La Main de la momie

The other three Universal Kharis films succeeding were pretty uninspired and uneven, though not without their good parts, however The Mummy's Hand while less than perfect and not exactly great is actually rather decent. Universal are nowhere near at their best here and The Mummy with Boris Karloff also from Universal from eight years earlier is the better film, but of the four Universal Kharis films The Mummy's Hand is easily the best of the four and the only one to come close to a good film.

It does start off rather sluggishly and takes too long to get going, it's all relevant but one does wish that the film got to the point quicker than it did. Two performances didn't come over so good, Wallace Ford's bumbling gets irritating after a while and Eduardo Ciannelli is for my tastes rather stiff. And I do have to agree about some of the comedy, some of it is witty and amusing but too much of it was intrusive and unnecessary so it felt more annoying than funny.

Visually however The Mummy's Hand is a solidly made film, the best-looking of the four Universal Kharis films most certainly, everything's professionally shot, moodily(appropriately) lit and crisply edited, the sets are suitably atmospheric and it's clear what the time and place is meant to be. The score fits well and is haunting, again the best score of the four films, being very stock in the other three. The story while not much new is interesting and doesn't try to do anything too simple or complicated, while it has more than one type of film genre it didn't feel muddled or have the feeling of not-knowing-what-it-was-trying-to-be and once it gets going it is quick moving and is pretty exciting and atmospherically spooky. The direction is decent and while none of the performances are award-worthy the performances are solid enough, George Zucco's excellent(brimming with sinister authority) performance standing out. Cecil Kellaway is very likable and Tom Tyler is surprisingly good as Kharis, he's actually genuinely unnerving(particularly the eyes). Dick Foran is amiable and Peggy Moran brings charm and spunk to her role.

Overall, a decent if not great film and easily the best of the Universal Kharis films. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

"The Mummy's Hand" is actually quite a good film but it takes a bit of a while to warm up. The build-up takes up about 25 minutes or more but still good.

George Zucco - excellent as villains - is on good form as the evil Egyptian High Priest who plans the destruction of the people who desecrate the tomb of an Egyptian princess.

Tom Tyler is OK in the title character (now called Kharis).

Released in 1940, "The Mummy's Hand" was one of the earliest horror films from the second cycle from "Universal" studios.

Not a sequel to Boris Karloff's THE MUMMY (1932), but the start of an entirely different series of unrelated films featuring a new mummified prince called Kharis. A group of amateur but likable treasure seekers search for the tomb of an ancient princess, but they encounter the still-living mummy instead, bent on destroying anyone who would dare defile the ancient Egyptian gods.

While not a great Universal horror movie by any means (one critique would be the re-usage of the same exact shot again and again of Kharis shambling about in the wilderness) this was the first and best of four Universal films featuring the mummy Kharis. At this stage of the game the formula was still fresh and not at all clichéd or monotonous, so that already places HAND at a distinct advantage over its other sequels and spin-off's. Tom Tyler makes one very creepy mummy, all arthritic and twisted, with weird eyes that are optically blackened out for full effect in chilling closeups (albeit the same repeated closeup). George Zucco takes top honors as the deliciously mad High Priest who keeps the mummy alive and killing via the sacred brew of nine ancient tana leaves. Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, Cecil Kellaway and the perky Peggy Moran are all very pleasant as the awkward explorers who stumble upon Kharis' cursed tomb. Comic relief is well used throughout, but never becomes intrusive, as the action always remains dead serious whenever the mummy takes center stage.

*** out of ****

This movie wisely decides to proceed on a different track entirely than the masterful Karloff "The Mummy". Very few horror films could match the earlier entry for sheer atmosphere and dreamy menace.

Instead, "The Mummy's Hand" opts more for adventure, with a generous helping of laughs thrown in. We follow the trail of two American treasure hunters as they seek the lost tomb of Ananka. Little do they know that the tomb is protected not only by a fanatical cult, but also the living mummy Kharis, who has become the guardian of the woman he once loved. Dick Foran is extremely likable as Steve Banning and seems like a regular guy. As wise-cracking sidekick Babe, Wallace Ford sometimes annoys but not to the point where you actually want to see him get killed. Peggy Moran is fiery and most attractive as Marta. Naturally she winds up butting heads with Steve and naturally they are attracted to each other.

Two grand old actors really liven things up. Cecil Kellaway is delightful as the scatterbrained magician the Great Solvani who bankrolls the expedition. And George Zucco has a signature role as Andoheb, sinister high priest of the cult of Karnak who controls Kharis. Much time is devoted to the workings of the Karnak cult and the mechanisms that animate Kharis. The lore of the tanna leaves starts here. Nine are needed to fully animate Kharis, but if he ever drinks the brew of 10 tanna leaves, "he will become a monster the likes of which the world has never seen". Sadly, we never really see what Kharis would be like with an overdose of tanna leaves.

Cowboy star Tom Tyler makes for a creepy mummy in his few scenes. Totally lacking the charismatic presence of Karloff, he instead opts for the familiar crawling lurch that would later become a parody. His blacked out eyes are particularly unnerving.

A little bit too much comedy and not quite enough Kharis keep this from being really top notch, but it's still quite an enjoyable programmer.

MORD39 RATING: *** (of ****)

THE MUMMY'S HAND is my favorite mummy film and easily the best in the Universal "Kharis" saga.

Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, Cecil Kellaway, and Peggy Moran make a very pleasant group of amateur explorers as they search out the tomb of Princess Ananka in Egypt. What they stumble upon instead was the first (in a now played-out) deadly mistake: a living mummy.

Kharis is a bandaged monstrosity kept alive by a high priest (George Zucco in his most sinister role) and is a protector for his long-lost love. When Zucco feeds him a fluid brewed from nine tana leaves, Kharis is kept stalking and dealing death to those who dared enter his lair.

Tom Tyler is for my money the best choice to portray the mummy. He creeps and crumbles perfectly, even gaining effect from his dark, staring eyes in chilling close-ups.

Some fans complain about the intrusive comedy during the film, and while I too am unforgiving of such practices, in this case I think they help the festivities rather than detract from them. All in all, THE MUMMY'S HAND remains one of the better efforts from the 1940's and definitely the best of the Kharis pictures.