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

Somehow the High Priest (Zucco, older and shaking) knows that Kharis (Chaney, even slower in this sequel) is still alive, and even about his burning (how he knows all about these events in Egypt while they took place in Northeast America when his successor was shot dead without communicating back to him is a mystery), orchestrating a second person (John Carradine, cast as an Egyptian) to go to America to bring the mummy and Ananka back to Egypt. Carradine, much like the previous two successors to aged high priests, falls for a mortal woman (the impressive looking tall drink of water, Ames) and is subject to an unflattering demise. Ames’ Amina is an Egyptian “senses” when the Mummy is up and around walking, and she even collapses when he kills Professor Norman, leaving a white streak in her hair. I have no idea why it was changed from Priest of Karnak to Arcam, how the Mummy just emerges from the bushes unscathed from the fires of the previous sequel, how the Mummy’s weak-ass one-hand choke of Norman can just immobilize him, or why Ames deteriorates at the very end of the film while being taken into a swamp by Kharis. Lowery not only fails to save Amina, but he’s easily tossed aside. So many logic holes, this film felt like it was thrown together with flimsy staples and scotch tape. Old folks don’t fare well when Kharis is moving about. Barton Maclaine, of many great Bogie films, is an inspector…I recall him also in the little known Columbia horror film with Lewton influences, “Cry of the Werewolf” (same year as the release “The Mummy’s Ghost” (1944)). Reincarnated spirit of Ananka goes into Amina somehow when Kharis goes to touch her…it’s that kind of movie. I don’t fault Reginald Le Borg as much as this mess of a script…it’s atmospheric enough and Pierce’s makeup still makes Chaney creepy. Why it was insisted upon for Kharis to have one arm, I’ll never understand, or why he’s so slovenly and unimpressive in stature. Ames is right the opposite…her stature is quite impressive. Carradine just up and listening to voices in his head that pop up out of nowhere, Amina constantly fainting, Amina's hair turning white, and why Carradine's Yousef Bey ever thought he could get away with it is anybody's guess. 

--Brian

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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.