1974 Article on Hammer's Mummy

From the first issue of "Movie Monsters," published in December of 1974, comes this review of Hammer studios 1959 version of "The Mummy." This is a movie I like, and watch at least once a year (during October, when I watch one horror movie an evening). The writer of the article has a somewhat lower opinion of the film, but it's still interesting reading. I enjoyed Christopher Lee's version, which was much scarier and dangerous than the old Universal mummy, where the intended victim could avoid it easily unless they froze in terror or it snuck up on them. I loved Hammer's re-interpretation of the classic monsters, and this film was no exception. Lee's towering form and great makeup, combined with his dynamic intensity made an unstoppable engine of death.

First, the cover of the mag... nice painting of the Cyclops!

(Click on images to enlarge.)


And, the article itself...

Bonus: Click the picture for a hi-rez image of another one of the Mummy posters!

Dark Shadows #6 Part 2

Today's Monster Memories are of:

Gold Key's Dark Shadows #6: Part 2
(Click on images to view in Big-Bellied Mummy size!)

Barnabas savagely attacks the innocent mummy both physically and verbally. All he wanted was to borrow some Grey Poupon and ask directions back to Egypt.

Last time, as you remember (if you don't, read the previous entry below) I posted the first half of the Gold Key Dark Shadows comic #6, published in 1970. In it, we discover a mummy has somehow come to the perpetually-overcast town of Collinsport, and not just your usual mummy; this one is, shall we say, somewhat "brawny" or "big-boned." He's unique in another respect... in that he can run at full tilt like a sprinter. Now, most traditional movie mummies (not to be confused with the real-world mummies who move very little, if at all) creep along at a geriatric's pace, dragging one leg behind them like they stepped in doggie doo-doo and swinging the one free arm. They are never in a hurry, and depend solely on either the element of surprise or a paralysing fear that causes the intended victim to only stare and scream as the moldy fingers approach to choke the life out of them. One would not be surprised in the least to see one plodding along using a walker with little wheels on the front!

Even Christopher Lee's rather athletic Mummy in the Hammer film moved in such a stiff-legged manner that if he didn't corner his victims they could usually have escaped. But the mummy in this story is not only nimble for his considerable size, but unusually quick on his feet for a 3,000 year old gauze-wrapped corpse. Oh, and he howls like a dog, also! What's up with that?

Here it is, for those patiently waiting; Part Two, the conclusion of the opus I glibly called "The Case of the Howling Mummy." Drink a smoking cup of Tana Leaf Tea to summon forth the immortal Inner Child, and enjoy!

And, so, the poor pot-bellied mummy is burned to death and everything is once again right in Collinsport. The Bandaged One, finding himself awakened in a strange country, in unfamiliar surroundings and hounded by torch-waving villagers who spoke not his language, becomes a misunderstood victim of cruel circumstance. I hope you feel good about this, Barnabas... you cold-hearted, friend-poisoning, mummy-bashing bloodsucker creep!

Gold Key's Dark Shadows Issue #6

Today's Monster Memories are of:

Gold Key's Dark Shadows comic Issue #6
(Click on images to view Giant-Mummy-Sized)

In August of 1970, when this comic was published, I was 11 years old and living in Parkersburg, West Virginia. We rented our house from the owner of a convenience store which we lived behind, and I would sweep his store and parking lot to earn some extra money, which quickly went back to the store for candy, soda and comic books. This was one of those I bought there, and stands out in my memories of that time. I mean, really; vampires, werewolves, mummies; what wasn't there to like about it?

The photo cover was cool, although I thought as a kid that the boy in the picture had a pointed ear, and must be a mini-werewolf like Eddie Munster. But I realised years later in looking at it, the it's only a leaf in the way. I remember holing up in my hideout, which I had cleared out under an overgrown thicket of wild bushes covering a small gully, and reading it while I nursed a cinnamon Square-Shooter sucker and a peach Nehi.

In the story, a downright hefty and obviously well-fed mummy ends up in Collinsport. Barnabas, turning into a detective, only needed to don a deerstalker cap and smoke a pipe, while wielding a magnifying glass to be Sherlock Holmes. There's a lot of running, and finger-pointing, and Barnabas is suspected; while he blames poor lycanthropic Quentin for the mummy's misdeeds. Ol' Barney, being the good guy that he is, prepares to poison his pal to help him out. After all, what are friends for, if not to show tough love? Quentin has a killer hangover and just wants to be left alone. As for the mummy's murderous ways, there's never any reason for the bandaged one to attack those random people, but I guess it's just what he does, being a mummy and all. Maybe his weight causes him to be insecure and the killing is just a way of compensating.

Anyway, here's the first part, scanned in and formatted for your maximum viewing pleasure; a story I call "The Case of the Howling Mummy!"

Now, that's what I call a mix-up... switching the bodies of the old man and an Egyptian mummy! How does something like that happen? The overweight mummy would had to have been removed from his sarcophagus (by several strong men) and put in the modern coffin, and the dead American placed in the ancient tomb. Somebody would have HAD to have done it on purpose. But why?

And look at the body of Capt. Collins; nearly a hundred years after death and not a sign of decomposition! Why? Or am I thinking too much about it? Surely, if I can swallow a vampiric hero and a living mummy I can overlook a slight plot hole or two.

To Be Continued next time... same Monster-time, same Monster-channel!