Brief Passages - Universal Monsters (The Mummy's Tomb)

Kharis kills Foran, previously of Mummy's Hand

The decrease in quality from The Mummy’s Hand (1940) to The Mummy’s Tomb (1942) cannot be understated. Not only does this barely make 60 minutes but it uses a lot of footage from Hand to save on budget. And why the Universal Studios writers decided to give Kharis a limp arm during certain times and not others still bugs the shit out of me. I do think Bey, next to Zucco from Hand, is my favorite of the indoctrinated Karnak high priests sent on a mission by their elder Egyptian leader until those responsible for the script decided to make him lovestruck for John Banning’s wife (Elyse Knox). Mapleton, Massachusetts, is a pale comparison to the last two Mummy film’s Egyptian settings, planting Bey and Chaney’s lumbering Kharis in small town Northeast America. Chaney just has never done nothing for me. He got a quick payday for sitting in the Pierce makeup chair, but he brings no creeps in the rags. Tyler, in the previous film, was superior in how intimidating he was in the rags…Chaney would continue on, though. The plantation set on fire by the locals with their customary torches is a cool visual. Bey’s decision to go after the woman, of course, is his undoing, much like Zucco’s before him. The formula is set for these Mummy sequels. Easily the worst of Monster series. Not sure why the film felt the need to kill the elder Bannings and Babe, sort of tying Hand and Tomb together.

--Brian

Turhan Bey is the agent of revenge

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Much like the "brief passages" platform for "The Twilight Zone", I thought it would be ideal for most of the remaining Universal Studios Classic Monster sequels. The point of the “brief passages” part is to try and limit myself to just a “mini-review” five-to-six line paragraph for each sequel, probably not difficult since I've more than contributed enough about them on the blog in the past.