Hammer films were classy, well-made and well-written on the whole, no
matter what you may have read in the past. And these accolades aren't
just saved for the earlier work - Curse Of
Frankenstein, Dracula etc. Blood From The Mummy's Tomb was made in 1972 - around the same
time as the incredibly lame Horror Of Frankenstein
- and it's ace. Proof? Well, how about this - several years later a film
called The Awakening was made using the
same source material (Bram Stoker's The Jewel Of The Seven Stars),
with a big budget and a star name (Charlton Heston, who sadly does not
keep his vest on during the proceedings) - and it's quite appalling.
Of course, I'm biased slightly about the first film, mainly because it's
got Valerie Leon in it. If you have to ask "Valerie Who?" then
I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you. So what if she made only one
Hammer film? So what if she had a "no nudity" rule? It all just
adds to the mystique of the woman the word "statuesque" was
invented to describe. What's more, she's in it twice - once as a busty,
not-too-many-clothes-wearing comatose Egyptian Princess, and again as
a busty, floaty-nightie-wearing dreamy eyed murderous nutter - cum - innocently-possessed-by-
evil-force saucepot.
Andrew Keir (deputising for a recently widowered Peter Cushing) is his
usual self - a fat, shouty know-it-all who breaks into the tomb of The
Evil One and finds a perfectly perserved body of an Egyptian Princess.
Perfectly preserved, except for a missing hand. That hand was lopped off
in the pre titles sequence by a bunch of Egyptian priests (okay, blacked-up
luvvies) who immediately come to regret their actions when they're butchered
by an invisible force. Gory throat-gougings abound in this one - still,
makes a change from the usual mummy head-stampings.
Prof Fuchs (Keir's character) takes the body back to his house and keeps
her in the cellar, and when his daughter (who was born at the exact same
time as he broke into the tomb) grows up, she looks exactly like the Princess.
Cue much gory death as prophecies are fulfilled and the Evil Queen (using
Val's body) sets about reviving herself by retrieving the ancient artifacts
she needs.
Hammer also decided to chuck in a bit of incestuous necrophilia (always
a good selling point for a film) and some great set pieces - the scene
in the asylum sticks in the viewers mind long after the equally disturbing
twist ending. Of course, there are bad points - the bit where a woman
is menaced by a pottery cat stinks strongly of cheese. But in the main
it's a quality film, and a genuine Hammer high spot.
