The Mummy’s Curse (1944) starring Lon Chaney Jr., Virginia Christine, Dennis Moore, Peter Coe, Kay Harding, Martin Kosleck
The Mummy’s Curse marks Lon Chaney Jr.s final appearance as The Mummy. He seeks his revived Princess Ananka. But she suffers from amnesia, and flees from the murdering mummy …
Review
Cast of characters
Lon Chaney, Jr. (The Wolf Man, Alligator People) as Kharis the Mummy.
The undying mummy, still trying to be reunited with his lost love, the Princess Ananka. And killing lots of people along the way.
Dennis Moore as Dr. James Halsey.
One of the representatives of the Scripps Museum, come to search for the two mummies. He’s the first to connect a murder to the mummies. He later finds the unconscious Ananka by the side of the road, and tries to help her. And as she flees from Kharis, he attempts to find her.
Kay Harding as Betty Walsh.
Pat Walsh’s niece, She also tries to help the amnesiac Ananka, and nearly gets killed for her trouble. And later, kidnapped by one of the villains who’s fallen madly in love with her. A definite cliché in the Universal Mummy movies.
Virginia Christine (House of Horrors, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Mrs. Olson for Folgers coffee) as Princess Ananka.
The scene of the muddy Ananka, returning to life in the swamp once she’s uncovered by construction workers, is beautiful cinematography. But … she has amnesia, with no knowledge of whom she is. Although she has vast knowledge of ancient Egypt. And she’s appropriately terrified by the murderous mummy chasing her, and logically enough keeps running away…
Addison Richards (Black Legion, The Mad Ghoul) as Pat Walsh.
The head of the Southern Engineering Company project to drain the swamp.
Peter Coe as Dr. Ilzor Zandaab.
The other representative of the museum, who’s secretly a high priest of the Arkam sect. With tana leaves, he revives the mummy … And gives some of the juice to Ananka as well.
Martin Kosleck (She-Wolf of London, The Frozen Ghost) as Ragheb.
Another member of the Arkam sect. He murdered the worker who unearthed the Mummy, and took it to an abandoned monastery. Later, he kidnaps Betty as well, leading to the climax.
Kurt Katch (Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy) as Cajun Joe
He finds the amnesiac Ananka wandering in the swamp, and takes her to Tante Berthe for help. He gets murdered by the Mummy for his good deed.
Ann Codee (Bathing Beauty, The Clown, Kiss Me Kate) as Tante Berthe
Tante Berthe is the owner of the local pub, who aids the Ananka. She gets murdered by the Mummy for her trouble. I’m seeing a pattern here …
Holmes Herbert (Invisible Agent, Ghost of Frankenstein) as Dr. Cooper
The kindly doctor who examines Ananka at Halsey’s camp. And, gets murdered for it by the Mummy. Turning into a cliché …
William Farnum (Hangmen Also Die, Abbott and Costello’s Jack and the Beanstak) as Watchman at the Church Ruins.
Unfortunately, he encounters Zandaab and Ragheb in the middle of their tana leaves ritual, reviving Kharis the Mummy. And … becomes Kharis’ first victim.
Editorial review of The Mummy’s Curse courtesy of Amazozn.com
The Mummy’s Curse: In his last appearance, Lon Chaney, Jr. stars as one of the screen’s most memorable movie monsters; the mummy Kharis from ancient Egypt, who is tormented by his forbidden love for princess Ananka. The trouble begins when mummy Kharis is recovered and transported to Cajun country for study by a bunch of prodding archeologists. He begins a reign of terror and destruction over the local inhabitants as he renews his search for Ananka’s reincarnation. But after the two unite and wreak havoc together, they face a greater threat to their ancient romance than they have ever known-museums!
Updated February 5, 2022