By this point in the 1940s, Universal was churning out these monster movies like a factory assembly line. With a few exceptions, many of them were shot with low budgets and short schedules to get them out quickly. After filming The Mummy’s Hand, actor Tom Tyler had signed a two-year contract with another studio and couldn’t return. For the next installment, Universal decided to have Lon Chaney Jr. don the makeup and wrappings to play Kharis. After The Wolf Man and The Ghost of Frankenstein, Chaney was not happy with makeup artist Jack Pierce’s archaic techniques. The director’s chair this time was occupied by Harold Young, who previously directed The Storm and Newsboys’ Home in 1938. While the previous film had very few connections to the original, this one would be a direct sequel. In October of 1942, The Mummy’s Tomb was released only four months after Invisible Agent.
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Synopsis
Thirty years after the last film, Steve Banning (Dick Foran) is recapping the events to his family and guests. In Egypt, Andoheb (George Zucco) tells the story of Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) to his successor Mehemet Bey (Turhan Bey). Bey is instructed to go with Kharis to America to kill Banning and his archaeological team for defiling Ananka’s tomb. Kharis first kills Steve followed by his sister Jane (Mary Gordon), prompting Babe Hanson (Wallace Ford) to return. He tries convincing the sheriff (Cliff Clark) and coroner (Emmett Vogan) that Kharis is responsible, but they don’t believe him. After Babe is killed, Steve’s son John (John Hubbard) enlists Professor Norman (Frank Reicher) to identify who the killer is. Meanwhile, Bey sets his sights on John’s fiancee Isobel Evans (Elyse Knox), and has Kharis kidnap her for his own. Will John rescue her, or will she become Bey’s wife?
Review
Honestly, reviewing The Mummy’s Tomb is going to be difficult since there isn’t much to talk about here. This a pretty run-of-the-mill mummy movie with all the tropes and cliches you would expect for better or for worse. Much like The Ghost of Frankenstein, Lon Chaney Jr. isn’t given much to do, basically just limping around slowly. The makeup looks decent at least, even if it is just a rubber mask that only has one expression. By today’s standards, using flashback footage for the first ten minutes would be a waste, but it’s understandable here. Keep in mind, home video wasn’t a thing in 1942, so if you missed a movie in theaters, that’s it. However, that doesn’t excuse the overall cheapness of the film, especially the recycled music from previous Universal horror films. In particular, there’s a lot of music that’s lifted from The Wolf Man.
Admittedly, the fact that this is a direct sequel to the previous film adds a nice amount of continuity. However, it’s odd that this takes place 30 years later, and there isn’t much done to make it seem futuristic. The only thing that this is in the future is that Foran, Zucco, and Ford have old man makeup. Personally, I like to think part of the reason was so they could get around a different actor playing Kharis. This is a pretty uninspired sequel that doesn’t do much of anything different and just goes through the motions. Classic horror fans might enjoy the spooky cemetery, the angry townspeople with torches, and the slow shambling mummy tropes. Even still, this is sadly another step down in the overall Universal Monsters series, a once-promising series of exceptional quality. Overall, The Mummy’s Tomb is only worth it if you’re marathoning all the movies.
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