The Mummy!

 

THE MUMMY'S HAND-1940-An Egyptian high priest of Karnak (Eduardo Ciannelli) summons his fez wearing son Ab (George Zucco, round of applause) to an ancient tomb. Before he dies he tells the tale of princess Ananka who died and how grieving lover Kharis stole the secret of eternal life from Isis (tana leaves) but was caught and buried alive. For 3000 years Kharis has protected his former lover's tomb. Dad also gives son the lowdown on tana leaves and how they control the mummy. (3 keeps him alive, 9 brings him to life, more than 9 is a no-no). In Cairo, Steve Manning (Dick Foran) and Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) meet magician Kim Sullivan aka The Great Solvani (Cecil Kellaway). Manning is an archaeologist who convinces Sullivan to invest in his expedition to discover Ananka's tomb. This upsets his daughter Marta (Peggy Moran) who had planned to go back to the US with Dad. Since Ab had visited her earlier to warn her of con-men she naturally suspects Steve and Babe. In the desert they find "The tomb of the seven jackals". They open up a sarcophagus but only find a male mummy. Ab brings the mummy (Tom Tyler) to life and the first victim is Dr. Petrie (Charles Trowbridge). Ab plans on killing everyone except Marta who Kharis kidnaps. Ab plans on making her his immortal high priestess. Babe puts a crimp in Ab's plans by shooting him. Steve finds Marta and sets Kharis on fire before he can drink his tana leaves. 

This sequel to THE MUMMY with Boris Karloff is the best and most entertaining of the sequels that followed. 

Journeyman director Christy Cabanne got his start in 1914 and was also a screenwriter and occasional actor. A few years later he directed SCARED TO DEATH (1947), Bela Lugosi's only color film.

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Ed Wood on TV?

It's usually interesting to see un-aired TV pilots especially if they were made for a series that later made it to one of the networks. GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW were two that featured different cast members but were never shown. The pilot for LOST IN SPACE was never aired but scenes were incorporated into an early episode after the series began.

But then there are TV pilots, some aired, some not, whose story was never sold. What happens to them? Well, thanks to modern age video tape, DVDs and e-Bay many of these unseen shows are surfacing. Most have at least something to offer: an unusual plot, one or two known (or soon to be known) actors, a future director, whatever....

Ed Wood made a TV Western pilot (in color) called CROSSROAD AVENGER in 1953. It featured former cowboy star Tom Keene as "The Tucson Kid", an Old West insurance investigator who is framed for the murder of a local sheriff by a corrupt saloon owner (Wood regular Lyle Talbot). The whole production is pretty sub-par with the actors spouting typical Wood dialogue while guided by Ed's lackluster "get it done quick" direction. A stand out scene is when "The Kid" and a prospector are caught in a night ambush. Instead of taking cover they stand out in plain sight in front of the bad guys and return fire until the prospector is shot dead!

Another ex-cowboy star Tom Tyler (who also played the banaged lead in 1940's THE MUMMY'S HAND) is the not so hip deputy. It would be his last role as he died the following year. He kind of looks like Patrick Stewart to me!

Several other "Wood veterans" are on hand: the always entertaining Harvey B. Dunn (he plays the police chief in BRIDE OF THE MONSTER) plays the talkitive prospector and Keene Duncan and Bud Osbourne round out the cast. Wood even gives himself the small role as a Pony Express rider at the begining....

Supposedly Wood filmed a sequel and combined the two into an hour adventure. Some feel if this had sold Wood's no budget "classics" would never had been made...

CROSSROADS AVENGER isn't much unless you're an Ed Wood completist but it looks like a masterpiece compared to the next "lost" pilot.......

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