Directed by Karl Freund
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Universal)
British archaeologists accidentally revive an Egyptian mummy when they read an ancient scroll. Ten years later, relatives of the original archaeologists are back for another dig, but so is the mummy, who wants the scroll to revive his dead lover. Under disguise, he shows them where to find her tomb and the artifacts, including her mummy, are put on display in the local museum. He then discovers that the soul of his lover has been reincarnated in the body of exotic beauty Zita Johann. However, one of the archaeologists is also in love with her, setting up a melodramatic showdown between old and new lovers. Karloff's mummy make up is incredible, particularly when he stares the down the camera with glowing eyes, and he makes a very believable living mummy. His supernatural powers have much in common with Dracula, such as his ability to hypnotize people into becoming his slaves, and he has a magical pool of water in which he can see the past and over great distances. I was not totally convinced of these powers, nor of the moving ancient statues which come to his aid and to that of others at fortuitous moments. These shortcomings, combined with the melodramatic romance elements, keep this a notch below the other classic Universal horrors.
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