British Egyptologist, Professor Morlant, seeks immortality through the power of a jewel buried in the tomb of an Oriental idol. Upon his death, Morlant returns to earth to seek vengeance upon those who removed the jewel from his grave.
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CinemaSerf
6
By CinemaSerf
Boris Karloff is "Prof. Morlant" - an ageing Egyptologist who insists that when he dies, he is to be entombed Pharaonic style - and woe betides anyone who doesn't comply with his wishes (he even requires that the key to his vault be left on the inside of the door!). Shortly after his demise, we see a hooded figure remove something from his tomb before the arrival of the two people who are the heirs to what is left of his once substantial fortune; closely followed by a passing parson (Ralph Richardson), an enigmatic Egyptian "Mr. Dragore" (Harold Hath) all under the watchful eye of the dead man's seemingly untrustworthy solicitor "Broughton" (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) and his former, club-footed, manservant "Laing" (the star of the film for me: Ernest Thesiger). It transpires that the thing that was stolen was a priceless jewel that had itself been taken from an Egyptian tomb many years earlier. Someone is prepared to do just about anything to procure it but in the process resurrects Karloff from his tomb to wreak havoc and revenge on his desecrators - and get his gemstone back. The script has some fine comedic moments, and the tension builds up effectively - but the eponymous creature doesn't appear until well into the last half of the film until when the story is little better than a creepily lit crime drama. The last twenty minutes do rescue it, rather - delivering some rather unexpected twists, but the preamble just takes too long and though Richardson and Thesiger are good, it just doesn't feature enough of the star to create and sustain enough menace, or interest, really.
