EDITOR’S NOTE: The Mummy’s Ghost was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, May 7, 1966 at 1:00 a.m.; Saturday, February 3, 1968 at 1: 00 a.m.; Saturday, March 31, 1973 at 1:00 a.m.; Saturday, June 19, 1976 at 1:00 a.m. and Saturday, August 13, 1977 at 11:30 p.m.
I do love a mummy movie. I really love Lon Chaney Jr. as Kharis, the Mummy. But Chaney went through a lot to play this role, telling Frederick C. Othman that “I sweat and I can’t wick away. I itch, and I can’t scratch.” He took out his anger by choking actor Frank Reicher out, according to director Reginald Le Borg.
Andoheb, a High Priest of Arkam, has summoned Yousef Bey (John Carradine) to the Temple of Arkam to pass on his duties. Meanwhile, Professor Matthew Norman (Frank Reicher) tries to convince his students that the mummy Kharis is real. One of his students, Tom Hervey (played by Robert Lowery, the second actor to portray Batman), barely listens. After all, he has a hot Egyptian girl, Amina Mansori (Ramsay Ames, actually Spanish; she got the role when “Venezuela Volcano” Acquanetta fell during a dizzy spell and landed head-first on rocks painted white that she assumed were fake). But when anyone even mentions Egypt, Amina starts to feel uneasy.
Yousef Bey starts brewing the nine tea leaves, Kharis returns, the professor chokes, and Amina somehow gets a new birthmark after seeing the mummy. Kharis starts leaving mold all over his victims, and Ananka’s body falls to dust as she’s reincarnated into Amina, as you probably already figured.
The real problem arises when Bey decides she’s so gorgeous that he wants her for himself. Kharis reacts by shoving him out a window and narrowly avoiding a mob, only to sink back into the swamp as both he and his bride age. Too bad for Tom, who was about to elope.
When you see Kharis tearing up the museum, know that that’s what it is. They didn’t put the necessary items into the set on time, and Chaney cut himself. That blood is all real! Hardway blood, as they say in wrestling.
Hayes Code be damned, the female heroine doesn’t survive, and you can see her, well, nipples in one scene. I guess they snuck this one in!
As I mentioned earlier, I love all mommy movies. At least the Universal ones are somewhat tied together. Too bad Lon hated the wrap so much.
Bill Fleck’s Horror Behind the Scenes writes, “According to Christopher Lock, makeup master Jack P. Pierce’s current biographer, the Mummy’s makeup is by now a rubber mask fashioned by propman Ellis Berman. But before the mask is applied, Chaney is wrapped by John Bonner and Pierce in what studio publicity claims is “400 yards of gauze tape.”
Pierce then takes Chaney out into the California sunshine when possible and applies dark paint to the wrappings to suggest the scorching the creature has lived through in previous films. Pierce then wraps up Chaney’s hand, to give the illusion that the Mummy’s fingers have been burned off — and puts that arm in what looks like a sling.
Finally, the rubber mask blocking out Chaney’s eye is glued to the actor’s face—presumably by Fuller’s mud—and this is also raked through his hair, and Pierce then applies cotton, spirit gum, liquid latex, and tissue to the mask to form a more realistic look. Lastly, greasepaint and powder are added.
It’s by far Chaney’s least favorite makeup.”
The good news is that his dog, Moose, got to visit the set. Moose was Bela Lugosi in werewolf form in The Wolf Man and became Chaney’s beloved pet.
You can download this from the Internet Archive.
