Whenever I mention The Mummy to people around me, they automatically think of the Brendan Fraiser movies. While I enjoy those movies, I do wish that the old black and white Universal mummy movies got the same attention. The first of these films is a pure horror classic and one of the best Universal monster movies. While the mummy pictures that followed never quite reached the height of the original, they were often times fun for what they were.
That is why I am so glad to own this 2017 Blu-Ray featuring all the classic black and white Universal Mummy movies. Each of these films has been restored and each of the restorations looks absolutely wonderful. I have never seen any of these films look anywhere near as good as they do here. Based on what I have seen in similar sets, I expected the first film to look great while the others would have a lesser quality to them. This was happily not the case here. I was also happy to see that the makers of this Blu-Ray set included Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) along with the more typical mummy films. That movie marked the end of an era in multiple ways as not only the last entry in the Mummy series but also the last film Abbott and Costello made for Universal, the studio where they made their best and most popular movies. Though it does not have the best reputation among either comedy or horror fans, I have always had a real fondness for that movie.
Most of the bonus features for this set are simply attached to the original movie (though the set includes the trailers for all the movies). While I wish there were bonus features relating to the other films on the set, the bonus features for the first film are truly excellent. They include two information filled and fun audio commentaries and various documentary shorts about the making of this movie and the Universal monster films in general. All of these bonus features are excellent and a real treat for any old movie or Universal monster fan.
Now for my thoughts on the induvial movies themselves.
The Mummy (1932): A horror masterpiece and one of the best Universal monster movies. Though this movie may not be actually scary by today's standards, it has a wonderful eerie atmosphere that is still incredibly effective today. Plus, Boris Karloff is incredible as the main character.
The Mummy's Hand (1940): The second movie in this series is a delightful mixture of comedy and horror with the main heroes almost feeling like a straight man and comic comedy team. While they may not be Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello, they are still quite a bit of fun and got a few laughs out of me. The mummy here is also delightfully creepy.
The Mummy's Tomb (1942): A darker, more sinister follow-up to The Mummy's Hand has a delightfully creepy feel to it. The large time jump feels completely unnecessary though.
The Mummy's Ghost (1944): This is an enjoyable little horror movie but the previous entries in the series have done everything here before and done it better.
The Mummy's Curse (1944): This fifth entry simply rehashes plot points from the previous films. This is true to the point that watching the movie for the first time, you still feel like you have seen the film before. The climax is quite atmospheric and creepy though.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955): A delightful finale for both Abbott and Costello's great run at Universal and this series of Mummy movies. Though it may not contain as many laughs as earlier Abbott and Costello films, the comedy duo is delightful here. And even if there are less laughs than earlier A&C outings, there are still some pretty funny moments there. The movie also moves at a fast and fun pace. As with all this Abbott and Costello meet the monster movies, the storyline is quite good and could have even been a pretty good monster movie if played straight. A delight for both comedy and horror fans.
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| The New Movie Magazine, 1933 |
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