HE WHO DISTURBS THE GRAVES OF EGYPT DIES....

He who disturbs the graves of Egypt dies.  Well, that would certainly be enough to make me leave 'em alone.  I think the excavators of King Tut's tomb found out the hard way about messing around with an Egyptian curse. Nasty stuff!

Which brings me to this evening's Halloween countdown entry...Mummies.  The younger set probably thinks the latest films to be released starring Brendan Fraser and Arnold Vosloo (as the Mummy) could whip my oldies but goodies hands-down; but it ain't so.

My favorite of all the Mummy movies is from Hammer Film Studios. Considered a remake (sort of) of the Universal classic..it is titled "The Mummy". Hammer Films trademark is their vivid colors...red, blues, golds, etc. and plenty of big boobed gals with 70's hairdos.  Kharis, the Mummy, is played by Sir Christopher Lee, who is still going strong at the age of 87. (A search of IMDB finds 5 films of Lee's in post-production...guess he believes if you rest..you rust).  Peter Cushing stars along side Lee as John Banning, who figures out that the Egyptian fellow who just moved to town is up to noooooooooo good.  Christopher Lee has very few lines in this film...mostly narration describing why the High Priest Kharis deserved such a grissly fate as becoming a mummy.  Makes you feel kind of sorry for him actually.

No talk of mummies would be complete without The Mummy himself, Boris Karloff.  As the mummy Imhotep, a condemned High Priest, he is still looking for his lost lady love. I have this film, which is in black and white, as part of my Universal Classics series. Yep, its old..but still worth watching even today.  The Mummy came on the heels of Karloff's depiction of Frankenstein..but more about that later.

Hammer Films released its version of The Mummy in 1959 and it was directed by Terence Fisher.

Universal Studios released The Mummy in 1932, directed by Karl Freund.

On a parting note..I never could figure out why no one could get away from these classic horror villains...they couldn't run worth squat...hell they could barely walk.  All wrapped up in bandages...dragging one leg around...mercy!

Tomorrow nite....Frankenstein.