The Mummy's Hand

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with the Egyptian Andoheb (George Zucco) traveling to the Hill of the Seven Jackals in answer to the royal summons of the High Priest of Karnak (Eduardo Ciannelli). The dying priest of the sect explains the story of Kharis (Tom Tyler) to his follower. The tale closely parallels that of the original film, except that Kharis steals the sacred tana leaves in the hope of restoring life to the dead Princess Ananka. His penalty upon being discovered is to be buried alive, without a tongue, and the tana leaves are buried with him.
The leaves are the secret to Kharis' continued existence. During the cycle of the full moon, the fluid from the brew of three tana leaves is to be administered to the creature to keep him alive. Should despoilers enter the tomb of the Princess, a fluid of nine leaves will restore movement to the monster.
Meanwhile, down on his luck archaeologist Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his sidekick, Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford), discover the remnants of a broken vase in a Cairo bazaar. Banning is convinced it is an authentic ancient Egyptian relic, and his interpretation of the hieroglyphics on the piece lead him to believe it contains clues to the location of the Princess Ananka's tomb.
With the support of the eminent Dr. Petrie (Charles Trowbridge) of the Cairo Museum, but against the wishes of Andoheb, who is also employed by the museum, Banning seeks funds for his expedition. Banning and Jenson meet an American magician, Solvani (Cecil Kellaway), who agrees to fund their quest. His daughter Marta (Peggy Moran) is not so easily swayed, thanks to a prior visit from Andoheb, who brands the two young archeologists as frauds.
The expedition departs in search of the Hill of the Seven Jackals, with the Solvanis tagging along. In their explorations, they stumble upon the tomb of Kharis, finding the mummy along with the tana leaves, but find nothing to indicate the existence of Ananka's tomb.
Andoheb appears to Dr. Petrie in the mummy's cave and has the surprised scientist feel the creature's pulse. After administering the tana brew from nine leaves, the monster quickly dispatches Petrie and escapes with Andoheb, through a secret passageway, to the temple on the other side of the mountain.
The creature continues his periodic marauding about the camp, killing an Egyptian overseer and eventually attacking Solvani and kidnapping Marta. Banning and Jenson set out to track Kharis down, with Jenson going around the mountain and Banning attempting to follow the secret passage they have discovered inside the tomb.
Andoheb has plans of his own. Enthralled by Marta's beauty, he plans to inject himself and his captive with tana fluid, making them both immortal. Jenson arrives in the nick of time, and guns down Andoheb outside of the temple, while Banning attempts to rescue the girl. However, Kharis appears on the scene and Banning's bullets have no effect on the immortal being. Marta overheard Adoheb tell the secret of the tana fluid and tells Banning and Jenson that Kharis must not be allowed to drink any more of the serum. When the creature raises the tana serum to his lips, Jenson shoots the container from his grasp. Dropping to the floor, Kharis attempts to ingest the spilled life-giving liquid. Banning seizes the opportunity to overturn a brazier onto the monster, engulfing it in flames. The ending has the members of the expedition heading happily back to the United States with the mummy of Ananka, and the spoils of her tomb.

Tags: murder, flashback

Review:
Not a sequel to Boris Karloff's THE MUMMY (1932), but the start of an entirely different series of unrelated films featuring a new mummified prince called Kharis.
While not a great Universal horror movie by any means (one critique would be the re-usage of the same exact shot again and again of Kharis shambling about in the wilderness) this was the first and best of four Universal films featuring the mummy Kharis.
One of a long long list of remakes of the original The Mummy (1932) and the first of 4 movies within the first Mummy franchise.Now what struck me immediatly was the fact that the production values and general appearance of the movie are considerably weaker than the original which you wouldn't expect since it was made almost a decade later.Second though advertised as a horror it most certainly isn't, this is closer to a comedy by far especially since our two leads crack wise from start to finish and much of it is really quite ahead of its time.Once again we see an expedition go terribly wrong as a mummy rises from the dead and.........you know the rest.Though it all looks pretty terrible the acting and writing is better than the original and though I'd certainly not say The Mummy's Hand is a good film I can definetly see the appeal.The Good:Some great charactersSome great writing and great comedyHas a real charmThe Bad:Looks even more dated than the 1932 originalFall apart in the final actThings I Learnt From This Movie:Even our comedic leads were more convincing than Tom Cruise in the 2017 remake.
This movie marked the beginning of a new series of Mummy films from Universal Studios--seven years after the original Boris Karloff classic, THE MUMMY.
MORD39 RATING:  *** (of ****)THE MUMMY'S HAND is my favorite mummy film and easily the best in the Universal "Kharis" saga.Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, Cecil Kellaway, and Peggy Moran make a very pleasant group of amateur explorers as they search out the tomb of Princess Ananka in Egypt.
What they stumble upon instead was the first (in a now played-out) deadly mistake: a living mummy.Kharis is a bandaged monstrosity kept alive by a high priest (George Zucco in his most sinister role) and is a protector for his long-lost love.
When Zucco feeds him a fluid brewed from nine tana leaves, Kharis is kept stalking and dealing death to those who dared enter his lair.Tom Tyler is for my money the best choice to portray the mummy.
Christy Cabanne directed this loose remake of the Karloff classic(also produced by Universal Studios) Here, Dick Foran and Wallace Ford play Steve Manning and Babe Jenson, two unemployed archaeologists who get a magician named Solvani(played by Cecil Kellaway) to fund an expedition to excavate the Egyptian tomb of princess Ananka.
While in essence no more than a B-film, it's solidly made on all fronts: the plot, unlike that of its sequels, is fresh and exciting and it boasts four likable protagonists, as well as a wonderful trio of 'villains' - Eduardo Ciannelli (appearing briefly as the dying High Priest), George Zucco (as his evil successor, in one of his finest performances) and Tom Tyler (as the maimed but relentless revenge-seeking Mummy, who's as good in the role as Boris Karloff had been earlier and Christopher Lee would be in the 1959 Hammer remake, of this one more than the original).
Peggy Moran is cute as the romantic interest of Dick Foran, Cecil Kellaway plays his part well as the jovial magician who backs the Americans venture, and George Zucco is pleasantly evil as the Egyptian priest who schemes to bring Kharis back to life.
The build-up takes up about 25 minutes or more but still good.George Zucco - excellent as villains - is on good form as the evil Egyptian High Priest who plans the destruction of the people who desecrate the tomb of an Egyptian princess.Tom Tyler is OK in the title character (now called Kharis).Released in 1940, "The Mummy's Hand" was one of the earliest horror films from the second cycle from "Universal" studios..
The other three Universal Kharis films succeeding were pretty uninspired and uneven, though not without their good parts, however The Mummy's Hand while less than perfect and not exactly great is actually rather decent.
Universal are nowhere near at their best here and The Mummy with Boris Karloff also from Universal from eight years earlier is the better film, but of the four Universal Kharis films The Mummy's Hand is easily the best of the four and the only one to come close to a good film.It does start off rather sluggishly and takes too long to get going, it's all relevant but one does wish that the film got to the point quicker than it did.
And I do have to agree about some of the comedy, some of it is witty and amusing but too much of it was intrusive and unnecessary so it felt more annoying than funny.Visually however The Mummy's Hand is a solidly made film, the best-looking of the four Universal Kharis films most certainly, everything's professionally shot, moodily(appropriately) lit and crisply edited, the sets are suitably atmospheric and it's clear what the time and place is meant to be.
Dick Foran is amiable and Peggy Moran brings charm and spunk to her role.Overall, a decent if not great film and easily the best of the Universal Kharis films.
Andoheb, secret High Priest of Karnak, whose duty is to protect the resting place of the Princess Ananka by maintaining the existence of the 3000 year old mummy Kharis, through a serum brewed with a specific amount of now extinct tana leaves.
There are two basic reasons why none of the sequels measured up, first that this title was set in Egypt, utilizing stock footage from the 1932 original (which only reappears in the last, "The Mummy's Curse"), and second that Tom Tyler's mummy is actually scary, his eyes and mouth effectively blacked out in chilling closeups (poor Lon Chaney always wore a mask).
With all the mayhem, the upbeat spirit never flags, with Dick Foran and Wallace Ford repeating their roles in the direct sequel "The Mummy's Tomb," set 30 years later.
An adventurous group of archaeologists (led by Dick Foran and Wallace Ford), while searching for the hidden tomb of the Princess Ananka accidentally stumble into the tomb of the mummy Kharis, who was buried alive 3,000 years prior as punishment for trying to revive the deceased princess.
Of all the early horror films that Universal Studios specialized in, my favorite was always the original The Mummy that starred Boris Karloff.
We still have an ancient Egyptian prince cursed in being buried alive for stealing the secrets of eternal life from the Gods.In the original film Karloff was very much his own resurrected man, but in this one Prince Kharis is both worshiped but also used as a killing machine by his followers who are led first by Eduardo Ciannelli and then by George Zucco who also deify Princess Ananka whose tomb Kharis guards and whom he died for the love of 3000 years before.A couple of itinerant stranded archaeologists played by Dick Foran and Wallace Ford come across some ancient pottery in a bazaar and take it to Dr. Charles Trowbridge at the museum in Cairo.
Dick Foran (also a veteran of ridin' the range) as an out of work archaeologist and Wallace Ford as his partner (and comic relief) set out to finance an expedition to find the lost tomb of an ancient Egyptian princess and all the riches therein.
The most recent high priest, Andoheb (Zucco), also works at the Cairo Museum, giving him an excellent means of knowing what archaeologists are up to.Archaeologist Steve Banning (Foran) and his companion Babe Jenson (Ford) come across evidence that might lead them to Ananka's tomb, but lack funding.
The very welcome presence of veteran actors Cecil Kellaway and George Zucco makes this film even better and it is certainly required viewing for fans of Universal horror.
Its sequel, "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942), brought back Foran and Ford in the same roles though the film was set in the United States some three decades later.For those interested in seeing the entire 1940s Universal mummy series (all involving the mummy Kharis), they should be viewed in the following order: "The Mummy's Hand" (1940), "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942), "The Mummy's Ghost" (1944), and "The Mummy's Curse" (1944).As a side note for those who are particular about their Egyptology, there was no god named Karnak though in Egypt there is a very famous temple of Karnak.
Supposedly his right arm was also useless, yet it never hampered him when it came to the task of scooping up some nubile woman--clad in a form-fitting white gown--in his arms.A secret order known as the "Priests of Karnak", keep the mummy alive by feeding him a brew made from the ancient tana leaves during the cycle of the full moon so that he may bring death to any infidel who dares to violate the tomb of Princess Ananka.
Unfortunately, this potential plot-twist never goes anywhere in 'Hand' or the subsequent sequels.To my surprise, the first Kharis outing is able to overcome the woefully unfunny antics of Joe Pesci look-alike Wallace Ford and the standard dry-as-toast performance from the male lead & be an entertaining 67 minutes of classic B-horror.
Kharis is revived by an evil high priest (George Zucco) to kill the desecrater's of her tomb...Good mixture of humor (some of it actually funny) and horror.
Worth a peep and see.Ensemble cast include: Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Cecil Kellaway, George Zucco, Wallace Ford and Tom Tyler..
Fortunately, The Mummy's Hand (not sure about the relevance of the title, since the whole mummy appears in the film, not just his hand) is just as focussed on delivering chuckles as it is chills, meaning that the whole thing is still quite a bit of fun despite the somewhat tepid thrills.The film opens in ancient times, detailing how the unfortunate Kharis came to be a mummy; the action then switches to modern day Egypt, where archaeologist Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his sidekick Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) discover the location of the secret tomb of princess Ananka.With the promise of fame and fortune, the pair convince a travelling magician, Mr. Solvani (Cecil Kellaway) to fund an expedition; concerned about her father trekking into the unknown with two strangers, Solvani's beautiful daughter Marta (Peggy Moran) also tags along.
Unfortunately for the group of plucky adventurers, Egyptian high priest Andoheb (George Zucco) has sworn to protect the princess's tomb, and reanimates Kharis (Tom Tyler), sending him on a mission to kill.Its plot is hoary old horror hokum that holds few surprises, but to its credit The Mummy's Hand moves at a reasonable pace (unlike its musty old monster), delivers enjoyable characters (even Lou Costello-style comic relief Ford is bearable), and rounds things off with an exciting finale that sees Kharis carry Marta off to the hidden tomb, where Andoheb intends to turn her into his immortal high priestess.6/10.
The opening of the film however is a kind of throwback or reminder of Karloff's Mummy film but this film and the Kharis series has no direct relation to the original Universal film.The Mummy's Hand is not a comedy-horror but there is plenty of comedy in the film to have you giggling quite a bit.The story is fine, acting good, sets are great.
An ancient mummy (Tom Tyler) is revived to destroy those that would invade the 3,000 year old tomb of an Egyptian princess.Pretty much the only notable name involved with this picture was Jack Pierce, whose mummy effects may even surpass the original film.
The first sequel to the 1932 the mummy is solid adventure and some horror.it has a totally different premise then the earlier film,this time the mummy is called kharis(this time played by cowboy star tom Tyler)and needs something called Tana leaves to give him power.there's two comical archaeologists(dick foran and Wallace ford)A woman(peggy Moran)her father a magician(Cecil kelliway)and a mad Egyptian(George zucco)who wants the mummy kharis to kill them all for defiling the sacred tomb.after this there was 3 more sequels all with Lon Chaney Jr playing the mummy.its a fun movie even if its not as good as the Boris Karloff original.7 out of 10..
"The Mummy's Hand" (1940) isn't bad either, but it is the only sequel film with watching.Obviously, the film is not great by any stretch of the imagination, but it is kind of fun for old movie enthusiasts and classic movie buffs in particular.
After that there's an extended period of what came across more as a comedy than a horror movie, revolving around the two main characters of Steve and Babe (Dick Foran and Wallace Ford) - a couple of out of work archaeologists who stumble upon a treasure.
Here, the mummy is a mummy - and therefore more of a quintessential "monster." Once he starts to play his role (unfortunately, perhaps, restricted largely to the last 20 minutes or so) the nature of this monster adds a horror-type creepiness to this movie (the scene in which his shadow creeps along outside Marta's tent comes to mind.) The climax to this was also pretty good.There were a lot of plot holes that puzzled me throughout; too many to really go into in detail but I found myself scratching my head too often trying to figure out this or that turn the story took.
The plot is about a couple of archaeologists (Dick Foran and comic relief Wallace Ford) teaming with a magician and his daughter (Cecil Kellaway, Peggy Moran) to search for the tomb of the Egyptian princess Ananka.
Also, now instead of the mummy himself being in control of his actions, he's now controlled by George Zucco through use of tana leaves.The cast is great, with Foran and Ford surprisingly likable heroes.
And KILL anyone who dares top it with anchovies."THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940) The most promising of the bunch, it featured Cecil Kellaway, George Zucco, Wallace Ford, and as our stout-hearted hero -- Dick Foran.
An American archaeologist, Dick Foran, and his comic relief pal, Wallace Ford, try to find the tomb of Egyptian princess Ananka, which is protected by the high priests of Karnak and their living mummy Kharis.
THE MUMMY'S HAND (Universal, 1940), directed by Christy Cabanne, is not really sequel to the 1932 classic, THE MUMMY, starring Boris Karloff as Imhotep, but more or less a revival of another mummy whose life and death situation in being buried alive for the sake of his beloved princess, parallels that with the original, with a few alterations, in fact a creature in bandages instead of a living dead assuming another identity, stalking the living and attempting in bringing back to life his former love of centuries ago.
Because Steve is denied financial assistance for the expedition from the head of the Cairo Museum, who turns out to be Professor Andoheb, he and his partner succeed in getting the support from Americans Tom Sullivan, a magician professionally known as The Great Solvani (Cecil Kellaway), who, along with his beautiful but skeptical daughter, Marta (Peggy Moran), and Doctor Petrie (Charles Trowbridge), to accompany them to the temple where they encounter the tomb of Kharis in the Hills of the Jackel.
After the creature goes through the motions, he is soon taken under the guide of Andohep and offers him the helping hand by killing off the archaeologists, one by one, for their attempts to unearth the grave of Princess Ananka as well as digging up a well kept secret.Kharis, played by Tom Tyler, mostly associated in westerns, turns out to be an interesting yet unlikely choice for the role as the living mummy.
This time out, Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his buddy Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) lead an expedition in search of the tomb to an Egyptian princess but instead they find the body of the mummy Kharis (Tom Tyler).
Cecil Kellaway is also nice in his bit and there's no question that Zucco owned his role.THE MUMMY'S HAND kick-started the series and while future films were entertaining, there's no question that they dropped a bit into "B" movies.
The Mummy does not come across as scary, in fact rather silly, especially when you see him dropping to the floor to drink his "fluid of life."Dick Foran plays Steve Banning, and is good in the role, as are the rest of the cast, Wallace Ford as his bumbling assistant, Cecil Kellaway as a magician who is financing the expedition, and Peggy Moran as his daughter.
George Zucco as Professor Andoheb is entrusted with the secret formula that will bring the dead back to life, but it must be strictly followed, or the result will be uncontrollable power in the Mummy so revived.Not one, but two veteran B Western stars are brought aboard for this erzats followup to "The Mummy" - Tom Tyler as the bandaged one, and Dick Foran as the central hero Steve Banning, leading an expedition into the Egyptian desert to locate the lost tomb of Princess Ananka.
The name Ali must have been on Dick Foran's mind, because he calls Marta "Molly".Have fun with "The Mummy's Hand", along with the other Universal "sequels", but don't expect any to come close to the mood, atmosphere, or conviction of the original.
This B Universal horror film is pretty forgettable, in fact so much that when they did a sequel ("The Mummy's Tomb"), they had to give a prologue to indicate what had happened in the previous film to the characters played by Dick Foran, Peggy Moran and Wallace Ford.
But the whole film is done on the cheap, barely above the action serials produced at the time.Dick FOran and Wallace Ford are a great pairing as the heroes (and are cheaply killed off in the sequel, for no good reason.).