THE MUMMY'S HAND

'''The Mummy's Hand''' (1940) is a Universal Pictures horror film released in 1940. The black-and-white film is a follow-up the 1932 film ''The Mummy''. Since it did not continue the 1932 film's storyline, or feature any of the same characters, it is more of a reworking of the original than an actual sequel.
''The Mummy's Hand'' tells the story of a down-on-his-luck archaeologist and his friend that are attempting to leave Cairo and return to New York. While at a street market, the archaeologist buys an old broken vase that may hold the mystery of the location of the ancient Egyptian princess Ananka's tomb. After receiving funding from an eccentric magician (Cecil Kellaway) and his daughter (Peggy Moran), they set out into the desert only to be abandoned by their workers once a tomb is found. To make matters worse, the group is terrorized by a sinister high priest (George Zucco) and the living mummy Kharis (Tom Tyler) who are the guardians of Ananka's tomb.
Kharis is used as an assassin by the high priest, with a liquid made from brewed leaves of the tana plant. A small amount of the fluid is placed near each intended victim, with Kharis then released to kill. Oddly, this motif was used in another Zucco film, "The Flying Serpent," with a prehistoric monster-god, Quetzecoatl, in place of Kharis, and its feathers used to point out the next victim. Bela Lugosi, of course, used perfume in "The Devil Bat," proving that monsters are malleable when it comes to target identification.
The plot is exposed, Kharis "killed," and the evil priest shot dead, although he'd show up for the next two films in the series, conveniently dying in each after exposition for those new to the franchise history.

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Trivia

Trivia

★ Tyler's eyelashes and pupils were "blacked out" after the film was made to give the Mummy a more other-worldly appearance. (The trailer, however, lacks this effect.)

★ During a flashback sequence, scenes from the 1932's ''The Mummy'' were used to tell the new story, which closely resembles the back story used in the first film. Shots in which Boris Karloff is clearly identifiable were replaced by inserts featuring Tyler, but most still feature Karloff, who was not credited.

★ This was the only appearance of B-movie cowboy and super-hero actor Tom Tyler as the Mummy. He was replaced by Lon Chaney, Jr. in the film's sequels ''The Mummy's Tomb'', ''The Mummy's Ghost'', and ''The Mummy's Curse''.