Following the release of The Mummy’s Tomb, Universal wanted to get another sequel out as soon as possible. Like the previous film, Lon Chaney Jr. would be donning the mummy garb, which he had come to despise. George Zucco would be returning as well, and Universal regular John Carradine was cast to be his successor. Originally, B-movie actress Mildred Davenport, aka Acquanetta, was cast as the female lead but left after sustaining a concussion. In her place, actress and pin-up model Ramsay Ames was cast as the reincarnation of Princess Ananka. Hungarian filmmaker Reginald Le Borg, whose credits include Calling Dr. Death and Weird Woman was given the director’s chair. Conveniently, Chaney Jr. had actually starred in both previously mentioned films, so he was used to working with Le Borg. After a very brief shooting schedule, The Mummy’s Ghost was released in July of 1944.
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Synopsis
High Priest Andoheb (George Zucco) summons Yousef Bey (John Carradine) to be his successor and assume his responsibilities. With the expedition crew from before killed off, Bey’s mission is to reunite Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) with Princess Anaka. Meanwhile, in Mapleton, Massachusetts, Kharis is accidentally summoned by Professor Matthew Norman (Frank Reicher) when he brews nine tana leaves. The professor’s strangled to death, and his body is found by Sheriff Elwood (Harry Shannon) and the Coroner (Emmett Vogan). Elsewhere, Bey brews tana leaves to summon Kharis and they break into a museum where Ananka’s body is being kept. Unfortunately, Ananka’s body crumbles to dust as soon as Kharis touches her, but Bey realizes her soul has been reincarnated. Said reincarnation is Amina Mansori (Ramsay Ames), who is to be married to her boyfriend Tom Hervey (Robert Lowery). Soon, Kharis kidnaps her as she’s to be prepared for a sacred ritual.
Review
As with the previous film, The Mummy’s Ghost is once again hard for me to talk about. Like before, this feels like another run-of-the-mill, standard mummy movie filled with all the tropes and cliches you’d expect. Lon Chaney Jr. still lumbers and limps about, mostly just stumbling around and slowly approaching his victims. Of course, it doesn’t help that he hated the role, enough to keep a flash of vodka in his costume. Admittedly, the thought of a drunken Lon Chaney Jr. stumbling around in a mummy costume is quite funny. Much like the mummy, the movie stumbles about for the first half as it tries to figure out the plot. It’s not until Kharis accidentally destroys his love’s mummified corpse that the plot finally gets going. On the positive side, there are some effectively chilling scenes of Kharis stalking about with only his shadow visible.
Also, without giving too much away, the film ends in a way that you would never expect it to end. Ordinarily, a movie like this would have the hero defeat the monster and save the damsel in distress. This, however, goes in a completely different direction that almost makes the rest of the film worth it. Thankfully, the film is only about an hour-long, so it won’t eat up much of your time. Acting-wise, everyone is fine, though John Carradine and Ramsay Ames are noteworthy, Carradine for his voice, Ramsay for her beauty. Sadly, neither of them are given much to do other than monologuing in Carradine’s case, though he delivers them well. At the most, this will probably satiate any hardcore old school horror fan, but it’s otherwise yet another disappointment. Overall, The Mummy’s Ghost has its moments but doesn’t offer much aside from some B-movie thrills.
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