A Double Shot Of Hammer Horror

The Mummy (1959)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Terence Fisher

Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, George Pastell

From: Hammer

The Gorgon (1964)

Runtime: 83 minutes

Directed by: Terence Fisher

Starring: Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco, Barbara Shelley, Christopher Lee

From: Hammer

Way back when (i.e. two Octobers ago) I watched the Hammer classic Horror of Dracula. That was a quality film and Lee in the title role was great, playing a real mean vindictive bastard. I hadn't seen any since then and in fact, before last night the only two I had seen were that and the horror/mystery Hound of the Baskervills back when I was a kid. Thankfully, Turner Classic Movies had a night of films from the legendary studio that was around from the 30's until folding in the 70's, only to return a few years ago and becoming mainly a horror studio when even in their heyday they had a varied output.

I'll note that I hadn't seen the classic Universal film The Mummy nor any of its sequels. The Stephen Sommers Mummy movies don't even count. The plot is that in Egypt some archaelogists find an ancient tomb containing a princess. An Egyptian (Pastell; yep, he was brown-facing it up) is quite upset that the tomb got desecrated. A few years later, he is able to bring the mummy of a priest (Lee) back to England to get revenge on those that discovered the tomb and took away the princess.

Sure, this movie is wacky in general (you get to see a mummy walk around rural England, after all) but it definitely is well-filmed with nice performances overall. Even wrapped up in bandages Lee delivers a nice performance. His character certainly is menacing, busting through windows and doors and being unstoppable. But it is Cushing as the lead who happens to walk with a limp that gives the best performance. Sure, the story doesn't have too many surprises but it is definitely filmed well. The score fits the movie and it just looks great visually, from the scenes in Egypt (yep, an obvious set... it still looks fine, even if I am not sure about Egypt having that many palm trees) to rural England. There is a slow spot in the middle where you get a long flashback of the relationship between the princess and the priest; it does at least give you the chance to see Lee brown-face it up himself as an Egyptian, which was a sight. Not as odd as him wearing new wave sunglasses, but still... if you dig old-school horror movies then this is worth a watch.

I then watched The Gorgon, which has a unique plot if nothing else. It is set in a small town in Germany in the early 20^th century and in a castle lives a mysterious creature... a Gorgon; you know, what Medusa was, a terrifying creature with snakes in her hair and if a mortal man looks at her, he turns to stone. Of course, the name this particular Gorgon has (Megara) wasn't actually a Gorgon in Greek mythology, but hey, you didn't have Google nor Wikipedia back in 1964 so a lot of people likely did not notice. Anyhow, the town's doctor (Cushing) and the other authorities cover it up, as you don't want a panic on your hands if the public knew something was turning people to stone. The father of the latest victim won't take no for an answer so he sticks around and with the assistance of Lee (who only appears in the second half and sports a giant mustache) tries to solve things. Meanwhile, Cushing experiences drama of his own with his assistant (Shelley).

You talk about wacky plots, this has one. A mythological creature hiding out in a castle in rural Germany? But hey, it works. Sure, there are some slow stretches and at times this is a murder mystery sort of thing... overall, this is another fun watch. The movie certainly is great at atmosphere and mood. You get both in spades. You certainly feel like you're in the setting, with all the scenes taking place at night and even in a day scene set in the woods, there's a whole lot of fog and it fits the movie like a glove... speaking of that, the same applies to the excellent musical score, which works oh so well with what you see on screen. That helps out when you look at various deficiencies this movie may have.

Unfortunately, my own cable guide spoiled the movie for me right before it began. I looked at it and they gave away the ending! I wasn't too happy about that. Although, once I saw the film, the ending was what you'd call “telegraphed”.

I'll be back Saturday night.