in most of the picture. The plot, of course, is an out-and-out steal from the first part of Karloff's The Mummy – and even utilizes some of that original footage in a flashback. Christy Cabanne's direction I'd rate as surprisingly competent, given the atrocious script. He manages to put across quite a few thrills and scares. And reverting to Cecil Kellaway, despite his presence way down the cast list and the misspelling of his name, Cecil gets quite a few close-ups. In fact the rest of the players are also often similarly indulged. The Mummy himself (played by Tom Tyler, soon to star in the Captain Marvel serial) is quite scary. And as for the music score, it's a wonderful compendium of Universal "B" horror themes.

Uriah43 Two Americans stumble upon a vase in a bazaar in Egypt which has a map inscribed upon it leading to the tomb of Princess Ananka who was buried 3000 years ago. They eventually obtain financing and set out to excavate the treasures within it. What they don't realize is that the High Priest of Karnak has sworn not to allow the tomb to be desecrated and he has the mummy of Kharis to assist him. Now, all things considered this isn't a bad plot to build a horror film around. However, rather than adhering to a specific horror scenario, the director (Christy Cabanne) also decides to throw in some comedic relief as well. This was a big mistake in my opinion because as a horror film it had some serious potential. Instead, the movie ended up being more suitable for a matinée than anything else. Throw in some very basic acting and the end result is pretty much an average B-movie. And that's a shame because it could have been much better.