Dick Foran and Wallace Ford (who may as well be shouting ‘Heeey Abb-ott!’ for his stupid comic antics) play a couple of archaeologists (though Ford seemed more like a bad Don Rickles-like stand-up comedian to me) who unleash a rather peeved mummy (Tom Tyler- never heard of him either), who then goes on a rampage with the help of nefarious Egyptologist George Zucco. Coming along to threaten to steal the show are the delightful Cecil Kellaway (far too good to be in this sort of thing) and Peggy Moran as the magician financier of the expedition and his daughter.
This is one of the best Universal horror sequels, but that’s faint praise I guess (‘Son of Frankenstein’ and ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ stand head and shoulders above the other sequels in Universal’s horror cycle). The absence of Karloff and intrusive bombastic antics of Ford are a downer (leading man Dick Foran fares better, but not much), but Zucco (B cinema’s version of Christopher Lee with a dash of latter day Karloff) and Kellaway (yes, the vicar from ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’) are wonderful and Moran is one of the least painful of Universal’s horror movie leading ladies. The makeup isn’t by Jack Pierce but it’s better than Tyler’s actual performance which is even more simple-minded than Lon Chaney Jr’s stint in the role.
OVERALL SUMMARY
It’s a B movie sequel, and if this is your thing, it’s certainly one of the better ones. It’s not the equal of the Karloff film, but aside from the irritating Ford, it’s well worth a look for fans of 40s American horror films.
