Review of The Mummy's Shroud (1967) by Steve M — 02 Jul 2005

If you can get past the asinine mummy costume, this film is as good as any other mummy movie. Unfortunately, that's very difficult to do. The costume is basically a set of white coveralls, and they're even baggy, not like the tightly wrapped bandages we've seen in other films, so it wreaks of inauthenticity, if there is such a word, and if not, i've got dibs on the copyright. Our intelligence is further insulted by gloves worn by the mummy, where a very poor attempt was actually made to make them look like bandages, undermining the inferior quality of the rest of the costume. Finally, the mask looks like a papier mache globe with a happy face crudely etched into it, and on closeups of the eyes opening we see a pair of very obviously fake doll's eyes, and they're blue! I can't say with any authority that there were'nt any blue eyed ancient egyptians, but I doubt it, and that doubt further inhibits my ability to suspend my disbelief for other things. Furthermore, I'm nearly certain that the actor playing the living version of the mummy in the flashbacks has brown eyes, and even if they are blue, they're a much darker shade than the doll eyes that we see in closeup later. Despite these flaws, I have seen this film three times, and will no doubt watch it again in the future. I credit that to a strong cast and a great story that succeed despite being hindered by crapspecial effects, and possibly sloppy editing.

The death scenes are all great, and they're mostly spaced out nicely, the first coming about halfway through the movie's running time, and the others occuring at roughly twelve minute intervals thereafter, except for the last which happens a little sooner.

The backstory this time involves a bodyguard charged with protecting the pharaoh's son just before his jealous brother usurps the throne. The prince dies later in the desert, but names the bodyguard as the new pharaoh. The bodyguard buries the prince in a makeshift tomb, and apparently continues to guard him even after his own death. Naturally a group of explorers discover the prince's tomb, and the mummy of the bodyguard hunts them down and murders them one by one.

Andre Morrell stars, and Michael Ripper puts in an appearance in a supporting role. Not the best Hammer, in fact probably the least of the Hammer mummy movies, but it definitely rises above alot of the Hammer films that came after it.