The Aztec Mummy

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

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.Hardy, Phil (1995). ''The Overlook Film Encyclopedia Horror''. Overlook Press. . Page 109

The film was later re-edited and syndicated to TV in the U.S. in 1963 by Jerry Warren as '' Attack of the Mayan Mummy'', and again in 1964 for combination with footage from the Mexican comedy-horror film La Casa del Terror starring Lon Chaney Jr., which was released theatrically.Weldon, Michael (1983). ''The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film''. Ballantine Books. . Page 27

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. 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''.

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

Release

The first film in the trilogy was released theatrically in Mexico on November 13, 1957 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''.
It was later released by VCI Entertainment on December 9, 2014.

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.
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.
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."

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

Other films in the Aztec Mummy series

* '' The Curse of the Aztec Mummy'' (1957)
* '' The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy'' (1957)
* '' The Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy'' (1964), featured a similar mummy named Tezomoc
* '' Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy'' (2007)
* '' Aztec Revenge'' (2015) starring Mil Mascaras

''Attack of the Mayan Mummy''

''Attack of the Mayan Mummy'' is the Americanized version of an earlier Mexican movie, ''The Aztec Mummy''. 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. This solved the problem of re-dubbing the original Spanish dialogue into English. Warren released his film in 1963. He later re-released the film in 1965 on a double feature with the film '' Creature of the Walking Dead''.Ray, Fred Olen (1991). ''The New Poverty Row''. McFarland and Co. Inc. . Page 15

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

* Nina Knight
* Richard Webb
* John Burton
* Bruno VeSota - Newspaper Editor
* Steve Conte - The Hired Thief
* George Mitchell - Dr. Frederick Munson
* Chuck Niles - Douglas Banks, Newscaster
* Luis Aceves Castaneda - Scientist-Cameo at Society Meeting
* Crox Alvarado - Redding's Younger Assistant
* Rosita Arenas - Ann Taylor
* Ramón Gay - Dr. Edmund Redding

Reception

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

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."

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aztec Mummy, The
1957 films
1957 horror films
Fictional mummies
Mexican black-and-white films
Mexican monster movies
1950s monster movies
Mummy films
1950s Spanish-language films
1950s Mexican films