The Mummy

"Torn from the tomb to terrify the world!"

1959 1h 28m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 274🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●62Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 12,402

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

One by one the archaeologists who discover the 4,000-year-old tomb of Princess Ananka are brutally murdered. Kharis, high priest in Egypt 40 centuries ago, has been brought to life by the power of the ancient gods and his sole purpose is to destroy those responsible for the desecration of the sacred tomb. But Isobel, wife of one of the explorers, resembles the beautiful princess, forcing the speechless and tormented monster to defy commands and abduct Isobel to an unknown fate.

“Torn from the tomb to terrify the world!”

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Cast

Peter Cushing
John Banning
Christopher Lee
Kharis, the Mummy
Yvonne Furneaux
Isobel Banning / Princess Ananka
Eddie Byrne
Inspector Mulrooney
Felix Aylmer
Stephen Banning
Raymond Huntley
Joseph Whemple
George Pastell
Mehemet Bey
Michael Ripper
Poacher

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Terence Fisher
Writers: Jimmy Sangster, Griffin Jay, Maxwell Shane
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Mummy (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Jack Asher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Franz Reizenstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alfred Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and Yvonne Furneaux carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Torn from the tomb to terrify the world!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Terence Fisher directs. Jack Asher behind the camera. Franz Reizenstein scores. Alfred Cox cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "The Mummy (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Jack Asher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Franz Reizenstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Alfred Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and Yvonne Furneaux carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Torn from the tomb to terrify the world!".
9IMDB entry: tt0053085 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "princess", "mummy", "swamp", "remake".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Asher
Original score: Franz Reizenstein
Editing: Alfred Cox
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup / hair: Roy Ashton
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Mummy (1959)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 62/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 12,402 votes
MPAA: Unrated

Awards

1 nomination total

Part of

The Mummy (Hammer) Collection

A Hammer Films Productions horror film series.

Also by

Terence Fisher

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-09-10
★ 8/10
Gorgeous & Creepy Hammer Horror Winner. Hammer Film Productions rework some of the classic Universal Studios mummy material to great effect. Directed by Terence Fisher, this is not a remake of the seminal 1932 movie of the same name. Starring Peter Cushing (John Banning), Christopher Lee (Kharis/The Mummy), Raymond Huntley (Joseph Whemple) and Yvonne Furneaux (Isobel Banning/Princess Ananka), the film is written by Jimmy Sangster and was filmed at Bray & Shepperton Studios in England and is photographed in Eastman Color. I mention the latter because Eastman Color has a different hue to it, something that makes this movie all the more affecting as a horror piece. The plot sees three archaeologists (Stephen & John Banning & Joseph Whemple) desecrate the tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka. This awakens Kharis, Ananka's blasphemous lover who was buried alive for his unlawful deeds. Taken from the tomb to London by Egyptian priest Mehemet Bey (George Pastell), the three archaeologists find they are being hunted down by the vengeful Kharis. The only salvation may come in the form of Isobel Banning who bears a striking resemblance to Princess Ananka. This Mummy is adroitly directed by Fisher, his choreography for the action scenes is stunning. Lee's incarnation as the mouldy bandaged one is swifter than most, thus Fisher has him stalking around Victorian England one minute, then the next he's crashing thru doors or windows with brute strength - with murder his (its) only goal. It's a top performance from Lee as he really throws himself into the role, with his dead eyes ominously peering out from gauze swathed sockets sending those little shivers running down the spine. Technically the film belies the budget restrictions that was a staple of Hammer productions. The sets are very impressive with the Egyptian tomb set original and authentic looking, and the swamp based set-up nicely constructed. The latter of which provides two genuine horror classic moments, as first we see the Mummy for the first time as he rises from a foul bubbling bog, and then for the dramatic swampy finale. It's also atmospherically filmed by Fisher, with Jack Asher's photography utilising the Eastman Color to give off a weird elegiac beauty. This is not about gore, Fisher and the makers wanted to thrive on atmospherics and implication, something they achieve with great rewards. The Mummy would prove to be very successful in Britain and abroad, thus ensuring Hammer would dig up more Mummy's for further screen outings, none of which came close to capturing the look and feel of this first makeover. Crisply put together and with another in the line of great Christopher Lee monster characterisations, this Mummy is essential viewing for the creature feature horror fan. 8/10
Nutshell2020-02-08
★ 10/10
While falling a bit short of the earlier Frankenstein and Dracula "reboots" from Hammer, this one is still quite good, again due to the talents of Fisher, Cushing, and Lee. It's story, while borrowing many elements from the 1940s Universal sequels, is quite good and this is probably the best version of the Kharis character ever filmed. Christopher Lee's interpretation brings an aggressive, monstrous, and emoting mummy, not the slow, lumbering version of the 1940s (apologies to Lon Chaney). A first rate offering from Hammer.