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| Above, Lon Chaney Jr. as Kharis in The Mummy's Curse (1944). Universal Pictures. |
It has been since 1944 when we last saw the mummy Kharis, in The Mummy's Curse.
The Southern Engineering Company is trying to drain the local swamp for the public good. However, the efforts are being hampered by the superstitions of the workers, who believe the area to be haunted by the mummy and his bride.
Two representatives of the Scripps Museum, Dr. James Halsey and Dr. Ilzor Zandaab, arrive on the scene and present their credentials to the head of the project, Pat Walsh. They have come to search for the missing mummies, buried in the swamp years earlier. Their conversation is interrupted by the news that a workman has been murdered in the swamps. Evidence at the scene convinces Halsey that the murderer has found the mummy of Kharis.
Later that evening, Zandaab sneaks into the swamp and meets Ragheb. Ragheb is a disciple of the Arkam sect, and Zandaab is secretly a High Priest. The follower killed the worker that unearthed Kharis, and has taken the immobile monster to a deserted monastery.
Zandaab explains the legend of Kharis and Ananka to Ragheb as he brews the tana leaves, giving instructions on their use. The old sacristan of the monastery intrudes on their ritual, and is promptly executed by a risen Kharis.
Meanwhile, the mummy of Ananka rises from the swamp after being partially uncovered by a bulldozer during the excavation. She immerses herself in a pond and the mud is washed away, revealing an attractive young woman.
Cajun Joe finds the girl wandering listlessly in the swamps, calling out the name "Kharis". He takes her to Tante Berthe, the owner of the local pub, who aids the girl. Later, Kharis finds her there and murders Berthe, as Ananka flees into the night.
Ananka is soon found lying unconscious beside the road by Halsey and Betty Walsh, the niece of Pat Walsh. While in their care, and although apparently suffering from amnesia, the girl displays an incredible knowledge of ancient Egypt. Her stay at Halsey's camp is again interrupted by the appearance of Kharis, and the kindly physician, Dr. Cooper, is killed. She again takes flight, and Halsey and the others go in search of her.
Fleeing the monster after he attacks and kills Cajun Joe, she comes to Betty's tent seeking refuge. However, Kharis is not far behind. He enters the tent and whisks away his Princess, leaving the horrified Betty unhurt.
Betty asks Ragheb for his help in finding Dr. Halsey. The treacherous disciple has other ideas, and takes her to the monastery instead. Zandaab, having already administered the tana fluid to the young Ananka, is angered to find Ragheb making advances on Betty. He orders her death, but Ragheb kills him instead. Halsey arrives, tracking them from the camp after finding Betty's tent destroyed. A struggle ensues between Ragheb and Halsey, until Kharis intervenes. The creature, sensing Ragheb's betrayal, advances on his former ally.
Locking himself inside a cell-like room, Ragheb is powerless to do anything but watch as Kharis literally brings down the walls on the two of them. Halsey, Betty and the rest find the mummified remains of Ananka in the adjoining room.
As stated above, the monastery walls, where high priest Zandaab and his henchman Ragheb were hiding in, collapsed on Kharis when he was going after Ragheb in a cell-like room.
The last bit of dialog after the old monastery walls collapsed on Kharis (from the script):
Halsey: This mummy is the girl we brought to the camp. She's the Princess Ananka.
We'll put a crew of men together digging Kharis out of the rubble, then send them both back to the Scripps Museum.
The end.
Well, maybe not. Frankly, Kharis is too tough for collapsed stone walls to kill him.
Suppose Universal Pictures decides to produce a movie picking up where The Mummy's Curse left off? A screenwriter who is also a fan of the Mummy movies could tackle the script (Donald Glut, are you listening?). That would be interesting and not difficult. It could be a money-maker, especially with baby boomers and fans of classic Universal horror movies. Besides being a sequel, it can also correct the goof of locations (and other plot holes), when the movie substituted Massachusetts with Louisiana.
It can go like this:
The bodies of Kharis and Ananka were taken to the Scripps Museum where they had been on display for 70 years. Another high priest of the sect, who were the guardians of Ananka's and Kharis's tombs, arrives in America around 2014. Perhaps he's the youngest son or grandson of Kandaab and his desire is to complete the mission to bring Ananka and Kharis back to Egypt. With him, he brings a satchel of tana leaves to revive Kharis, which he does. Kharis is revived and runs amok in modern-day San Diego (where the museum is located). Of course, nobody believes a living mummy is out killing people. With the help of Kharis, the high priest manages to remove Ananka's body from the museum and takes it to Lindbergh Field.
A chartered plane (Egypt Air?) manages to take off before authorities catch wind of this and can stop them. (Coffee, tea or tana fluid, sir?) They reach modern-day Egypt, where they have a different set of problems in getting Kharis and Ananka back to their tombs. However, Universal Pictures, being the crafty company it is, saves what happens next for another sequel.
The possibilities are endless.
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