Another lost Universal Mummy movie. Buried deepin the sands of time lies a script for a movie that was never made. Written in January of 1947, this feature united Kharis the Mummy with several other stars including Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man, the father and son team of Dracula and Count Alucard, and the comedy team of Abbot and Costello. The story was titled "The Brain of Frankenstein." A year and several drafts latter, the story matched Bud and Lou with the classic monster mash (a Mad Scientist, Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolfman, and Dracula), leaving out the traditionally solo monsters. The picture was produced as "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948). Although Dracula and his son never got to be in a Universal feature together, The Invisible Man enjoyed a cameo in "Meet Frankenstein" and teamed up with the comic duo in "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951). The idea of the boys facing off with The Mummy survived to be resurrected in the 1955 feature "Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy." The Mummy would later mix with Vampires and Werewolves in films such as Castle of the Monsters (1957) and The Monster Squad (1987). For more information see Universal Studios Classic Horror.
On the origin of Mummies. The Mummy Research Center is always working stay on top of the latest and most accurate information concerning mummies. Fortunately, we are aided by other devoted researchers around the world. Here is a letter from one such illuminated master, Jim Leichenko:
Hi, in your Mummy page you mention that "the Mummy existed first on the big screen, not in folklore or literature." This is incorrect (despite William K. Everson's assertions in the excellent book Classics of the Horror Film). The first walking mummy, not counting Poe's humorous 1850 short story, can be found in Arthur Conan Doyle's short horror story "Lot 249", which you mention in the Tales From the Darkside review. It was published in 1892 --four decades before the 1932 film and four years before the invention of the motion pictures. Around the same time Doyle also published another occult-themed ancient Egypt story "The Scroll of Thoth." Further, there is Bram Stoker's horror novel "The Jewel of Seven Stars" (circa 1897) which is the basis for at least two films: "Blood From the Mummy's Tomb" and "The Awakening." So, in fact there is a Mummy tradition in literature, if not simply a tradition for horror stories about ancient Egyptian curses in the modern day. Thanks for your time, and I hope you get a chance to amend your site.
Thank you, Jim, for the information!
When the cast of Hammer's "Mummy" was unwrapped. Do you remember nudity in the 1959 version of "The Mummy?" Or a scene graphically depicting Kharis's tongue being removed? Perhaps there was a sexier and more brutal version of this Hammer classic. The Far East and continental versions of "The Mummy" (1959) reportedly featured certain risque scenes scenes involving titillating nudity and shocking violence. Not so the UK and US releases. Allegedly, the British Board of Film Censors objected to "the dangerous cocktail" of sex and horror, the two elements which ironically became Hammer's most recognizeable ingredients. Director Michael Carreras, however, believes the questionable scenes were never released. As he recalls it, "We shot what we shot, and we weren't allowed to show what we weren't allowed to show. It was never a case of 'we will shoot a foreign version.'" For more information, see The House of Horror and the Hammer Horror Collectors Network.
"The Mummy's" legacy is a record setting treasure. In March 1997, a private collector paid more for a mummy movie poster than anyone ever had previously for any movie poster. The poster was for Boris Karloff's 1932 classic "The Mummy." The New York collector paid $453,000--more the twice the previous record price of $198,000 for Karloff's "Frankenstein." The 41 inch by 27 inch poster was created by acclaimed Universal Studios advertising art director Kroly Grosz and is one of only two known to be in existence. For more information, see Monster Vision.
The Curse of the Blood from the Mummy's Tomb. Mummy fans are well aware of the curse that strikes those who profane the sacred resting places of the dead. The secret that few mortals know, however, is that the Mummy's Curse sometimes strikes filmmakers as well. Consider the tragic events that occurred during the production of Hammer's "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb." Actor Peter Cushing began the film, but dropped out after shooting a single scene because his wife was dying. (He was replaced by Andrew Keir.) Then, director Seth Holt caught a strange case of hiccups. Holt was dead before the picture was complete. (He was replaced by Michael Carreras.) To paraphrase Andoheb, some things should be brought to the screen, and some things are best left unfilmed. For more information, visit Hammer Horror Films.
Universal's Lost Mummy Movie. In 1943, Universal Pictures announced a monster movie featuring a cast of characters that included The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and The Mad Ghoul. Entitled "Chamber of Horrors," this motion picture's stars would include Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre, Claude Rains, George Zucco, and Henry Hull. Although life was not given to this particular incarnation of The Mummy, the idea continued to live, evolving first into "The Devil's Brood" in August 1943 and then "Destiny," as it was called when the screenplay was written. When the final casting was completed in Feburary 1944, the line up included Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Lione Atwill, J. Carrol Naish, Anne Gwynne, Peter Coe, and Elena Verdugo. Finally, in December of that year the picture was released as "House of Frankenstein" and featured The Frankenstein Monster, The Wolf Man, Dracula, a Mad Doctor, and his Hunchbacked Assistant. While ultimately The Mummy did not shamble through this monster mash, our wrapped hero did share an ironic kinship with the film; "House of Fankenstein" was released as a double bill with "The Mummy's Curse."
On the origin of Tana leaves. Without a brew of Tana leaves, administered during the cycle of the full moon, Kharis would not have survived through the millenia, much less Universal's four feature series. But where did Tana leaves come from? Our sources report that Tana leaves grew from the same fertile imagination that sprouted the rare Tibetian flower Mariphasa lupina lumino in the Valley of the Spirits for Werewolf of London (1939). Apparently, story man Griffin Jay first created "Tanya leaves," named after his wife, but the flora soon mutated into the leafy Tana plant that has served Egyptian priests ever since.
Copyright 1997, 1998 by Karnstein
karnstein@geocities.com
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