Reviews (13)

After All
Name any other mummy in any other mummy show who is that nimble and has loose bandages half coming undone, who takes your hand when you put it out to him. Or Marie Windsor in a harem suit at Dr. Zoomer's house chasing Lou around. Or Bud wondering if a lost tie clasp was showing up on the x-ray of Lou's stomach. Name a more pitiful hole ever dug in the history of movies.[about 2 feet deep to bury TWO mummies.] Or Bud just happening to find a bag of bandages so he could be a mummy too. Just watching Marie wheel her horse around [she was a champion rider who was able to run and mount a horse from behind like the Lone Ranger, the only actress able to do that.] is a pleasure. This may be the best movie ever made....just trashes Citizen Kane. I have it tied with 'Dr. Strangelove' and 'The Apostle' as the three best movies ever made. Pure Poetry, every minute.

Yikes! The comedy is kept under wraps here...
The Abbott and Costello films fit into one of two categories; really good or really bad. Sadly, this film sits in the later camp. I'm not sure what the screenwriters and Bud & Lou were thinking when they concocted this strange mishmash of bad comedy and bad horror. The Universal Mummy films were always the weakest of their horror films (the exception is the eerie but really slowwwwww first film with Boris Karloff. It's only alive in the very beginning).

I'd suggest sticking with the first and best of this bunch A&C Meet Frankenstein. All the later films (including Dr. Jekell & Mr. Hyde)are little more than pale imitations.

Any A&C film is only as good as their routines. This one, sadly, doesn't have very inspired ones. The best involving the tools is a pale imitation of the who's on first variety. They don't make them like this anymore (on second thought....what about all those Halloween and Friday The 13th sequels? They're not comedies? What?)

Best of the "meet the monsters" series
Fans of the original Mummy movie featuring Kharis the mummy, The Mummy's Hand (not to be confused with Boris Karloff's radically different and unrelated 1932 film titled "The Mummy") could have seen this movie coming. The original film that introduced Kharis is somewhat in the same vein as Abbott & Costello as far as story and characterization are concerned. In fact, the original duo cast in the Mummy's Hand are similar to and could have been better cast as Abbott & Costello.

In a sense, this movie brings Kharis full circle long after the demise of Ananka in his own movies, he finally meets his end here in a slightly more humorous picture than his first. However, the similarities between the two could almost make this the final instalment in the canon, other than out of continuity (like Abbott & Costello's other "meet the monster" movies).

My only complaint with this DVD is that it did not have a great commentary like Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein. But it's still a great DVD, and the sight of the two charicatures running madly accross the main menu is enough entertainment (yes, i can be simple-minded, but then again it is Abbott & Costello i'm talking about).

Abbott & Costello, sadly, did not go on to make any more pictures after this one, but this is still some of their greatest material. So in two ways, this movie has a sense of finality: the last Kharis movie, and the last Abbott & Costello movie. It should also be a must-have in the collection of any fan of either.

My favorite A&C movie.
Saw these and liked them as a kid in the 1950's. My kinds don't care for them. This is the one i liked the best.

Who Cares About Behind-The-Scenes Grumbling?
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY was one of the funniest of their screwball antics. The tale of the two cleverest yucksters chasing a medallion to an ancient Egyptian crypt where they encounter -- as the title promises -- the Mummy is one classic set of laughs after another. All of the trades touched on the bitterness the two men felt for one another during the filming process of this outing, but, with all the magic of their performances still on the silver screen, you sure wouldn't know it. A great transfer for a classic addition to any DVD library, this is one for the ages. ... Read more

Description

Film adaptation of Lillian Hellman's World War II play about a German man and his wife being pursued by Nazi agents in Washington, D.C. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Bette Davis' Contribution to the War Effort
This WWII Propaganda Film is introduced by a War Bonds Advertisement, featuring Bette Davis as a War Mom, caring for 2 small children while "Daddy fights for World Freedom Over There". Focusing on the invaluable contributions of civilians who offered considerable resistance against the Nazis. The dated material is outdone nly by Bette Davis' (now renound) over-acting. This is Bette Davis' part in helping America and the Allies win the "big one". Nostalgic historical fiction, does not quite hold up the test of time.***

+1/2. Dated WWII-era political noir
This film adaptation of Lillian Hellman's groundbreaking anti-fascist play has aged poorly since the 1940s. The plot is similar to "Casablanca": Paul Lukas (in what is generally considered his best role) plays an aging, weary member of the German underground, who has come to America with his wife and family, as they continue to raise funds to help the resistence at home. America is still a slumbering giant, childishly unaware of the evil depths of the Nazi threat. Lukas faces off against an unscrupulous Nazi collaborator, who threatens to turn him and his family over to the Germans, and while the bad guy is an absolute sleaze, he and Lukas share a common bond as Europeans, realists who recognize the nature of the fascism, even though their American hosts remain clueless. The stage version of this story was ahead of its time (Hellman was one of those left-leaning "premature antifascists" who ached for the American government to get into the war), but the film adaptation, which came out in '43, was a bit anachronistic: by then, the thought of any Americans, anywhere, being naive and accomodating towards the Germans was a bit unbelievable. Mostly, though, the movie is just way too exposition heavy, and even with a fine set of actors and a script that was touched up by Dashiel Hammett, it's frankly a bit awkward, sluggish and melodramatic. Bette Davis is fine; Beulah Beondi is a hoot. A classic, sure, and certainly worth checking out, although you have to be in the right mood.

Ideologies Clash
The events of December 7, 1941 propelled America into a war that had already been raging for two years. Hollywood responded with a series of big and bold war films that emphasized action and the personal heroism of its stars. WATCH ON THE RHINE was different in that the action was personal and verbal. Director Herman Shumlin took the successful play by Lillian Hellman and placed the battlegound in a living room where Paul Lukas and George Coulouris traded ideological body blows that became physical only in the final scene. Lukas and his wife Bette Davis are forced to leave Europe for the sanctuary of the United States, where they can live in the luxury of Bette Davis's wealthy mother. After arriving in America, Lukas enjoys his new surroundings but is also aware that his work of fighting Nazism is far from complete. George Coulouris is a Rumanian expatriate count with strong Nazi leanings who threatens to turn Lukas in should he return to Germany. The best parts of the film lie in the extended debates between Lukas, who extols the virtues of western democracy, and Coulouris, who maintains that Nazism is the inevitable end of European politics. The movie belongs squarely to Lukas, who was a deserved Oscar winner for Best Actor. For one of the few times in Bette Davis's career, she was content with a supporting role, yet she managed enough screen time as Lukas's devoted wife to indelibly etch herself in the audience's mind as a woman caught in the middle of the old world of European politics and the new one of America's. WATCH ON THE RHINE portrays a pre-Pearl Harbor America that allows a Nazi way of life to broadcast itself as an alternative to American democracy, and in so doing, affirms the superiority of a way of free life that lingers even unto today.

The message olds true for today
All the actors are topnotch. You will find yourself kibitzing for both sides and cringe as they play with each other as a cat and mouse. The question is who is the cat?

This is a W.W.II film about how naive the Americans are about what is going on in Europe. When the fight and ideologies become a reality in their house, they are forced to take sides in the struggle for freedom. Many ideological speeches take place between family members and other acquaintances; this is probably due to being an adaptation from a play. Even though on the surface this looks like an anti-fascist film, it is more complex with people that have diverse motives. However, they show that there is only one way to deal with evil so that future generations will not have to live in terror.

PAUL LUKAS STEALS THE SHOW FROM BETTE...
This is a highly enjoyable, classic film based upon a Lillian Hellman play about the fight against facism during World War II, before Americans became embroiled in the war. The screenplay adaptation, which was co-authored by Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett, is terrific. It tells the story of a German resistance leader, Kurt Muller, who comes to America, traveling incognito with his American born wife, Sarah, and three children, and visits his wife's wealthy mother and brother in their beautiful antebellum style mansion.

During their visit, they make the acquaintance of a Roumanian expatriate who is there as a house guest together with a his wife, a hometown girl and friend of the family. The Roumanian, a Nazi sympathizer, who frequently visits the German embassy, ultimately clashes with Muller, as irreconciable philosophical differences come to a head in a rousing climax.

Paul Lukas, who plays the noble freedom fighter with consummate dignity and passion, steals the show. A finer piece of acting is hard to find. He deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his heartfelt and heroic portrayal of Kurt Muller. It is, without a doubt, a performance to remember. Bette Davis plays it smart and gives a fine, though somewhat restrained, performance as a loyal and altruistic wife. She is luminous in the role.

Lucille Watson is marvelous as Sarah's dominant, generous, and larger than life mother. A very young and beautiful Geraldine Fitzgerald effectively plays the role of wife to the disreputable Roumanian expatriate, a wife disgusted with her husband's politics and lack of character, making her susceptible to the infinitely more alluring charms of Sarah's kind brother. The three childrem are stiff in their roles and, though affording some comic relief, are the only weakness in this otherwise compelling drama.

This is a marvelous movie that will appeal to those who love classic films. Fans of Bette Davis will also enjoy this film, provided that they do not expect a histrionic, over the top performance by Bette. This film is entirely, though quietly, dominated by Paul Lukas. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A little-noticed gem
The Seventh Cross is an absolutely dazzling motion picture that is notable in several ways.
Tracy's brooding performance is unforgettable, and the supporting players and even the bits--such as the fellow prisoners--leave indelible impressions. Many of the players were themselves refugees from Hitler, and the wife of Bertold Brecht--the role model for "Mother Courage"--has a brief walk-on role.
It's also notable that this film deals with a subject that Hollywood dealt with only sparsely during World War II, which was the concentration camps and brutality of the Nazi regime. While it only touches on anti-Semitism, the very fact that the word "Jew" was used in this movie is remarkable.
But above all it is a tightly-plotted, brilliantly acted motion picture that has held up very well over the years.

"Circle of Friends" Save Life of Man Fleeing Nazis
This film version of the award-winning Anna Segers novel, is the story of one man who manages to escape a Third Reich Era Nazi concentration camp, then continues his quest for freedom, aided by many friends, even strangers, who with their selfless kindness, at the risk of their own freedom and lives, feed, hide and otherwise tend to this man, whose only fault is that he was born a jew.

This film serves as powerful testimony to the fact that humans are inately kind and just, regardless of what brutal regime of terror and injustice they may live in. Opposition to the Nazi terror machine was not always violent and vocal, but, as seen here, silent, and without much furore. Many touching scenes show how virtual strangers lend support, doing so without taking credit, sometimes signaling with only a nod or a barely noticeable gesture.

The desire to aide the innocent and to have compassion for the oppressed is within us all. This film brilliantly reminds us of the genuinely good human qualities that set us aside from savages. Look for a youthful Jessica Tandy in a supporting role. This is a rare 5-star Hollywood Classic!*****

They don't make them like this anymore
What a pleasant surprise when I first viewed "The Seventh Cross." I thought the movie might be good, but simply "good" does not adequately describe this film. It is superb. The acting is excellent, especially for a movie of its time. But what else would you expect from Spencer Tracy, Hume Cronym, Jessica Tandy, and Agnes Morehead? Even the bit characters played their parts very well. The story is suspenseful and easily keeps your interest. Of the more than 250 movies in my private library, this is one of the best. Every movie lover should watch this film, and if you, like I, enjoy stories built around the World War II era, "The Seventh Cross" is an absolute "must see." They just don't make movies like this anymore.

A great film!
This is an excellent film and a must see for all Spencer Tracy fans. While the story is about seven men who escape from a concentration camp, it follows one of them (Tracy) and the people he meets who put their lives at risk in order to help him find freedom. The film also stars the pretty Signe Hasso, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy and Agnes Moorehead. This is a wonderful film that is highly recommended!

Suspenseful and unusual World War II film
3 1/2 stars. This early Fred Zinnemann effort takes a humanistic look at pre-war Nazi Germany. It avoids the "lets all hate the Germans" stance of other war films of the early forties and while it shows evil Germans it also shows Germans whose innate decency compels them to aid the hero who is on the run from the Gestapo. Tracy, with minimal dialogue, gives a fine, intense performance. There is good work , too, from Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Zinnemann conveys considerable suspense as well as a completely believable European ambience. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

fun fun fun
serials were never known for great acting, writing or much of anything else. However there are excetions to the rule, and this is one of them. The plot may not be the freshest, and the nazis are about as stereotypical as they come, but some of the ideas that the writers came up with are quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the fake German graveyard in Morrocco loaded with explosives. Also, predictable as every fight scene is, the stunt coordinators and cameramen went out of their way to let everything look just a little bit different (my dad's got about forty serials, and Manhunt has by far the best fights of any of them, it's also in the top five for most amusing cliffhangers). No other serial has the actors fighting at the camera (pardon the grammar, but there's no other way to put it). The sets are also quite remarkable in that a large number of items are placed around for the actors to use. Again don't be looking for a great story or good acting. Just sit back and enjoy what passed for gratuitous violence in the 1940s. It's definitely a winner.

Manhunt in the African Jungle
This is a typical cliffhanging serial with plenty of action and even good creativity, but "someone forgot the jungle". Its painfully obvious this was shot in the foothills surrounding L.A. and unfortunately every episode winds up in in the same old fistfight, usually between "wolf" the Nazi spy and Rod Cameron, the American hero, not to mention the spear chucking arabs, who also become routine and who are dispatched by the dozen, usually accidentally, by their own kind, during the struggle for the gun during fist fights. Okay, but no prize!

Formulaic and uninspired but decent acting & special effects
If you want to study stock plots, standard characters and typical cliffhangers in Republic chapterplays, this is a good academic excesize. But it is a VERY mediocre example of Republic serials generally.... While ANYTHING from Republic's unit was better than 90% of the serials from other studios, SECRET SERVICE IN DARKEST AFRICA (the original title)was perhaps the beginning of the end of the Golden Age. All but three chapters are carbon-copies of one another: two 4-man fistfights (each beginning with Rex Bennet getting the pistol knocked out of his hand) per episode, one shot of the captive Sultan Ben Ali mocking his Nazi captors, a cross-country chase and an explosion at the end. Sure, these are the staples of serialdom, but here they are presented as "bones without flesh." For wartime Nazi-fighters in the serials, Spy Smasher (or any similar Whitney-directed outing) is a better choice.

Wow! Dynamite!
This breathlessly paced, action-packed serial represents the Republic serial at its apogee! After this one, it was all downhill, especially if you watch the horrendous "King of the Carnival." This last one makes "Plan Nine From Outer Space" by that marvelously inept Ed Wood, look like Spy Smasher, the greatest of all Republic's serials. Rod Cameron is the dashing, courageous hero of "Manhunt". Assisting him is petite but fiery Joan Marsh, whose screams rank with those of Fay Wray. Especially the episode where she is locked up in a metal coffin and nearly burned alive. She can also handle that gun nicely, too. The fight sequences, and serial climaxes are done with great elan and imagination. Rod Cameron proves within just a few scenes why he became such a world favorite of action films. He's also dynamite in another fast-paced Republican serial, "G-Men Versus the Black Dragon" and once more he's lucky in having an unforgettable female sidekick: cool, plucky, voluptuous Constance Moore. Wow, you oughta see that gal handle a machine gun. "Manhunt" is probably the last great serial from Republic. You should see this one and then the miserable "King of the Carnival" and see how fast the movie serial had degenerated because of the advent of television. A real tragedy.

You want action? You GOT action!
This is the high point of Republic serials, with action and special effects like nothing I've ever seen.

It's the fearless American agent matching wits with evil Nazi spies in Africa, and giving Hitler's cronies the kay-o!

True, there are the sterotypical things that come with all serials. The uncanny ability for heroes and villains alike not to be able to hold on to a gun, Califonia doubling for every location on Earth (this time it's Africa, sans black folks), and frequent fights that you KNOW are gonna happen (usually because a cowboy Nazi spy was distracted and dropped his gun), and bad guys never seeming to get captured for good and all until the last chapter. But hey, that's half the fun!

This one is impressive, and shows off the work of the famous effects wizards, the Lydecker Brothers.

If you like serials, this one is action all the way! ... Read more

Amazon.com

With a little too much leisure, but no lack of pageantry, this love story for the ages (part of Columbia's informal Song series that began with the 1945 Chopin bio-pic, A Song to Remember) concerns the marriage of composer Robert Schumann (Paul Henreid) and Clara Wieck Schumann (Katharine Hepburn). The latter, a concert pianist with a thriving career, gives it all up to support her husband's artistic efforts, but after years of heartbreaking disappointments he ends up dying in an asylum, leaving behind seven childrenand a mountain of debts. The other important player in this tale, Johannes Brahms (Robert Walker), subsequently proposes to Clara, having been infatuated with her all along. But she returns to the stage to resume her old work and keep alive the memory of her late love. There's nothing like the guilty pleasure of watching a film with a parade of actors portraying famous contemporaries, and Song of Love even throws in Franz Liszt (played very nicely by Henry Daniell) for good measure. Hepburn, understandably, is the soul of this handsome movie directed by Hollywood stalwart Clarence Brown, and the actress learned to play several piano pieces well enough to do justice to her close-ups in performance. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great Portrait of a Musical Era
I must differ with a previous reviewer ---

"Even a subdued Hepburn seems to be more than a match for the men in this movie, although as portrayed in the film Schumann and Brahms are a pretty clueless pair."

I don't quite get that statement. "More than a match"? Schumann and Brahms are clueless about what? They all seem to have a wonderful time together.

"The audience ends up identifying with Liszt, who you get the feeling always knows how talented the lesser beings really are in this story."

That's a pretty pompous thing to say. Brahms and Schumann are the "lesser beings" to Liszt? That's like saying Beethoven was a lesser being to Mozart. What he may be responding to is Liszt as played by Henry Danielle, who is always masterful, whether playing his usual heel or, as here, a good guy.

He also refers to Song of Love as being "sanitized." That implies that there was something in the true story to be sanitized. I didn't think there was. I always thought of the Schumanns like the Brownings: love conquers paternal tyranny.

And as did the Brownings, so did the Schumanns help define an age - the Romantic Age. This is the era when artists were supposed to suffer for art or love. Schubert and Shelley were the icons. "Live for your art and die young!" If you weren't an artist, just plug in "love," like Rudolf at Mayerling. If one is aware of this context, then the film's melodrama becomes easier to accept.

Another issue I have with the other reviewer is his dismissal of how Hollywood treats history. I think if one did more research and less opinionating, they would find that the Hollywood of the studio system is conscientious about historical accuracy, unless one wishes to quibble. The major studios took pride in their products, and audiences of the time, unlike the dumbed-down ones of today, demanded and usually got an accurate rendering of history. Dramatic license is another matter, which one might debate, but one can make that debate for all scripts, whether for stage or screen.

One thing I agree about. Henry Danielle is always a treat to see, in particular when he plays sympathetically, against type, as he does here.

Finally, I believe Paul Henried has been unfairly neglected in the comments. Henried plays Schumann's torment perfectly. He is pitiable, yet possessed of a dignity and strength. Clarence Brown has chosen to have Schumann's progressive dementia caused by a kind of hideously loud tinnitus. I have tinnitus, and I can attest, that were it at the level depicted in the film, I'd have gone bonkers, too!

Schumann was very aware of his condition, and much of his music is a commentary on his descent into and occasional remission from madness. This plight, of being both victim and observer, is particularly poignant. Even more poignant is Clara and Brahms and Liszt, as well as Robert, helplessly watching the process, especially given their unsordid devotion to each other and to making beautiful music.

I see no bathos here, only a well-rendered, classic love story. I think if one has a problem with that, then one has a problem with the genre.

A great film!
I highly recommend this film, and would give it more stars if I could! It is a very entertaining film to watch and one well worth seeing. Robert Walker, Paul Henreid, and Katherine Hepburn are all wonderful in it.

Hepburn stars in Hollywood musical bio-pic
Ironically, in the film where Katharine Hepburn plays a subservient wife her character, Clara Wieck Schumann, is one of the most talent women she ever played in her career. Clara was a brilliant pianist, performing the works of Franz Liszt (Henry Daniell), but goes her father's objections to marry the struggling composer Robert Schumann (Paul Henreid). Clara retires and raises seven children, totally dedicated to her family. However, Schumann is unable to deal with his lack of success. After her husband breaks down during a concert performing the Cantata from his version of "Faust," Clara has him committed to an asylum. After his death, she returns to the concert stage to share her husband's music with the world.

There is also a strong soap opera element in that young Johannus Brahms (Robert Walker) comes to live with the Schumanns, falls in love with Clara, and even proposed to her after Robert dies. Without spending a lot of time reading about the lives of the Great Composers, it is my understanding that this particular romantic plot twist did not really happen. But then you know how Hollywood feels about being historically accurate.

"Song of Love" opens with Clara playing the dazzling finale from Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2. The actual piano playing for the film was performed by Artur Rubinstein. Hepburn worked daily with one of his pupils, pianist Laura Dubman, on fundamentals and techniques down to the distinctive hand posture for playing the piano used during that period. This Meryl Streep like devotion to the details paid off brilliantly and the illusion that Hepburn is actually playing is quite impressive.

Even if she were not played by Katharine Hepburn, I end up feeling it is rather difficult to really accept Clara throwing away her career for the man she loves. Her love of music is as deep as Schumann's and she clearly has the respect of the musical community, with the notable exception of her stern taskmaster father (Leo G. Carroll). Even a subdued Hepburn seems to be more than a match for the men in this movie, although as portrayed in the film Schumann and Brahms are a pretty clueless pair. The audience ends up identifying with Liszt, who you get the feeling always knows how talented the lesser beings really are in this story.

In one of those delightful Hollywood twists of fate, Robert Walker, who played Hepburn's son in her previous film "Sea of Grass," plays young Brahms. Based on the play by Bernard Schubert and Mario Silva, the film had four scenarists, which perhaps explains the unevenness of the script. Director Clarence Brown does a fine job, but this is one of those sanitized biographies that Hollywood loved to produced in those days, where you only get a taste of the emotion turmoil of Clara Wieck Schumann's life.

A GREAT movie
Song of Love is poignant and tender with excellent acting and story. Katharine Hepburn makes the character Clara Schumann believable (as with all Hepburn's roles). The story is true to life and is funny and touching at the same time. This not an action movie, however, but it is a great love story. My being a musician, the music was great, but maybe I'm a little partial to Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms. This movie sticks to the facts of Clara Schumann's life. It introduced me to two fantastic women, Katharine Hepburn and Clara Schumann. It remains one of my all-time favorites (I have seen it five times). If you're going to buy Song of Love, go for it.

Emotional. Makes you a fan of classical music.
I first saw this movie on TNT in 1994. I have been searching for the title for years. This movie is an emotional, moving story of madness, and undying love between Schumann, Clara, his wife ,and Brahms. It is what first turned me on to classical music. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES (1944)
(Action/Adventure, 1 hr 27 min, Technicolor) Universal - U.S.A.

DIRECTOR: Arthur Lubin

CAST: Scotty Beckett, Turhan Bey, Andy Devine, Jon Hall, Frank Puglia, Kurt Katch, Maria Montez (As: Amara)

COMMENTS: This Arabian Nights fantasy follows the exploits of the Caliph of Baghdad's son, who runs off into the desert after his father is killed by raiding Mongols.

There he encounters the legendary 40 thieves and watches in amazement as their command, "Open Sesame," magically parts a solid rock wall, revealing a cavernous hiding place filled with treasures.

He is adopted by the thieves, dubbed "Ali Baba," and grows up to be their leader. As an adult, Ali sets out to avenge his father's death and to free his land from the reigning Mongols.

The film is set in the ancient Middle East. Maria Montez stars as Amara, a Baghdad beauty, who is one of the main reasons of the fight between the Mongol Khan Hulagu and Ali Baba.

In this time, Maria demonstrated that she will never accept to do scenes or scene parts against her will. For instance, the director Arthur Lubin tried to convince her of appearing naked inside of a pool, the problem was solved when Lubin accepted to put her in a bubble bath.

Before beginning working in the most popular and commercial movie of its time, Maria said to the media: "According to my horoscope, the name I will have in this movie will not augur me success."

The producers thought Montez wanted to change the name they assigned her and they allowed her to do so.

The actress Miriam Colón, from Puerto Rico, appeared in this film, but she was not credited in the cast. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Who To Believe?
George Raft is a self described salesman travelling throughout Asia who gets tangled up in a Nazi plan to bring neutral Turkey into the war on their side. He encounters spy Osa Massen on a train. She's being followed, so she gives him an envelope containing forged plans to invade Turkey supposedly by the Russians so that Turkey will want to side with the Axis. When she turns up dead later in Ankara, he finds himself the centre of attention, with various spies and plotters like Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Brenda Marshall after the envelope. Raoul Walsh directs with his customary gusto, bringing lots of action to the twisting and turning spy story, culminating with a terrific chase scene. The film is well plotted, with surprises thrown in to keep the viewer guessing. Any film with Greenstreet and Lorre in it is usually worth watching, and they are as engaging as ever. The action helps to mask Raft's typically colourless performance (Bogart would have been great in this one). I love a good spy story, and this film did not disappoint me.

Fun Flick...not an art house masterpiece,but wont disappoint
...this movie deserves more than one review here...

What a great companion for ACROSS THE PACIFIC. The package offered above is a great deal for those who haven't seen either flick before. Forget George Rafft: We're here for Lorre and Greenstreet.

But this movie moves. It burns.

You want some action? Here it is. This movie makes little effort to bore you. It's got car chases, tight situations, fist-fights, close calls, spy work/espionage. The clever talk is fast enough.
Don't hurt yourself. If you've been bored by B&W celluloid circa 1940s before, you may be surprised by the speedy pacing of this wartime propaganda flick-o-rama. Geo. Rafft is the fast-talking American spy forced rather inhumanly through so many trials, you're left dizzy. He gets mixed up with some Russian? or German? or double agents. Which are they? You are left wondering, and it is all part of the fast moving fun. It's not just good adventure. It's witty. It's funny. Don't watch this movie if you're having a bad day with your pacemaker. And you'll need to see this film more than once to follow it.

..but you won't mind.

Go ahead. Order it. Until you are ready for LANDSCAPE IN THE MIST and SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, I bet you'll watch BACKGROUND TO DANGER two dozen times, at the least.

I made sure I did. And THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS, also. And any other Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet vehicles you can think of.

..my God, if they made a six hour film of Lorre and Greenstreet sitting around smoking and grunting it would probably be an absolute masterpiece.

Don't miss these two guys in anything.

Come for the cast; stay for the story.
Set in neutral Turkey circa WW2, this nearly-forgotten film is a fast-paced tale of espionage. Its great cast includes coin-flipping tough guy George Raft, the elegantly duplicitous duo of Lorre and Greenstreet, Brenda Marshall as a comely commie and Turhan Bey (The Mummy's Tomb) as a confidant of Raft.

Ankara is portrayed as the dangerous, exotic city it must have been in those tenuous years, with bombings and stealthy dealings in darkened alleys. All the world's powers had converged upon that strategic point, engaging in covert knifings and more overt misinformation. The Germans in this movie plan to leak out a map alleging that the Russians plan to invade, hopefully tilting Turkey to the Axis. Therefore the Nazis, Russians and Allies seek this map at all costs. Raft may be just a travelling salesman, or is he something more? Who can be trusted? Can Truth, Justice and the American Way prevail? Rock on, brother.

Raoul Walsh has never gotten the credit he deserved as director. He helmed some of the best suspensers in the first half of the 20th century: Thief of Baghdad (1924), High Sierra, Pursued and White Heat, to name a few. Here again he is up to the task of providing a crisp, actionful movie, with a brisk car chase spicing up the latter sections. (Not up to the latter-day stunt standards of Lethal Weapon 4, definitely, but well-done.)

The only thing realy lacking is an abundance of the razor-sharp dialogue some other 40's programmers possess, but if you like studio genre films from Hollywood's golden age (shot, as the box says, in glorious black and white) you will very likely enjoy this one, too. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

this is it!
this is THE charactor actor team to judge all others by. no two actors combind such suaveness, such style and such fun in their villany as greenstreet and lorre did.
greenstreets' waspy menace, impeccible dress, sinister smile and imposing girth.
lorre's inimitatable voice, those hard boiled eys and a trail of pure slime following him.
candle lit restaraunts, dark booths, late night rendevous, and oh, lots and lots of cigarettes.
now why on earth the rest of their films havent been released on vhs or dvd is beyond comprenension (three strangers, etc - c'mon turner!)but savour this enjoyable romp in the long lost hollywood style at its best

A Turkish mystery
This 1940's film noir mystery features the successful collaboration of the heavy lidded Peter Lorre and the corpulent Sydney Greenstreet.

A macerated body washes up on the shores of the Bosphorus in Istanbul. The bloated body bears the identification of Dimitrios Makropoulos, a European criminal legend. The discovery of the corpse piques the interest of Lorre, a detective story novelist. He embarks on a journey through Europe to investigate the criminal exploits of Makropoulos played well by Randolph Scott. Along the way he encounters Greenstreet, who he forms an alliance with to eventually find out what really happened. Edward Cianelli is excellent playing an aristocratic Yugoslavian spymaster.

This was a fun film to watch with a nice combination of actors of this era.

Where Is The Kindness In The World?
The body of Dimitrios Makropoulos washes up on the shore of Istanbul, and his history of crimes is brought to the attention of mystery writer Peter Lorre. Dimitrios was a man without a conscience, always looking to make money at the expense of anyone. Lorre becomes fascinated by his story, and goes on a quest to find out more about the much despised man. The quest takes him across Europe, to such locales as Sofia, Geneva, and Paris. Along the way he gets involved with Sydney Greenstreet, a menacing man who clearly knows more than he is saying, with motives of his own. The story is partly told through a series of flashbacks, as victims of Dimitrios' schemes and backstabbing relate their experiences. This is another example of film noir, with the action taking place at night, in dark spaces. Everyone has questionable motives and characters, each looking out for themselves. Lorre is good in an offbeat role, and it's entertaining to watch him with the always fun Greenstreet - what an odd couple. Zachary Scott is appropriately menacing and nasty as Dimitrios, and Steven Geray is particularly good as one of Dimitrios' unfortunate victims. I did get occasionally confused during the flashbacks, but not enough to detract from the overall film. It quickly establishes a dark, sinister mood, and doesn't let up. This is a forgotten thriller that deserves to be seen.

SiDnEy GrEeENsTREET AND Peter LoRRE..any QUESTIONS?
(Rev. 7/15/02)
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Plus Zachary (MILDRED PIERCE) Scott, at his evil, fly-by-night best here.

...

Get this film. If any kind of 40s spy/noir/adventure/Greenstret/Lorre film buff, you'll watch this at least a dozen times inside of six months, guaranteed, at the least. It's that good. It's a little devilish, that's all: that's why you haven't heard of it. Great foreign character actors, and Lorre plays an out-of-character character himself: a somewhat mellow, yet curious novelist (mystery novelist, of course.)

You won't be disappointed, fellow fan of the European-atmosphered, espionage-stylized, cloak 'n dagger'd 'n dark, traveling-late-by-night-on-the-train, scoundrels-everywhere-in- every-guise flick.

...go for it. And don't miss BACKGROUND TO DANGER, and ACROSS THE PACIFIC.

Classic Forties Thriller
This is a good film with an interesting plot device starring some great character actors. Peter Lorre is the lead, almost casually playing a vacationing mystery writer who is intrigued by the life of a recently deceased criminal. Sydney Greenstreet and Zachary Scott are superb in supporting roles. Scott, in particular, is perfectly malevolent as the unscrupulous Dimitrios. I'm no expert, but I believe this film was one of the early examples of film noir. The subject matter is dark, most of the main characters are tragically flawed, and the ending is off-beat. The story is told flash-back style by a number of Dimitrios' acquaintances, most of whom he has wronged terribly. He is not a nice man, but this picture is worth a look if you are a 30's and 40's film buff looking for something good you may not have seen before. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

After All
Name any other mummy in any other mummy show who is that nimble and has loose bandages half coming undone, who takes your hand when you put it out to him. Or Marie Windsor in a harem suit at Dr. Zoomer's house chasing Lou around. Or Bud wondering if a lost tie clasp was showing up on the x-ray of Lou's stomach. Name a more pitiful hole ever dug in the history of movies.[about 2 feet deep to bury TWO mummies.] Or Bud just happening to find a bag of bandages so he could be a mummy too. Just watching Marie wheel her horse around [she was a champion rider who was able to run and mount a horse from behind like the Lone Ranger, the only actress able to do that.] is a pleasure. This may be the best movie ever made....just trashes Citizen Kane. I have it tied with 'Dr. Strangelove' and 'The Apostle' as the three best movies ever made. Pure Poetry, every minute.

Yikes! The comedy is kept under wraps here...
The Abbott and Costello films fit into one of two categories; really good or really bad. Sadly, this film sits in the later camp. I'm not sure what the screenwriters and Bud & Lou were thinking when they concocted this strange mishmash of bad comedy and bad horror. The Universal Mummy films were always the weakest of their horror films (the exception is the eerie but really slowwwwww first film with Boris Karloff. It's only alive in the very beginning).

I'd suggest sticking with the first and best of this bunch A&C Meet Frankenstein. All the later films (including Dr. Jekell & Mr. Hyde)are little more than pale imitations.

Any A&C film is only as good as their routines. This one, sadly, doesn't have very inspired ones. The best involving the tools is a pale imitation of the who's on first variety. They don't make them like this anymore (on second thought....what about all those Halloween and Friday The 13th sequels? They're not comedies? What?)

Best of the "meet the monsters" series
Fans of the original Mummy movie featuring Kharis the mummy, The Mummy's Hand (not to be confused with Boris Karloff's radically different and unrelated 1932 film titled "The Mummy") could have seen this movie coming. The original film that introduced Kharis is somewhat in the same vein as Abbott & Costello as far as story and characterization are concerned. In fact, the original duo cast in the Mummy's Hand are similar to and could have been better cast as Abbott & Costello.

In a sense, this movie brings Kharis full circle long after the demise of Ananka in his own movies, he finally meets his end here in a slightly more humorous picture than his first. However, the similarities between the two could almost make this the final instalment in the canon, other than out of continuity (like Abbott & Costello's other "meet the monster" movies).

My only complaint with this DVD is that it did not have a great commentary like Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein. But it's still a great DVD, and the sight of the two charicatures running madly accross the main menu is enough entertainment (yes, i can be simple-minded, but then again it is Abbott & Costello i'm talking about).

Abbott & Costello, sadly, did not go on to make any more pictures after this one, but this is still some of their greatest material. So in two ways, this movie has a sense of finality: the last Kharis movie, and the last Abbott & Costello movie. It should also be a must-have in the collection of any fan of either.

My favorite A&C movie.
Saw these and liked them as a kid in the 1950's. My kinds don't care for them. This is the one i liked the best.

Who Cares About Behind-The-Scenes Grumbling?
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY was one of the funniest of their screwball antics. The tale of the two cleverest yucksters chasing a medallion to an ancient Egyptian crypt where they encounter -- as the title promises -- the Mummy is one classic set of laughs after another. All of the trades touched on the bitterness the two men felt for one another during the filming process of this outing, but, with all the magic of their performances still on the silver screen, you sure wouldn't know it. A great transfer for a classic addition to any DVD library, this is one for the ages. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A Much better sequel than "Tomb" and "Ghost"
This final film in the series chronicling the adventures of Kharis the Mummy (still played by Lon Chaney) as he continues his quest to find princess Ananka. The is the best of the Mummy sequels Everything in it is perfect, just like in "The Mummy's Hand."

The mummy's on the loose and he's dancin' with the devil
Universal had pretty much milked the whole Kharis the mummy thing dry by the time this fourth and final Kharis movie was released in 1944. Even Lon Chaney doesn't seem to care a whole lot about the project as he slides and stumbles his plodding way through the swamps of Louisiana. It's really best not to question how Kharis and the ancient Egyptian princess Ananka wound up buried in a swamp in Cajun country; just accept it and go from there. Ananka, once she rises from the muck and gets herself cleaned off, is quite the dish this time around, although her whole schizophrenic, dual identity, amnesia thing can be a little off-putting. The beauty and doe-like eyes Virginia Christine brings to the role of Ananka helps explain why Kharis is still stubbornly pursuing her after more than three millennia. I mean this guy just won't give up, nor will he take no for an answer. Every time he approaches Ananka, she runs away screaming, yet he just bows his filthy bandaged head and starts the whole search over again. At least the supporting cast is pretty good. You can't help but like a guy called Cajun Joe - well, unless you're an ancient mummy, anyway. And then there is my favorite character, the wide-eyed Goobie (Napoleon Simpson) who runs around hollering "The mummy's on the loose and he's dancin' with the devil" every time something bad happens.

The plot of this particular quartet of mummy films was really starting to wear thin by this point. You've got two Egyptian mummies calling Louisiana home, then you've got this new high priest who has come over to find Kharis and keep giving him the old "three Tana leaves" juice that keeps him going. You can't even feel sorry for Kharis' millennia-old love problems anymore because Ananka clearly wants nothing to do with the filthy, tongue-less collection of dirty linen strips. The fact that the film runs for barely an hour is indicative of the fact that the magic was all but gone by this point; there comes a time when the same old same old begins to sound rather silly, and The Mummy's Curse comes close to crossing that line on several occasions.

The Mummy's Final Universal Feature
"The Mummy's Curse", was the last of the four Mummy films that Universal released in the early 1940's and coming hot on the heels of their previous release "The Mummy's Ghost", this installment suffered a little from the feeling that alot that was covered in its story had been done effectively before. While all the Universal Mummy films indeed have a familiar feel to their storylines this last film still managed to keep a little individuality to it and certainly contained a couple of startling scenes that still impress today. Universal had a way with their horror films and it constantly impresses me just what they could do with limited budgets and very short shooting schedules which still managed to create a polished looking final product.

The tale of the doomed high priest Kharis and his eternal quest for his lost love the Princess Anana is well known to horror fans and in "The Mummy's Curse", Lon Chaney Jnr plays for the final time the Mummy who has become one of the most famous of the Universal monsters. This film continues on from the conclusion of the previous film and despite the confusing change in the locale of where Kharis was buried at the previous films conclusion (he is now found in a dried up swamp in Louisiana)the story flows along with good elements of mystery thrown in. A land works excavation team are draining the whole area for redevelopment when a strange coffin shaped recess is found in the ground. Immediately the workmen start to get frightened fearing that they have unearthed the resting place of the mummy which terrorised the area years before. Their fears seem to be justified as despite the warnings of Dr. Zandaad to stop developing the area, a number of weird sightings are reported and then a strange girl emerges out of the bayou (in the most visually stunning scene in the whole film) who is unsure of who she is, but who in actual fact is the Princess Ananka risen from her swampy grave. With Kharis in hot pursuit of the Princess the murders in the area begin and it is revealed that Dr. Zandaad (Peter Coe in a wonderfully eerie performance) is in actual fact the latest of the high priests from the Temple of Karnak who is hiding Kharis among the ruins of an old Monastery in the area while he attempts to seek out the Princess. Ananka in the mean time stumbles into the camp of some of the local workers and it is there that Kharis comes in his quest to find her and murders happen as the unfortunate men encounter the Mummy. After the Mummy abducts Ananka and takes her back to the Monastery one of the female workers who befriended Ananka, Betty Walsh is led there by Dr. Zandaab's secret assistant Ragheb (Martin Kosleck), who has developed a passion for her. When other members of the team catch up to her a fight develops which sees Dr. Zandaab killed and the Mummy bring down the whole building on top of himself and Ananka as he kills Ragheb. The team then decide to dig out the two Mummies at a later date and take them back to the Museum from where they were originally taken by the earlier High Priests.

Despite being the last of the Mummy series this entry has a good eerie feel to it. Virginia Christine makes a stunningly beautiful Ananka and Peter Coe's performance as the usual sinister High Priest is also of much interest. Lon Chaney Jnr by this stage had played the Mummy three times and despite his well publicised hatred for playing this role he still manages within the obvious limitations of such a role to instill a bit of sympathy into an otherwise unlikeable horror character. His visual look as Kharis is top notch and really has been the bench mark for how all subsequent Mummies should appear with the mouldering bandages, dry dusty features and killer arm that can strangle anyone within reaching distance. The visual settings of "The Mummy's Curse", are it's real strong point and are very much above those of the previous entry in the Mummy series. The misty swamp scenes of the deep South, the Monastery set and best of all Ananka's wonderful rise from the mud in the swamp at the beginning of the story really make this one of the better efforts by Universal in their saga of Kharis the Mummy.

"The Mummy's Curse", makes light entertaining viewing and was just the escapism that wartime audiences lapped up before the war's conclusion. This film marked the real end of the Mummy films however until Hammer Studios embraced and revived the Mummy for their own series of films in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The film is short in running time and takes little time in getting into the main action of the story and the dramatic ending to Kharis's sad story is well worth waiting for. A "B" film it may be but it ranks as a worthy horror addition to any horror buff's collection. Enjoy Kharis searching one last time for his lost love the Princess Ananka in Universal's "The Mummy's Curse".

A really good ending
This film, featuring Kharis's fourth appearance, is more exciting that most of them, because the really good parts come sooner, but at the slowly building beginning, people can squirm and shiver as they see the spooky bayou and the characters talk about the mummy.

Now, when the action is real close to happening, Ananka appears, and the scene is represented beautifully. Also, the sun was coming out of a camera lens, but it still looked real.

Then, as the story ends, it settles down, and we see Kharis's fate. But, like in most movies, the scene is more exciting then it sounds, so, if you like the classic 1940-50's horror shows, this is one to watch.

Don't believe the box
In reading the cover for this video, I read that the mummy Kharis will meet his princess Ananka and the two will "wreak havoc together." I don't know what the writer of these words saw, but it was not this movie. Although the mummy attacks those who get in his way, there is no duo of mummies doing anything.

In this film, a public works crew is working to drain a swamp in the American South. Given the character of Cajun Joe, we can assume that this is Louisiana. As the crew is draining the swamp, the mummy is retrieved by his acolytes. With their knowledge of the sacred tanna leaves, they work to help Kharis find his princess. The movie gives us the battle between the modern age and the mystical times long ago.

Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the mummy in this film. For the most part, he plays it well and sets the pace for any actor playing a mummy. The outstretched arm with the other arm close to the chest and the dragging foot all give us the standard for a mummy.

I would recommend seeing this movie. ... Read more