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The Mummy’s Hand (1940)

Dir: Christy Cabanne

Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) are American archaeologists in Egypt who strike it lucky when they find a vase that shows the way to the ancient tomb of Princess Ananka.
Their expedition is funded by a friendly magician they meet in a bar (Cecil Kellaway) and his daughter Marta (Peggy Moran),

Upon finding the tomb they also find Kharis (Tom Tyler), a 3000-year-old mummy who loved Ananka and for the blasphemy of attempting to resurrect her was sentenced to a living death to defend the tomb from anyone that dares to defile it.

Kharis is being kept ‘alive’ by the high priest Andoheb (George Zucco) by feeding ancient ‘tana leaf’ fluid to the mummy.
With the tomb opened Andoheb sends Kharis out to kill the defilers…..

This unconnected sequel to the Karloff starring “The Mummy” is actually one of the most (plot wise) influential horror movies ever made. And yet it is routinely dismissed as a weak (if the best of the bunch) sequel to a better film.
Well the weak bit may be true in some aspects but overall this is in fact (the opening and Karloff aside) just as good as the original. It’s not the best of the sequels though.

The infamous ‘tana leaves’ lore starts with this film (nine are needed to fully animate Kharis, but if he ever drinks the brew of 10 tana leaves "he will become a monster the likes of which the world has never seen") as does the use of the names Kharis, Banning and Ananka. Things that would actually be the main source of inspiration for Hammer’s “The Mummy” far more than anything seen it’s actual namesake.
This film also gives us (something that, one brief scene aside, played no part in the Karloff movie) the actual rampaging, bandaged, Mummy who shuffles about killing people.
One unusual lore aspect mentioned here though, that the Mummy’s power wanes with the moon, seems to play no real importance narrative wise and is something that was basically forgotten later on.

Opening with an ‘Egypt’ looks like what it is…a Californian hillside (a camel standing on a grassy/scrub slope just looks all kinds of wrong) “The Mummy’s Hand” gets off to a rather ropey start where the legend of Kharis is told to Andoheb by his dying Father.
This means that flashback footage from “The Mummy” is re-used with any close-ups of Karloff’s Im-Ho-Tep replaced by Tyler’s Kharis, but it is obviously the much taller looking Karloff in the long shots.
Recycling the footage from previous films would be a blatantly cheeky trick used throughout the series.

Sadly the entire first half of the movie’s short running time (it’s nearly half over before they even start the expedition, let alone any vengeful mummy appearing) is taken up with comedy scenes from Wallace Ford and the plot basically treads water as a love interest is set up and comedy sidekick action is indulged at the detriment of any mummy action.
We also have a few dubious logic moments here (12 bullets fired from a six shooter gun) and some dire dialogue (“Do ya mind if I say I think you’re a swell person”) that don’t help matters.

Acting is okay from everyone, but no one stands out here really (well except Wallace Ford, but only because he’s so annoying) but the ever welcome George Zucco has some fun as the fanatic priest and Cecil Kellaway is suitably likeable.
Tyler makes for a pretty effective mummy though with some good leg dragging moves and the post production blackening of his eyes makes for some great, creepy, close-ups.

But as far as the mummy’s killing spree goes, well for one it’s not much of a spree as it’s left so late and then it consists mostly of;
Mummy shuffles into the camp. Attacks someone.
Rest of the cast sits around camp discussing attacks.
Mummy shuffles into the camp. Attacks someone.
Rest of the cast sits around camp discussing attacks.
Not much in the way of thrills until the fiery finale that also sees a surprisingly cold-blooded moment from Ford’s otherwise completely comic character.

So some certainly influential ideas here, a pretty effective mummy with the odd effective moment of action, but overall this is far too slow to get going and far too lightweight due to the over reliance on dated comedy.
The less well thought-of sequel, “The Mummy’s Tomb”, would pretty much fix all these problems though.