The Aztec Mummy

The Aztec Mummy (Spanish: La Momia Azteca, also known as simply La Momia)[1] is a 1957 Mexican horror film produced by Guillermo Calderon from his own story idea, scripted by Alfredo Salazar, and directed by Rafael Portillo.

The Aztec Mummy
Mexican theatrical release poster
Directed byRafel Lopez Portillo
Produced byGuillermo Calderon
Written byAlfredo Salazar
Guillermo Calderon
StarringRamón Gay
Rosita Arenas
Crox Alvarado
Luis Aceves Castañeda
Jorge Mondragón
Arturo Martínez
Ángel Di Stefani
Jesús Murcielago Velázquez
Music byAntonio Díaz Conde
CinematographyEnrique Wallace
Edited byJorge Bustos
Production
company
Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.
Distributed byAzteca Films Inc.
Release date
  • November 13, 1957 (1957-11-13)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryMexico
LanguageSpanish

It was the first in a trilogy of Mexican mummy films, all featuring Popoca the Aztec Mummy. The other two films were The Curse of the Aztec Mummy and The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy. The three films were all shot in 1957, one after another without a break in the production schedule.[2]

The film was later re-edited and distributed in the U.S. in 1963 by producer Jerry Warren as Attack of the Mayan Mummy.[3][4][5][6]

Plot

In ancient times, Aztec warrior Popoca (Ángel di Stefani) is buried alive after being caught having an affair with the temple maiden Xochitl (Rosita Arenas), who is put to death for her sin. Popoca must forever guard the tomb within the Great Pyramid of Yucatán where his lover's remains and the treasures of the Aztec are kept.

In the present day, Dr. Eduardo Almada (Ramon Gay) decides to experiment with hypnotic regression on his fiancé, Flor Sepúlveda (Rosita Arenas in a dual role). Through hypnosis, Eduardo discovers that Flor is in fact a reincarnation of Xochitl, and uses her past memories to find the Aztec tomb of Popoca.

The explorers steal a gold breastplate from the tomb, awakening the sleeping mummy, who pursues them endlessly trying to reclaim the stolen artifacts. The group flees to Mexico City with Popoca in pursuit. Meanwhile, Dr. Krupp (Luis Aceves Castañeda), one of Almada's colleagues who is also a master criminal known as the Bat, discovers the existence of the treasure and sends his thugs after Dr. Almada and Flor in order to retrieve the golden breastplate, which contains a key to the great Aztec treasure. Krupp's men converge on Flor's house in order to retrieve the treasure and run afoul of the mummy.

The mummy retrieves his stolen items and returns with them to his tomb, taking Flor (who he believes is his beloved Xochitl) with him as a prisoner. Dr. Krupp is captured by the police and taken to prison. In the end, the scientists return to the pyramid and battle the mummy, holding him at bay with a crucifix. The leader of the expedition, Dr. Sepulveda (Jorge Mondragón), sacrifices his life to destroy the mummy with dynamite, collapsing the tomb onto both of them. Flor is then released from the hold her past held on her.

Cast
  • Ramón Gay as Dr. Eduardo Almada
  • Rosa Arenas as Flor Sepúlveda/Xochitl
  • Crox Alvarado as Pinacate
  • Luis Aceves Castañeda as Dr. Krupp (a.k.a. El Murciélago/the Bat)
  • Jaime Gonzalez Quinones as Pepe Almada
  • Unidentified Child Actress as Anita Almada
  • Jorge Mondragón as Dr. Sepúlveda
  • Ángel di Stefani as Popoca the Aztec Mummy
  • Arturo Martínez as Henchman Tierno
  • Stella Indo as the Aztecan Chanteuse
  • Emma Roldan as Maria, Dr. Almada's housekeeper

Production

Development for The Aztec Mummy began in early 1957. At this point in Mexican cinema, there was a wide range of films being released that were similar in plots to the old Universal Pictures horror movies, but differed enough to avoid a lawsuit from Universal.[7] Variations of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and other classic monsters were especially popular with Mexican audiences. So, it is not surprising that Guillermo Calderon and Alfredo Salazar chose a topic similar to Universal's films The Mummy and The Mummy's Hand and its sequels The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse.[7][8][9]

The Aztec Mummy was filmed in Mexico City, Mexico in 1957 in Estudios CLASA studio and shot back-to-back with its two sequels.[2]

Release

The first film in the trilogy was released theatrically in Mexico on November 13, 1957[10][11] by Peliculas Nacionales.

The film was released on DVD by BCI on December 26, 2006 as a part of the 3-disc box set The Aztec Mummy Collection.[12] It was later released by VCI Entertainment on December 9, 2014.[13]

Reception

The Aztec Mummy was not widely reviewed by mainstream critics. Reviews that exist on the film have been mostly negative.

On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar called it the strongest in the series, while noting that those unfamiliar with the series might have a harder time with it.[14] TV Guide awarded the film no stars out of 4, calling the film "Completely bizarre and cheaply made," but further stated that the film was engaging and worth taking a look at.[15] David Maine from PopMatters gave the film a mixed 5/10 stars. Maine concluded his review by stating that the film was "Dull in spots, but quirky and moody enough to be worth a look."[16]

Regardless, both the film and its sequels have gained a cult following over the years and it is now considered a cult classic.[17]

Other films in the Aztec Mummy series

Attack of the Mayan Mummy
Attack of the Mayan Mummy
Directed byRafael Portillo
Jerry Warren
Produced byGuillermo Calderón
Jerry Warren
Written byGilberto Martinez Solares[18]
Alfredo Salazar[19]
Screenplay byAlfredo Salazar
Jerry Warren
StarringNina Knight
Richard Webb
John Burton
Peter Mills
Steve Conte
Jorge Mondragón
Music byAnthony Conde
CinematographyRichard Wallace
Jerry Warren
Edited byJorge Busto
Jerry Warren
Release date
1963[20]
Running time
77 minutes[21]

Attack of the Mayan Mummy is the Americanized version of an earlier Mexican movie, The Aztec Mummy.[19][22] It was made by Jerry Warren, who removed a huge portion of the original Mexican film, replacing it with newly filmed footage featuring American actors.[23][24] This solved the problem of re-dubbing the original Spanish dialogue into English.[25] Warren released his film in 1963.[3][4][21][6] He later re-released the film in 1965 on a double feature with the film Creature of the Walking Dead.[26]

The plot of the Americanized version is similar to the original, except that the mummy kills one of the explorers, and is in turn captured by the scientists and taken back to civilization. The mummy later escapes, kidnaps the heroine and shambles off with her down a highway at night. The mummy is hit by a car and killed (off-screen) and a newspaper headline anticlimactically announces his destruction.

Cast of the Americanized version

Reception

Cavett Binion of AllMovie referred to the film as a "tedious effort" that was "padded out with deadly-dull exposition".[29]

Mike Haberfelner of SearchMyTrash.com wrote: ".....nothing really happens in the newly shot footage, it just shows characters commenting on what has just happened in the Mexican footage or contemplating what will happen - and it all seems to serve primarily one purpose: To avoid having to dub and lip-synch too much dialogue of the original footage. The result is so bad in fact that the film has come to be known as a trash masterpiece."[30]

gollark: I will read all wrong palaiologos messages over time.
gollark: Hello! I have been notified.
gollark: The memetics worked then.
gollark: English is perfectly information-dense if you strip out vowels and such.
gollark: Who doesn't know that we went over 2^16 characters.

References
  1. Ray, Fred Olen (1991). The New Poverty Row. McFarland and Co. Inc. ISBN 0-89950-628-3. Page 11
  2. Hardy, Phil (1995). The Overlook Film Encyclopedia Horror. Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-624-0. Page 109
  3. Weldon, Michael (1983). The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345343451. Page 27
  4. "Attack of the Mayan Mummy (1963) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  5. O'Neill, James (1994). Terror on Tape. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7612-1. Page 19
  6. "Attack Of The Mayan Mummy". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  7. Wheeler Winston Dixon (24 August 2010). A History of Horror. Rutgers University Press. pp. 114–. ISBN 978-0-8135-5039-8.
  8. Rovin, Jeff (1989). The Encyclopedia of Monsters. New York, New York: Facts on File Inc. p. 15.
  9. Tom Weaver; Michael Brunas; John Brunas (1 April 1990). Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films 1931-1946 (2nd ed.). McFarland. p. 462. ISBN 978-0-7864-9150-6.
  10. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/attack_of_the_aztec_mummy?
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20141020064157/http://www.dbcult.com/movie-database/momia-azteca-1957/
  12. "Amazon.com: The Aztec Mummy Collection: Ramón Gay, Rosita Arenas, Crox Alvarado, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Jorge Mondragón, Arturo Martínez, Emma Roldán, Julián de Meriche, Salvador Lozano, Jaime González Quiñones, Ángel Di Stefani, Adolfo Rojas, Enrique Wallace, Rafael Portillo, Jorge Busto, José Li-ho, Guillermo Calderón, Alfredo Salazar: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Amazon. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  13. "Amazon.com: La Momia Azteca : Original Mexican Classic!: Various, Rafael Portillo: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Amazon. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  14. Sindelar, Dave. "The Aztec Mummy (1957)". FantasticMovieMusings.com. Dave Sindelar. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  15. "The Aztec Mummy - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  16. Maine, David. "Don't Open That Door! #61: The Aztec Mummy aka La Momia Azteca (1957) - PopMatters". Pop Matters.com. David Maine. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  17. "Momia azteca (1957)". DB Cult.com. DB Cult Film Institute. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  18. Ray, Fred Olen (1991). "The New Poverty Row". McFarland and Co. Inc. ISBN 0-89950-628-3. Page 21
  19. "The Aztec Mummy". TV Guide.
  20. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/67775/Attack-of-the-Mayan-Mummy/
  21. O'Neill, James (1994). "Terror on Tape. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7612-1. Page 19
  22. Frost, Brian J. (6 July 2018). "The Essential Guide to Mummy Literature". Scarecrow Press. Retrieved 6 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  23. Ray, Fred Olen (1991). The New Poverty Row. McFarland and Co. Inc. ISBN 0-89950-628-3. Page 14, 15
  24. Revenge of the Creature Features Movie Guide, John Stanley - Page 15
  25. Rotten Tomatoes - Attack of the Mayan Mummy
  26. Ray, Fred Olen (1991). The New Poverty Row. McFarland and Co. Inc. ISBN 0-89950-628-3. Page 15
  27. "Attack of the Mayan Mummy (1963) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  28. "The Aztec Mummy". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  29. Binion, Cavett. "Attack of the Mayan Mummy". AllMovie. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  30. "(re)search my Trash". Searchmytrash.com. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
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