The Mummy's Shroud (UK 1966)

Rating: **
Review Date: 8/25/19
Cast: Andre Morell, John Phillips, David Buck, Michael Ripper, Maggie Kimberly

Hammer Studios travels back to Egypt for another round of ancient curses as the brash British financier Stanley Preston (John Phillips) mounts an expedition to find the lost tomb of prince Kah-to-bey. Sir Basil Walden (Andre Morell) leads the expedition, accompanied by his lovely assistant Claire (Maggie Kimberly) and Preston's son, Paul (David Buck). When they discover the tomb, they find the prince's corpse covered with a sinister shroud that spells doom for all who disturb it. One by one, the members of the expedition fall victim to a vengeful mummy that gets called forth by the guardians of the tomb. Claire seeks to appease the restless spirits, but can she pull that off before the mummy takes her life as well?

It's a good looking, but tedious production that doesn't really cover any new ground. The mummy looks absolutely ridiculous, even though it was supposedly based on a real mummy from a British museum. The characters are neither interesting nor likable, and the acting tends to be a bit bland. Michael Ripper gives a convincing and moving performance as Preston's thankless lackey, while a scared and confused Maggie Kimberly seems to only exist as exotic blonde eye candy. It's sluggish and overly talky, but the action scenes are fun and there's a neat mummy disintegration at the end.