[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Mummy's Hand (1940)

Sequel to Karloff's The Mummy (1932) in name only. The Mummy's Hand was the first in a cycle of four new films of varying degrees of quality about the Mummy, Kharis.

The story about a couple of down trodden archeologists trying to finance an expedition to discover the tomb of the Egyptian princess Ananka is enlivened by great turns from Dick Foran and especially Wallace Ford who provides comedy relief and comic timing the likes of Abbott and Costello could only dream of. One of Ford's scenes i actually found quite shocking and seemingly out of character. The film also benefits from a strong turn from the devilishly shady George Zucco as he controls the Mummy and instructs it in it's killing spree.

The Mummy itself looks great, shambling around slowly yet somehow no one can ever quite get away from it. It was western actor Tom Tyler's only portrayal of the monster before being replaced by Lon Chaney despite him being just as convincing as the bandaged creature.

Perhaps surprisingly for a B-picture The Mummy's Hand is really very good. It's mix of horror, action, romance and humour really hit the mark with me and i found it thoroughly entertaining.