The Mummy’s Hand (1940)

The Mummy’s Hand (1940) 💀

“The one where it’s actually kinda fun… before everything slowly falls apart later.”

Since this is a Universal film, Y’all know what that means? Cue the Universal Logo!

If y’all couldn’t tell by now ancient egypt, fascinates me.

If y’all are wondering why i’m reviewing these now, it’s because we’re getting a new mummy film that just released today by Lee Cronin, so I thought it’d be a perfect time to look back at some niche mummy, movies or egyptian movies.

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🧾 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

So this is basically the movie where Universal goes:

“Alright… we’re doing The Mummy again, but let’s make it more of an adventure this time.”

Instead of the slow, eerie, haunting vibe from the 1932 film, this one leans way more into:

treasure hunting
Egyptian tombs
a bit of humor
and a more straightforward “go find the mummy” story

It follows an archaeologist who discovers clues to a hidden tomb, and of course, because this is a mummy movie, something gets awakened that absolutely should not have been touched.

And from there… yeah, you already know where this is going.

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👥 Character Rundown

Tom Tyler plays Kharis, the mummy in this one, and I gotta say… he actually does a solid job physically.

There’s not much dialogue obviously, but it’s all about presence. The slow walk, the stiffness, the way he just shows up and you’re like “oh great, here we go.” It works. He feels like a threat, even if the movie doesn’t always treat him like one.

Dick Foran plays Steve Banning, your main lead, and he’s basically your classic adventure guy. He’s got that confident, determined energy, but he’s also not overly serious. He feels more like a “yeah let’s go find treasure” type of character than someone dealing with something horrifying.

Peggy Moran plays Marta Solvani, and honestly, she’s one of the more fun parts of the movie. She’s got personality, she’s not just standing around screaming, and she actually adds some charm to the whole thing.

Then you’ve got Wallace Ford as Babe Jenson, and this is where the comedy starts sneaking in. He’s the comic relief, and depending on your mood, you’re either gonna enjoy him or go:

“okay… we get it.”

For you, I think you’ll tolerate him, maybe even enjoy him in small doses, but if he overstays his welcome, you’re gonna feel it.

And then George Zucco as Andoheb…

This dude is basically your classic “I’m gonna bring the mummy back because reasons” villain.

And he plays it very seriously, very dramatic, very “I am committed to this ancient evil plan,” which honestly fits the tone pretty well.

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⏱️ Pacing / Episode Flow

The pacing is actually pretty decent for a movie this old.

It doesn’t drag too much, and it gets to the point fairly quickly. You’re not sitting there waiting forever for something to happen.

That said… it’s also very straightforward.

There’s no big twists, no huge surprises. It’s just a clean, simple progression from:

discovery → exploration → consequences

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🧠 Final Thoughts

This is one of those movies where you can tell they were trying to shift the tone of the franchise.

Instead of pure horror, they leaned more into adventure, and honestly… it kinda works here.

It’s not amazing.

It’s not super deep.

But it’s entertaining enough, and it doesn’t overcomplicate itself.

The biggest thing you’re probably gonna notice is that it doesn’t feel as eerie or creepy as the original Mummy. It’s more like:

“hey this is a fun little adventure… oh yeah and there’s a mummy involved.”

And for you, that’s probably gonna land as:

👉 enjoyable, but not something you’re blown away by

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⭐ Rating

6.5/10

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⚠️ Spoiler Warning

Alright… spoilers from here on out 🚨

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🧨 Spoilers

So the whole plot revolves around this discovery of the tomb and the tana leaves, which are used to bring Kharis back to life.

And right away, you’ve got Andoheb deciding:

“yeah let’s resurrect the mummy.”

Because of course he does.

And this is where the movie kind of runs on that classic horror logic where nobody really questions anything. They just go along with it until it’s too late.

Kharis gets brought back and becomes this unstoppable force that just slowly walks around taking people out.

And I’ll give the movie this—there’s something effective about how simple that is.

No over-the-top powers, no crazy CGI, just:

👉 slow
👉 silent
👉 inevitable

The kills themselves aren’t super intense by today’s standards, but for the time, they work.

The issue is that the movie doesn’t really escalate things.

It’s more like:

Kharis shows up → does something → disappears → repeat

You’re waiting for it to build into something bigger, but it kind of just stays at the same level the whole time.

The heroes eventually figure out what’s going on and try to stop it, and the resolution comes in a pretty straightforward way without any major twists or shocking moments.

And that’s kind of the overall vibe of the movie.

Everything happens exactly how you expect it to.

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🏁 Final Spoiler Thought

It’s simple.

It’s effective at times.

But it never goes beyond that.

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🧾 Overall

A solid, slightly more adventure-focused take on The Mummy that’s enjoyable enough, even if it doesn’t leave a huge impact.

And honestly?

This is the high point before the sequels start going:

👉 “but wait… it gets worse.” 😄