The Mummy's Ghost (1944) review

4. The Mummy’s Ghost (1944)

Directed by: Reginald LeBorg

Screenplay by: Griffin Jay, Henry Sucher, Brenda Weisberg

Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, Barton MacLane, George Zucco, Robert Lowery

As Universal stretched deeper into their second major horror cycle, with many of their monsters taking part in crossovers, the Mummy was one that always flew solo. The fourth entry in the series, “The Mummy’s Ghost,” came out in 1944, and despite having many of the same tropes as the last film, there are enough interesting developments to make it a bit more worth your time. It opens the same way; high priest Andoheb (George Zucco)—again somehow still alive—passes his duties onto follower Yousef Bey (John Carradine). This time, however, the plan is to reunite the mummified Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) with the body of Princess Ananka, and return them to Egypt. It’s discovered at the Scripps Museum in Mapleton, but disintegrates immediately upon contact; Bey surmises that Ananka’s soul has been reincarnated into a modern woman of Egyptian descent, supposedly the beautiful Amina (Ramsay Ames), whose boyfriend Tom (Robert Lowery) is a student of Professor Norman (Frank Reicher), a key figure in Kharis’s previous rampage.

Don’t bother trying to form any logic as to why Kharis is alive too; Universal was pretty infamous for ignoring continuity with their sequels back then. He makes his first appearance just walking out of the woods no worse for wear, and basically spends the first half of the movie just lumbering around and occasionally reacting to the precious tana leaves. He’s again shot well, even if the sight of his little sideways shuffle just looks funny, and I like that he eventually gets more to do than just commit senseless murders; but it’s not a whole lot more, and the kills themselves are still just as awkward. Reportedly, Lon Chaney Jr. was miserable during filming because of all the time he spent covered in makeup, bandages, dirt and clay; he claimed he had a flask of vodka underneath with a tube running up to his mouth, so he coped with his discomfort by sipping it all day.

One upgrade from the last movie is that the characters have slightly more conviction and intrigue. When someone dies, it actually feels substantial, and that really comes out in Claire Whitney as Norman’s wife Ella, even if it’s just a bit part. She was one of the great actresses from the silent era; however, many of the films she appeared in are lost to history. I also want to shout out Lester Sharp as the museum curator Dr. Ayad; again, it’s only a bit part, but there’s something about the way he conducts himself, I just totally believe that he’s an experienced curator. Tom and Amina have sweet enough chemistry, even if the former is a bit of a knucklehead; Ramsay Ames is particularly soulful as Amina, showing a lot of depth in her speaking mannerisms and body language. Bey is played by Universal regular John Carradine, who has just the right amount of sniveling menace; I like the scene when the night watchman (Oscar O’Shea) has a gun on him, and he just smirks because he knows Kharis is coming up behind him.

But like I alluded to, it takes a while for the story to really get interesting; there’s still the same old song-and-dance with the police inspectors trying to figure out what’s happening and why. At the same time, I like that they come up with actual plans for stopping Kharis, and that this series in general doesn’t waste time with characters questioning the Mummy’s existence like a lot of movies typically do. Yet at the same time, there’s not much to say; the film actually cuts away from Ananka dissolving, which is lame, and it’s pretty inconsistent as far as how much power the tana leaves actually have. Sometimes Kharis is compelled to them, but sometimes he isn’t; it doesn’t matter, because it all results in the same climax, with Bey falling in love with Amina, and Kharis carrying her away with the angry villagers giving chase.

Thankfully, the movie has a finale that works in a way that prevents it from becoming just another standard monster flick. Without giving everything away, it turns out that Amina actually is the reincarnated Ananka, and it’s revealed in pretty unfortunate detail. I usually prefer twists like this to be kept vague and up to the viewer, but this is a situation that I believe really helps the story. Admittedly, the way it’s presented is pretty rushed and doesn’t really give you the chance to take in the tragedy as much; but give it credit for going all the way with a concept and not being afraid of going out on a downer. “The Mummy’s Ghost” is still just above average, but it definitely feels like effort and thought were put into it, and they weren’t just going through the motions. It’s still somewhat cheap and underdeveloped, but harmless enough.

My rating: 6/10