Meta tags:
description=Celebrating obscure but worthwhile genre films (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, mystery-thrillers, and westerns) from the 1930s through the 1980s.;

Headings (most frequently used words):

the, mummy, 2026, follow, on, beyond, timeless, pages, august, july, ffb, social, media, featured, post, questions, comments, search, this, blog, and, by, email, subscribe, to, blogathons, events, posts, followers, from, great, vault, categories, titles, people, other, blogs, recognition, frightful, fate, of, forlorn, flunky, shroud, suboptimal, summer, vacations, special, giant, monster, edition, will, make, it, all, better, boo, boos, movie, sets,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (451), and (102), mummy (45), with (34), movie (34), that (32), was (32), from (31), for (30), his (29), film (27), 1958 (26), 1957 (26), man (21), hammer (21), you (20), night (19), but (19), horror (18), #shroud (18), 1959 (18), 1966 (16), preston (16), tomb (15), all (14), july (14), august (14), john (14), when (14), 1964 (14), series (14), one (13), may (13), october (13), expedition (13), april (12), 1961 (12), 1962 (12), june (12), 1960 (12), november (12), march (12), 2026 (11), monsters (11), robert (11), time (11), this (11), december (11), february (11), ripper (11), beyond (10), out (10), dracula (10), monster (10), 1954 (10), peter (10), michael (10), vampire (10), not (10), first (10), september (10), january (10), 1973 (9), has (9), films (9), 1970 (9), lee (9), 1967 (9), blood (9), space (9), who (9), they (9), longbarrow (9), have (8), get (8), review (8), classic (8), 1972 (8), terror (8), devil (8), 1968 (8), richard (8), 1965 (8), woman (8), she (8), curse (8), 1953 (8), into (8), are (8), some (8), egyptian (8), there (8), him (8), movies (7), blogathon (7), dead (7), room (7), being (7), island (7), paul (7), aka (7), christopher (7), earth (7), frankenstein (7), lost (7), dark (7), brain (7), her (7), very (7), over (7), brian (6), attack (6), beast (6), new (6), ray (6), take (6), been (6), george (6), barbara (6), people (6), zombies (6), 1963 (6), world (6), own (6), 1932 (6), two (6), thriller (6), 1943 (6), 1940 (6), universal (6), giant (6), comments (6), share (6), hotel (6), check (6), see (6), their (6), like (6), more (6), self (6), planet (5), blog (5), can (5), don (5), want (5), mind (5), summer (5), cult (5), william (5), cushing (5), david (5), charles (5), unknown (5), 1956 (5), 1974 (5), 1951 (5), war (5), jekyll (5), death (5), face (5), blue (5), demon (5), house (5), flight (5), posts (5), way (5), had (5), after (5), gilling (5), character (5), going (5), through (5), 2010 (4), show (4), love (4), 2025 (4), saw (4), here (4), noir (4), santo (4), taking (4), drive (4), make (4), great (4), would (4), 1993 (4), your (4), journey (4), another (4), old (4), big (4), city (4), about (4), kiss (4), ball (4), gordon (4), joan (4), edward (4), basil (4), anthony (4), without (4), ghost (4), die (4), werewolf (4), 1969 (4), back (4), 1946 (4), master (4), creature (4), seven (4), 1944 (4), hell (4), wax (4), 2019 (4), living (4), head (4), fate (4), prince (4), day (4), foot (4), colossal (4), titles (4), studios (4), email (4), will (4), instead (4), just (4), too (4), were (4), away (4), sellars (4), around (4), egypt (4), its (4), story (4), haiti (4), hasmid (4), doom (4), members (4), something (4), himself (4), played (4), sequence (4), where (3), schuck (3), blogger (3), doesn (3), good (3), feet (3), made (3), american (3), what (3), top (3), vault (3), mike (3), ann (3), red (3), 1977 (3), stop (3), end (3), rich (3), 1942 (3), 1999 (3), 1945 (3), 2013 (3), fantasy (3), zone (3), video (3), other (3), mitchell (3), ford (3), vincent (3), van (3), curtis (3), hunter (3), clark (3), stephen (3), martin (3), howard (3), roger (3), moore (3), patrick (3), allen (3), walker (3), joyce (3), jack (3), court (3), gloria (3), dennis (3), anne (3), year (3), wild (3), worlds (3), deep (3), sea (3), 1936 (3), women (3), 1955 (3), hyde (3), 1978 (3), 1950 (3), 1939 (3), 1948 (3), 1933 (3), queen (3), 1982 (3), murders (3), 2000 (3), hands (3), grave (3), gorilla (3), flesh (3), barrier (3), 1947 (3), moon (3), haunted (3), count (3), cat (3), fathoms (3), atomic (3), amazing (3), drama (3), pictures (3), travel (3), streaming (3), book (3), flunky (3), stars (3), atom (3), search (3), home (3), gorgo (3), godzilla (3), ebirah (3), looking (3), forward (3), only (3), learn (3), vacations (3), disappointment (3), down (3), long (3), off (3), far (3), lacey (3), avenging (3), ancient (3), history (3), goes (3), assistant (3), prop (3), which (3), years (3), loyal (3), crystal (3), terrible (3), tells (3), yet (3), boss (3), put (3), harried (3), name (3), many (3), bit (3), sense (3), upon (3), seemed (3), minutes (3), manservant (3), keeper (3), pre (3), reboots (3), set (3), text (2), director (2), part (2), abominable (2), sunshine (2), 000 (2), 1987 (2), blu (2), news (2), milland (2), witches (2), 1988 (2), blyth (2), watching (2), forever (2), beasts (2), angels (2), books (2), past (2), silver (2), classics (2), stanley (2), cinema (2), 1952 (2), 2011 (2), cinematic (2), catharsis (2), pizza (2), mask (2), last (2), psychotronic (2), broadway (2), acquired (2), 1980 (2), late (2), reviews (2), alex (2), 7th (2), kid (2), gypsy (2), diary (2), maniac (2), former (2), project (2), wonderful (2), bergman (2), wonder (2), comedy (2), nightmare (2), doll (2), freakboy (2), three (2), timeless (2), zsa (2), king (2), yvonne (2), smith (2), castle (2), virginia (2), price (2), victor (2), carlson (2), guest (2), bey (2), reed (2), kirk (2), andrews (2), susan (2), special (2), scott (2), corman (2), rod (2), taylor (2), raymond (2), ralph (2), noel (2), nancy (2), monte (2), mary (2), mara (2), bridges (2), cohen (2), darby (2), holden (2), crawford (2), carradine (2), joe (2), jan (2), white (2), james (2), pierce (2), arnold (2), hugh (2), hazel (2), gene (2), nelson (2), fritz (2), francis (2), fred (2), fay (2), helm (2), evelyn (2), evans (2), gray (2), griffith (2), boris (2), karloff (2), arthur (2), eyes (2), witch (2), winter (2), zombie (2), walking (2), serpent (2), circus (2), stranger (2), faces (2), 2009 (2), 1979 (2), evil (2), 2023 (2), thing (2), couldn (2), sun (2), crypt (2), teenage (2), target (2), sound (2), stranded (2), son (2), sleep (2), wolf (2), 2001 (2), secret (2), season (2), return (2), reptile (2), 1949 (2), outer (2), quatermass (2), 2008 (2), plague (2), phantom (2), opera (2), 1935 (2), devils (2), heat (2), creatures (2), 2007 (2), mystery (2), museum (2), hand (2), macabre (2), body (2), wouldn (2), hang (2), mad (2), lake (2), kronos (2), 1941 (2), 2024 (2), machine (2), daughter (2), kind (2), mars (2), fiends (2), fire (2), sky (2), fear (2), fast (2), furious (2), dummy (2), darkness (2), mountain (2), sasquatch (2), girl (2), commands (2), 1975 (2), still (2), little (2), creeping (2), cosmic (2), colossus (2), horrors (2), cave (2), arous (2), black (2), 20000 (2), ghosts (2), spoof (2), suspense (2), killer (2), sci (2), robot (2), holiday (2), adventure (2), future (2), action (2), frightful (2), forlorn (2), favorite (2), blogathons (2), events (2), subscribe (2), follow (2), better (2), sets (2), older (2), labels (2), pinterest (2), facebook (2), blogthis (2), posted (2), until (2), discovered (2), main (2), attraction (2), course (2), accommodations (2), them (2), decided (2), itself (2), cursed (2), realized (2), ship (2), any (2), universe (2), also (2), sometimes (2), those (2), days (2), picnic (2), real (2), nowhere (2), stuff (2), full (2), enough (2), exotic (2), let (2), high (2), nauseum (2), joy (2), elizabeth (2), catherine (2), grew (2), fictional (2), lesson (2), reason (2), dvd (2), look (2), most (2), poignant (2), roles (2), cloth (2), wrapped (2), hearn (2), barnes (2), era (2), filmed (2), near (2), does (2), bray (2), directed (2), although (2), characters (2), starring (2), keeps (2), defilers (2), sir (2), run (2), malevolent (2), behind (2), contempt (2), camp (2), cool (2), fates (2), husband (2), didn (2), mention (2), supporting (2), actors (2), help (2), rewatch (2), wife (2), every (2), police (2), financier (2), mode (2), poor (2), along (2), much (2), start (2), brash (2), passage (2), next (2), stay (2), brow (2), well (2), meek (2), job (2), done (2), seems (2), press (2), secretary (2), underlings (2), getting (2), point (2), familiar (2), seemingly (2), comic (2), relief (2), simple (2), actor (2), somewhat (2), phillips (2), factotum (2), original (2), okay (2), impending (2), exposition (2), finally (2), gets (2), bloody (2), started (2), arrives (2), jackass (2), interminable (2), featuring (2), viewing (2), guardian (2), royal (2), added (2), vengeance (2), 1971 (2), except, noted, rights, reserved, powered, recognition, interview, liam, donnell, skyline, hydraulx, vfx, aliens, predator, dalliances, defense, calls, perry, mason, maniacs, within, bite, scares, premise, welsh, lollipops, award, inquiries, 001, 1970s, television, 500, challenge, ninja, confrontation, vhs, revival, tale, craggus, fandango, groovers, stock, rays, discs, week, sexploitation, zontar, venus, bio, spotlight, poster, art, sabbath, visione, del, sabba, mansion, madness, 1927, 1928, whimsically, buffalo, trouble, christmas, mistletoe, premiere, blind, erotic, obsessions, wave, gothic, yasuzo, masumura, krell, laboratories, upcoming, literature, screen, jigsaw, lair, flashback, fanatic, files, shadows, satin, hcf, wanderers, synthetic, grows, paris, screenings, tyrannosaur, admit, addict, briefly, button, riders, cooking, french, chef, variations, minor, league, inland, empire, 66ers, california, route66, watson, sunday, nite, surreal, tried, rises, espanto, surge, tumba, carlos, aured, kinematograph, mine, subconscious, untapped, reservoir, information, senseless, remembering, angus, scrimm, 100th, birthday, monsterzero, madhouse, stalking, laura, fatal, proposal, realweegiemidget, wonderland, scopophilia, annual, poison, podcast, molly, stupid, minds, leviathan, 1989, longer, exists, blithe, spirit, ramblings, semiquincentennial, short, circuit, midnite, 8th, ingrid, italy, dir, roberto, rossellini, nitrateglow, skidoo, booksteve, library, importance, earnest, café, theatre, tripling, charm, grand, hurricane, hitless, hot, fresh, popcorn, frights, street, dollmaker, sons, sizzlin, subterranean, psychotronica, hellaware, chopping, mall, 1986, moria, science, fiction, christina, solis, caron, baby, vida, loca, thoughts, tales, stooges, reusable, endings, non, remakes, blogs, gabor, zalman, romain, yvette, mimieux, wolfgang, preiss, talman, sylvester, reynolds, werner, klemperer, wallace, wilder, grey, christine, virgil, vogel, maddern, jory, veronica, vera, miles, heflin, valerie, harper, val, turhan, tracy, tony, tommy, tom, conway, tod, tina, carver, tim, thomerson, thorley, walters, theodore, bikel, tanya, roberts, tab, suzanne, pleshette, hart, steve, cochran, traxler, mchattie, boyd, stephanie, beacham, stan, winston, effects, simon, oates, shirley, patterson, shiho, fujimura, sheree, north, brady, sarah, lawson, sandahl, sam, katzman, salome, jens, roy, ashton, ross, rory, calhoun, rondo, hatton, ronald, ron, roddy, piper, serling, vaughn, towne, shayne, quarry, hutton, florey, cummings, culp, clarke, bloch, reeves, devon, derr, denning, chamberlain, boone, riccardo, freda, rex, carlton, reggie, nalder, burr, russell, morgan, bates, eyck, wyngarde, lorre, graves, dyneley, peggy, cummins, paula, massie, hubschmid, christian, henreid, blaisdell, birch, neal, macnee, patricia, laffan, otto, kruger, oliver, willman, nina, foch, nigel, kneale, niall, macginnis, neve, campbell, nathan, wilson, kwan, markham, moriarty, gough, curtiz, maxwell, shane, maureen, sullivan, peach, carlisle, martine, beswick, scorsese, landau, marshall, thompson, maria, ouspenskaya, margaret, lindsay, corday, malcolm, mcdowell, mala, powers, lyle, talbot, lon, chaney, lloyd, lizabeth, lionel, atwill, linda, hayden, lillias, leslie, nielsen, leigh, brackett, leif, erikson, grant, laurie, larry, lance, henriksen, kurt, neumann, douglas, kim, kieron, kent, kelly, kitko, kathleen, crowley, katherine, locke, kate, lockhart, julie, harris, meadows, joseph, cotten, johnny, saxon, phillip, law, newland, ireland, hoyt, beal, agar, abbott, morton, bob, briggs, jock, mahoney, joanna, weldon, hackett, collins, jesse, dabson, jennifer, daniel, jeff, morrow, janet, blair, jane, lapotaire, franciscus, jacqueline, pearce, palance, irwin, irving, pichel, ione, skye, melchior, mcdermott, marlowe, hubert, herman, herbert, lom, brooks, talbott, stuart, glenn, ginger, rogers, georges, riviere, zucco, worthing, yates, pal, breakston, hamilton, romero, gale, sondergaard, leiber, lang, freddie, olen, frank, lovejoy, frances, sternhagen, forrest, tucker, beebe, wray, faith, domergue, keyes, ankers, eric, fleming, eli, wallach, souza, dymtryk, bernds, edmund, gwenn, edith, dwight, frye, dorothy, malone, donna, mills, donald, wolfit, sharp, rickles, dick, foran, diane, baker, diana, der, vlis, weaver, hopper, debra, paget, dean, jagger, deforest, kelley, dawn, addams, tomlinson, selby, morse, darren, mcgavin, dane, dana, dan, harrington, cornell, woolrich, coleen, clive, swift, clint, clifford, claude, rains, chuck, connors, plummer, neame, winninger, durning, bronson, chad, everett, cesare, danova, caroline, munro, carole, cameron, bryant, haliday, bruce, bennett, brion, donlevy, cox, clemens, brett, halsey, brenda, svenson, billie, whitelaw, beverly, garland, betsy, jones, moreland, bert, belinda, bela, lugosi, beau, rathbone, barre, lyndon, steele, stanwyck, shelley, rush, franz, antony, carbone, antonio, margheriti, anton, walbrook, quinn, perkins, higgins, ansel, faraj, revere, muffly, angie, dickinson, andy, alfred, ryder, alejandro, moreno, albert, band, akira, ishihama, akim, tamiroff, acquanetta, aaron, spelling, sex, olympics, mirror, kill, collide, gods, satellites, vulture, village, giants, viking, vertigo, unearthly, ulysses, twilight, triangle, tourist, trap, touch, tormented, todd, tarantula, tunnel, travelers, thirteenth, midnight, 5000, taste, sweet, strange, case, strait, jacket, stolen, star, trek, spider, strikes, spawn, slithis, fury, snowbeast, snow, skull, shrine, shield, murder, london, thunders, session, rogues, tavern, rocketship, revenge, ape, raw, deal, spades, pit, enemy, winged, psychopath, prowler, prototype, 1983, projected, private, premature, burial, power, pontypool, pitfall, pharaoh, limits, step, frightened, eagle, burning, damned, slaves, gallery, skies, zoo, rue, morgue, campus, piedras, blancas, monolith, mario, bava, maestro, manster, nine, lives, west, 1995, turned, stone, could, magnetic, ghoul, continent, loon, leech, land, konga, kolchak, stalker, killers, conquered, fishmen, souls, inner, sanctum, ikarie, walked, vampiri, bury, hypnotic, eye, human, how, awful, allan, gables, gorgon, 37000, hitch, hiker, hideous, comes, frogtown, hangar, nick, large, 401, frozen, came, fourth, flame, file, thelma, jordon, fiend, marble, dies, screaming, episode, 1976, madman, 2006, dog, hound, destination, desperate, seed, dear, murderer, men, walk, stood, caught, places, scarecrow, 1981, intruder, gill, cyclops, undead, cobra, cry, crack, cristo, yorga, forbin, york, cold, coherence, clairvoyant, chase, chamber, ceremony, danse, captive, captain, caltiki, immortal, bride, gardenia, blackout, friday, 1934, tomorrow, before, battle, bat, puppet, crab, submarine, astronaut, astounding, asphyx, angry, alone, alligator, alienator, 1990, snowman, voyage, sinbad, odyssey, astronauts, witchcraft, western, rental, stores, ufos, trading, cards, teleportation, telekinesis, hosts, sword, sandal, swashbuckler, supernatural, superheros, serial, 126, republic, psychological, occult, posters, mission, mexican, scientist, lucha, libre, civilizations, heads, 146, homicidal, message, spiders, genre, filmmmaking, eurospy, eurohorror, theaters, dreams, nightmares, dramatization, documentary, dinosaurs, worshipping, demons, crime, cavemen, catalog, carnivorous, plants, transplant, bigfoot, yeti, mutants, artificial, intelligence, aquatic, apocalyptic, dystopian, android, international, aip, alien, invasion, categories, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, followers, announcing, catching, sweat, thon, robbery, free, worse, writing, brschuck66, yahoo, com, questions, boo, boos, featured, post, ffb, social, media, sure, win, vegas, shirt, visit, outraged, traveled, australia, cookout, shrimp, barbie, disappointed, trashing, yelp, trash, gargantuas, gargantua, slow, molasses, tsa, security, line, missed, relaxing, cruise, small, rhedosaurus, peeved, tall, coney, roller, coaster, consolation, denizens, sibling, adjacent, our, norm, occasional, aberration, struggle, variety, issues, attempt, hard, earned, setbacks, truly, humongous, stopping, eat, boring, lunch, partaking, sit, restaurant, today, airport, cancelled, food, closed, road, trips, rage, station, wagon, luggage, games, lunches, feel, delicate, micro, ecosystem, family, break, aren, used, number, unfortunate, developments, fuel, prices, increasingly, severe, weather, arbitrarily, canceled, flights, crumbling, roads, infrastructure, coalesced, perfect, storm, blown, relaxation, vacation, replaced, anxiety, suboptimal, edition, addition, requisite, features, haven, seen, should, presents, challenges, curious, appear, anywhere, copies, available, spare, change, lying, completist, definitely, maybe, fan, game, best, whatever, beware, beat, tagline, mount, unearth, notable, feature, according, historians, marcus, alan, based, genuine, relic, resident, british, rooms, later, roman, impressive, demise, wherein, claws, disintegrating, les, bowie, slough, studio, ian, scoones, gloved, crumbled, filled, fuller, paint, dust, skeleton, titan, 115, authorized, while, resume, represent, shot, company, creative, lucrative, need, someone, blame, alternately, compliment, wrote, screenplay, producer, hinds, previous, helmed, filming, budget, savings, involving, popular, following, earlier, adaptation, infamous, burke, hare, murderous, robbers, hoping, doordash, delivery, viewers, chuckle, tabs, movements, monitor, chillingly, effective, scene, exhausted, authorities, commit, asylum, encounters, told, mere, seconds, live, soothsayer, blinks, wearily, looks, sees, cloudy, reflection, mirroring, icy, hiding, twisted, toothless, grin, cackling, menacing, laugh, fortune, telling, mother, prophetess, prototypical, refugee, central, european, armed, stage, complements, detachment, glinting, mischievous, glee, english, interlopers, nothing, than, subtle, facial, expressions, offhand, makes, clear, calculated, trade, affluence, cost, horse, ass, bad, bargain, panicked, pack, leaving, calmly, alright, icily, informs, enter, ouch, whoa, tense, give, shoulder, rub, remiss, elevate, trite, snoozefest, faults, bears, plays, elegantly, composed, background, detached, slightly, bemused, smile, grandstands, sucks, air, alas, wind, plan, escape, shuts, member, photographer, burned, panic, arrangements, port, realizes, won, grief, heart, rending, spoiling, pitiful, undeserved, least, justice, pays, dearly, draws, close, yourself, nice, vending, picked, confidence, collapses, gnawing, instructs, steamship, dodge, against, explicit, instructions, inspector, cleared, wheels, turning, under, wonders, relieved, worried, begrudgingly, behold, same, unctuous, efficient, moment, smiling, satisfaction, knitting, worry, displeased, even, merit, answer, brings, wheelbarrow, appropriate, expendable, tool, haul

Text of the page (random words):
l 1960 and dr jekyll and sister hyde 1971 the phantom of the opera 1962 werewolves curse of the werewolf 1961 and the mummy saga with four count em entries the mummy 1959 the curse of the mummy s tomb 1964 the mummy s shroud 1967 and blood from the mummy s tomb 1971 somewhat like universal s mummy series hammer started out strong with their 1959 offering starring christopher lee as the ancient cloth wrapped instrument of vengeance and peter cushing as a bookish yet formidable target of the curse although lacking in the mystical atmosphere of universal s 1932 classic with boris karloff 6 5 lee brought several extra levels of physicality and impending doom to the title role 1964 s curse of the mummy s tomb added some comic relief in the form of a brash self centered american entrepreneur played by fred clark but also leveraged the reincarnation angle to set up a surprise climax by 1967 and the mummy s shroud it seemed as if hammer like universal s mummy b pictures of the 40s had run out of ideas and was in the lather rinse and repeat mode however they would infuse new blood so to speak into the series by adapting bram stoker s novel the jewel of the seven stars and releasing it as blood from the mummy s tomb a synopsis of the mummy s shroud will seem very familiar to fans of universal s mummy franchise an egyptian royal runs afoul of court rivals and is entombed in a secret location along with his loyal manservant and guardian check a 1920s expedition finds the tomb which sets in motion the terrible consequences for the expedition members check a modern day egyptian keeper of the tomb warns the expedition to stay away or be cursed check the keeper reanimates the mummified guardian of the tomb by reading a sacred text from the royal shroud check one by one the defilers meet terrible fates at the hands of the avenging mummy check is anyone else feeling a sense of deja vu when i first saw the mummy s shroud sometime around my high school days not quite 3000 years ago but sometimes it feels that way my reaction was been there done that mind you that was a time of pimply faced adolescence when i couldn t get enough of hammer s bloody technicolored reboots of the universal classics i d been raised on so of course i was going to see shroud at the first opportunity regardless but that first viewing was a slog kind of like sifting through tons of egyptian sand to find a shard of pottery or two there was the seemingly interminable pre titles sequence lasting over 7 minutes depicting the egyptian prince s flight into the desert to avoid being assassinated and his lonely death attended only by his loyal manservant okay it was poignant i guess and filmed in glorious color with striking costumes but did it have to be that long and instead of being rewarded with a bit of action for making it through the sonorously narrated fictional history lesson my juvenile self was treated to yet another interminable sequence this time featuring a pompous rich jackass bellowing at the help as he arrives at an egyptian hotel stanley preston john phillips is the jackass and wealthy financier of the expedition which includes his son paul david buck it seems the expedition hasn t communicated with the outside world for some time and is feared lost and preston has arrived in egypt to yell at underlings to do something preston blusters and berates his way through more exposition and back story as his meek and harried press secretary longbarrow michael ripper twists himself into a pretzel trying to keep up with his boss s demands it seemed to take forever in my teen hormone clouded mind for the film to just get to the expedition camp where the search party headed up by preston arrives just in time to learn that they ve finally found the lost tomb of the benighted egyptian prince kah to bey played in the pre titles sequence by toolsie persaud longbarrow michael ripper tries to ingratiate himself with his irate boss after being threatened by the sinister self appointed keeper of the tomb hasmid roger delgado the expedition leader sir basil walden andre morell wants to be cautious but the arrogant money man preston forces the issue and gets the excavation going pronto little knowing that he is sealing his and the expedition s doom some 45 long minutes into the film the mummy of the prince s manservant prem played in the prologue by dickie owen the mummy is played by eddie powell finally gets around to his bloody avenging of the tomb s desecration jump started by hasmid s malevolent ministrations okay so at this point the film goes on to do a credible job of building suspense and an impending sense of doom with the giant mummy lurking in every dark corner of the old city but man there s a ton of exposition and dialog to get through first fast forward to 2019 when i was bit by the hammer mummy bug after a rewatch of the original 1959 reboot being the red haired stepchild of hammer s mummy series the mummy s shroud seemed to have successfully eluded any streaming services so i took advantage of a classic horror convention i was attending to secure a dvd copy far older and somewhat more mature i was more receptive to the character development in the first part of the film that my younger self saw as an unforgivable delay in getting to the good stuff but it wasn t john phillips bloviating as preston that got my attention so much as master character actor michael ripper s wonderful performance as the put upon factotum longbarrow they never learn that thing is going to start walking and it s not going to be pretty at this point in hammer s filmography ripper was a very familiar face popping up in seemingly everything bearing the hammer name many of his appearances were brief but they were always memorable complementing the exotic classiness of stars christopher lee and peter cushing ripper specialized in rough and tumble working class characters from barkeepers to coachmen to day laborers he was a relatable everyman who provided a bit of comic relief or a simple common sense perspective in hammer s world of monsters and swashbucklers for more on ripper and his extensive career see my friend barry s tribute to the versatile character actor over at cinematic catharsis his portrayal of longbarrow in shroud is something of a departure in the film he is dapper in a linen suit complete with immaculate hair and pince nez glasses not to mention this is one of his heftier roles at the beginning of the film preston refers to longbarrow as his press secretary but like many underlings of the capricious rich he has a boatload of other duties as assigned arranging hotel accommodations getting together search parties booking passage on ships ad nauseum ripper s poor harried character doesn t even merit a first name and the name he does answer to brings to mind wheelbarrow appropriate as preston seems to only see him as an expendable tool to haul around his baggage real and metaphorical ripper is a wonder to behold at one and the same time meek unctuous and efficient one moment smiling in self satisfaction at a job well done and the next knitting his brow in worry that his master is displeased as the expedition members start to get picked off one by one preston s former brash self confidence collapses into gnawing fear and he instructs his flunky to book passage for he and his wife on the next steamship out of dodge against the explicit instructions of the egyptian police inspector to stay put until the murders are cleared up you can see the wheels turning under longbarrow s brow as he wonders are you taking me with you and we re relieved for the worried assistant as preston begrudgingly tells him he can book for himself as well i can t take you with me longbarrow but here get yourself something nice out of the hotel vending machine alas the police get wind of preston s plan to escape and shuts it down when yet another expedition member the photographer is burned to death in his hotel room the financier goes into full panic mode and commands poor longbarrow to get up in the dead of night to make arrangements for the first ship out of port when longbarrow realizes that his boss won t be taking him along after all the look of grief and disappointment on his face is heart rending and without spoiling too much the pitiful assistant s fate is so very very undeserved but at least there s some justice in the mummy universe preston pays dearly for being preston as the film draws to a close i would be remiss not to mention two other supporting actors who help elevate the film from a trite snoozefest to something that for all its faults bears a rewatch elizabeth sellars plays preston s elegantly cool and composed wife barbara who for most of the film keeps to the background with a detached slightly bemused smile as her husband grandstands and sucks the air out of every room he s in whoa preston you re way too tense here let me give you a shoulder rub with nothing more than subtle facial expressions and some offhand comments sellars makes it clear that her character has calculated the trade off she has made affluence at the cost of living with a horse s ass and decided it was a bad bargain when her panicked husband tells her to pack up that they re leaving egypt she calmly tells him she s not going i ll be alright she icily informs him after all i didn t enter the tomb ouch mirroring barbara preston s icy contempt but hiding that contempt behind a twisted toothless grin and a cackling menacing laugh is catherine lacey as haiti hasmid s fortune telling mother and prophetess of doom for the expedition members looking like a prototypical refugee from a central european gypsy camp and armed with a stage prop crystal ball lacey complements sellars cool detachment her eyes glinting with mischievous glee at the terrible fates of the english interlopers some viewers will chuckle as haiti keeps tabs on the tomb defilers by watching their movements on the crystal ball as if it were a tv monitor but there is one chillingly effective scene with the prop when sir basil exhausted and on the run from authorities who want to commit him to an asylum encounters haiti told that he has mere seconds to live by the malevolent soothsayer basil blinks wearily as he looks at the crystal ball and sees the cloudy reflection of the mummy creeping up behind him haiti and hasmid are hoping there s a doordash delivery in their near future if you need someone to blame or alternately compliment for the mummy s shroud john gilling who directed and wrote the screenplay from a story by producer anthony hinds is your man the previous year gilling had helmed two hammer horrors the reptile and plague of the zombies filming them back to back at bray studios for budget savings although not involving popular characters like frankenstein or dracula over the years the two films have acquired a loyal cult following an earlier gilling directed horror film the flesh and the fiends 1960 starring peter cushing is a very good adaptation of the infamous burke and hare murderous grave robbers story see my review here while shroud is nowhere near the top of gilling s resume it does represent the end of an era for hammer as it was their last film shot at bray studios which had been home to the company for 16 creative and lucrative years another notable feature is the mummy itself according to hammer historians marcus hearn and alan barnes the creature was based on a genuine relic resident in the british museum s egypt rooms of a later roman era body its impressive demise wherein the creature claws away at its own disintegrating head was filmed in les bowie s slough studio it was assistant ian scoones gloved hands that crumbled a dummy wax head filled with fuller s earth paint dust and a prop skeleton hearn and barnes the hammer story the authorized history of hammer films titan books 2007 p 115 if you haven t seen the mummy s shroud and there s no reason you should have it still presents challenges to the curious who want to check it out it doesn t appear to be streaming anywhere but there are dvd and blu ray copies available for those who have some spare change lying around if you re a mummy or hammer completist you definitely will want to take a look or maybe you re a michael ripper fan and want to see him at the top of his game in one of his very best and most poignant hammer roles whatever the reason beware the beat of the cloth wrapped feet as the tagline goes as you mount your own expedition to unearth the mummy s shroud in addition to the requisite avenging mummy the mummy s shroud features a fictional ancient egyptian history lesson posted by brian schuck 19 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels 2026 it grew on me blogathon catherine lacey elizabeth sellars hammer films horror john gilling michael ripper mummy s shroud the 1967 july 9 2026 suboptimal summer vacations special giant monster edition summer vacations aren t what they used to be a number of unfortunate developments sky high fuel prices increasingly severe weather arbitrarily canceled flights crumbling roads and infrastructure ad nauseum have coalesced into a perfect storm that has blown away all the joy and relaxation of the vacation season and replaced it with anxiety and disappointment when i was a kid road trips were all the rage we d stuff the station wagon full of luggage games and picnic lunches and take off for the lake or some attraction that was far enough away to feel exotic but not so far as to let the delicate micro ecosystem of the family break down in those days disappointment was stopping to eat a boring picnic lunch instead of partaking of a real sit down restaurant today it s being stranded at the airport at 2 am after your flight has been cancelled with the food court long closed and nowhere to go if it s any consolation the denizens of the sibling universe adjacent to our own where monsters are the norm and not just an occasional aberration also struggle with a variety of issues when they attempt to take hard earned vacations and sometimes the setbacks are truly humongous the rhedosaurus was peeved that he was too tall for the coney island roller coaster the beast from 20 000 fathoms 1953 godzilla had been looking forward all winter to a relaxing cruise but was furious when he realized that the ship was way too small godzilla 2000 1999 gargantua cursed the slow as molasses tsa security line when he realized he had missed his flight the war of the gargantuas 1966 the 50 foot woman was so disappointed with her hotel accommodations instead of trashing them on yelp she decided to just trash the hotel itself attack of the 50 foot woman 1958 ebirah was outraged when he traveled all the way to australia for a cookout only to learn that the main course was shrimp on the barbie ebirah horror of the deep 1966 gorgo was looking forward to his first visit to the circus until he discovered he was the main attraction ...