The Mummy's Curse (1944)

Despite the objections of an engineer (Addison Richards) in charge of draining the swamps, two representatives (Dennis Moore, Peter Coe) from a museum arrive in Louisiana bayou country with the intention of locating some mummies that are allegedly buried in that area. Directed by Leslie Goodwins, this was the last entry in the Universal Mummy franchise until Abbott and Costello would meet him 11 years later. At about an hour long, it's practically over before it has a chance to start! Fortunately, little time is spent on the uncharismatic nominal romantic leads (Moore and Kay Harding). The Louisiana swamp lands seems an odd place for an Egyptian mummy so the movie always seems a bit off kilter. The high point of the film is the emergence of Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine) from the mud as the sun breathes life into her. There's something magical about that sequence but it occurs early in the film and it's business as usual after that. There's a lot of unexplained questions but it's not the kind of film where much attention is paid to logic. With Lon Chaney Jr. as the mummy, Martin Kosleck and Hollywood's resident Frenchwoman, Ann Codee.