The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
Encyclopedia
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a 1964 British horror film
by Hammer Film Productions
.
by a showman. The mummy begins to murder various members of the expedition until it is revealed that a sinister character (portrayed by Terence Morgan
) carries a secret to the mummy's past and future.
, Ronald Howard
, and Fred Clark
, and was directed by Michael Carreras
. Unlike most Hammer films of that period, it was filmed at Elstree Studios
, rather than the company's permanent home at Bray
. With the exception of (for example) character actor
s Michael Ripper
and George Pastell
, director Carreras and designer Bernard Robinson
, most of the cast and crew were not Hammer veterans.
The score was by Carlo Martelli
, but contained uncredited excerpts from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
's Scheherazade
, Ippolitov-Ivanov's Procession of the Sardar, and Franz Reizenstein
's music written for Hammer's original
"mummy" film.
Because union rules in Britain decreed that one person could not be credited as the writer, producer and director of a film, writer/producer/director Michael Careras adopted the name "Henry Younger" for his screenplay -- a deliberate play on the name "John Elder," which was Hammer producer Anthony Hinds' writing pseudonym.
of the film was written by John Burke
as part of his 1966 book The Hammer Horror Film Omnibus.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
by Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
.
Plot
A mummy discovered by three Egyptologists is brought back to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by a showman. The mummy begins to murder various members of the expedition until it is revealed that a sinister character (portrayed by Terence Morgan
Terence Morgan
Terence Ivor Grant Morgan was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He was the nephew of British character actor Verne Morgan...
) carries a secret to the mummy's past and future.
Cast
- Terence MorganTerence MorganTerence Ivor Grant Morgan was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He was the nephew of British character actor Verne Morgan...
as Adam Beauchamp - Ronald HowardRonald Howard (British actor)Ronald Howard was an English actor and writer best known in the U.S. for starring in a weekly Sherlock Holmes television series in 1954. He was the son of actor Leslie Howard.- Life and work :...
as John Bray - Fred ClarkFred ClarkFrederick Leonard Clark was an American film character actor.-Career:Born in Lincoln, California, Clark made his film debut in 1947 in The Unsuspected. His 20-year film career included almost 70 films, and numerous television appearances...
as Alexander King - Jeanne Roland as Annette Dubois
- George PastellGeorge PastellGeorge Pastell was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. His real name was George Pastellides....
as Hashmi Bey - Jack GwillimJack GwillimJack William Frederick Gwillim was a prolific English character actor.-Career:Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, he served in the Royal Navy for over twenty years, attaining the rank of Commander...
as Sir Giles Dalrymple - John PaulJohn Paul (actor)John Paul was a British actor.He is best known for his television roles, particularly as Dr Spencer Quist in Doomwatch and Marcus Agrippa in I, Claudius , both for BBC Television....
as Inspector Mackenzie - Dickie Owen as The Mummy
- Jill Mai Meredith as Jenny, Beauchamp's Maid
- Michael RipperMichael RipperMichael Ripper was an English character actor born in Portsmouth.He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. He played one of the two murderers in Richard III. Ripper became a mainstay in Hammer Film Productions...
as Achmed - Harold GoodwinHarold Goodwin (English actor)Harold Goodwin was an English actor born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England.Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for 3 years...
as Fred one of King's Workmen - Jimmy GardnerJimmy Gardner (British actor)Edward Charles James "Jimmy" Gardner, DFM was a British actor. He is perhaps best known for having played Knight Bus driver Ernie Prang in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film adaptation of the Harry Potter books. His first appearance was in The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb in 1964...
as Fred's Mate - Vernon Smythe as Jessop, Beauchamp's Butler
- Marianne StoneMarianne StoneMarianne Stone was a British character actress. She appeared in many films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s...
as Hashmi Bey's Landlady
Production
The film stars Terence MorganTerence Morgan
Terence Ivor Grant Morgan was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He was the nephew of British character actor Verne Morgan...
, Ronald Howard
Ronald Howard (British actor)
Ronald Howard was an English actor and writer best known in the U.S. for starring in a weekly Sherlock Holmes television series in 1954. He was the son of actor Leslie Howard.- Life and work :...
, and Fred Clark
Fred Clark
Frederick Leonard Clark was an American film character actor.-Career:Born in Lincoln, California, Clark made his film debut in 1947 in The Unsuspected. His 20-year film career included almost 70 films, and numerous television appearances...
, and was directed by Michael Carreras
Michael Carreras
Michael Carreras was a British film producer and director. He was best known for his association with Hammer Studios, being the son of founder James Carreras, and taking an executive role in the company during its most successful years.As producer, he worked on The Curse of Frankenstein , Dracula ...
. Unlike most Hammer films of that period, it was filmed at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
, rather than the company's permanent home at Bray
Bray Studios (UK)
Bray Studios is a film and television facility at Bray, near Windsor, Berkshire, England. The films Alien and The Rocky Horror Picture Show were shot there...
. With the exception of (for example) character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
s Michael Ripper
Michael Ripper
Michael Ripper was an English character actor born in Portsmouth.He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. He played one of the two murderers in Richard III. Ripper became a mainstay in Hammer Film Productions...
and George Pastell
George Pastell
George Pastell was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. His real name was George Pastellides....
, director Carreras and designer Bernard Robinson
Bernard Robinson (production designer)
Bernard Robinson was born in Liverpool, England in 1912 and died in 1970. He designed sets for several of Hammer's films in their heyday, including The Curse of Frankenstein , Dracula , Curse of the Werewolf , The Phantom of the Opera , The Gorgon and Quatermass and the Pit...
, most of the cast and crew were not Hammer veterans.
The score was by Carlo Martelli
Carlo Martelli
Carlo Martelli is an English composer of classical music. He was born in London in 1935 into a working-class family , Carlo Martelli was brought up in Walworth and Richmond and became one of the most admired young composers in Britain while still in his teens.His teachers included William...
, but contained uncredited excerpts from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's Scheherazade
Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Sheherazade , Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful...
, Ippolitov-Ivanov's Procession of the Sardar, and Franz Reizenstein
Franz Reizenstein
Franz Theodor Reizenstein was a German-born British composer and concert pianist. He left Germany for sanctuary in Britain in 1934 and went on to have his career there, including teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music and Boston University, as well as performing.-Life and work:Franz...
's music written for Hammer's original
The Mummy (1959 film)
The Mummy is a 1959 Technicolor British Hammer Horror film starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.Though the title suggests Universal Pictures' 1932 film of the same name, the film actually derives its plot and characters entirely from two later Universal films, The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's...
"mummy" film.
Because union rules in Britain decreed that one person could not be credited as the writer, producer and director of a film, writer/producer/director Michael Careras adopted the name "Henry Younger" for his screenplay -- a deliberate play on the name "John Elder," which was Hammer producer Anthony Hinds' writing pseudonym.
Novelization
A novelizationNovelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the film was written by John Burke
John Burke (author)
John Burke was an English writer of novels and short stories.He had written under the names J. F...
as part of his 1966 book The Hammer Horror Film Omnibus.