Movie review – “Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb” (1971) **

Famously troubled Hammer production – Peter Cushing had to pull out of filming after his wife became terminally ill (he was replaced with Andrew Keir), director Seth Holt died during filming (Michael Carreras stepped in to complete the job). It’s a bit of a hodge-podge but I’m unclear how much of that is due to the troubles – Hammer were capable of making smooth productions that turned into a hodge podge.

The plot of this has beautiful Valerie Leon realising (surprise) she may be the reincarnation of an Egyptian sorceress dug up by her dag (Keir). Some of it doesn’t make sense – Keir’s kept a mummy in the basement all these years? – and potential themes of them film are undeveloped (eg does Keir have incestuous designs on his own daughter?). It's confusing in spots and the writing feels lazy at times, with Andrew Keir conveniently knocked out for most of the running time

I saw this as a kid and my most vivid memory was Leon’s sexy bare back as she got changed in the dark – that remains the case today. It isn’t particularly suspenseful or scary, partly because there’s no “real” character, except for arguably Leon’s boyfriend (whose name is Tod Browning – presumably a dig of the screenwriter, a former film journo ).

Leon isn’t the best actor in the world but she’s gorgeous and really looks like someone who could be English and Egyptian (love that Eygptian bra); although she uses a body double for her brief nude scene (a bare back and bottom) her breasts dominate the film in various low cut dresses like few actresses ever did – it's reminiscent of Jane Russell in The Outlaw. There's some good acting from Keir and villain James Villiers, a high death toll and a memorable ending. It’s not a disaster by any means – with a bit more care it could have been really good, but it’s still entertaining.