The Mummy (1959) Movie Script
Wait!
- Just look at this.
- What is it?
We found it 10 foot from the entrance.
Looks like a badge.
It is. And it proves
we're on the right track.
- I hope so, for John's sake.
- Let's go and talk to him.
Steve, John must get
his leg properly set.
He's your son.
You must send him back to base.
That's for him to decide.
I'll abide by what he says.
- Hello, Father.
- We've got something.
Where was this found?
Ten foot from the entrance.
It's the badge of the Karnak guards.
- It could be.
- You know it is.
Look at the hieroglyphic
on the reverse.
Yes, it is.
Have you seen this, Uncle?
- Yes, I've seen it.
- How long is the gallery?
-5 foot, possibly 10.
- We can break through in a few days.
- What about your leg?
- What?
I don't know much about medicine...
...but if that leg isn't set properly,
it'll knit the way it is.
It's your decision, son.
- Five days isn't long to wait.
- It's too long.
You're not an archaeologist, but you
know what's been put into this search.
For 20 years, I've been looking
for the Tomb of Ananka.
She set out on a pilgrimage to Amtak.
She disappeared with her party.
There's a concealed tomb
in the rock face...
...and new evidence
one of her soldiers had access.
He might be part
of the burial party.
In five days we might be
looking at Ananka herself.
Or we might be looking
at an empty hole in the ground.
Joseph!
I promised to abide
by John's decision.
You're his father.
You could order him back.
He'll have a twisted leg for the rest
of his life and it'll be your fault.
Well, this is it.
Pity poor old John couldn't come.
I promised to let him know
what we found.
- Glad you stayed, Joseph?
- I'll tell you when John's leg heals.
It'll be all right. You haven't
heard him complain, have you?
Because he's as pigheaded as you.
- He's my son. Are you ready?
- Ready.
Mr. Banning?
- I'm Banning.
- I must ask you to stop.
- I don't understand.
- You must not continue.
- We've got permits, haven't we?
- I'm not interested in permits.
- You're not from the government?
- No.
- There's no more to be said.
- Allow me to appeal to your reason.
Believe me, what you're doing...
...places yourself and your party
in the gravest danger.
If you persist in continuing,
I cannot answer for the consequences.
Nobody's asking you.
If you'll excuse me.
Mr. Banning!
You would do well
to remember the ancient saying:
"He who robs
the graves of Egypt dies. "
Please stop what
you are doing and leave.
Kindly mind your own business.
Come on, Joseph.
Superb!
Is it?
Yes. It's the royal seal of Ananka.
Now then, hold your breath, Joseph.
Marvelous!
Absolutely undisturbed.
- Is it really Ananka?
- It must be.
"Ananka, lady of the Two Kingdoms.
High priestess of the great god
Karnak. " It is, Joseph.
I'll tell John.
- Stephen, I'll tell John.
- Yes, do that.
- Is it the tomb, effendi?
- Yes, the tomb of Ananka.
It's the Scroll of Life.
- Is he quite sure? There's no doubt?
- No doubt at all.
After all these years.
Confound this leg.
You'd better get back.
He'll need help.
Let him have his moment of triumph.
Steve, what is it?
What's happened?
Was that the last?
- What did you say?
- Was that the last?
- Yes, yes. That was all of it.
- Isobel? How is she?
She's fine.
What did she say about your father?
She went to see him. He's the same.
Doctors think it's permanent.
How can they say that?
The nursing home said if he didn't
improve in six months, he never would.
They may be wrong.
They know little about mental illness.
All is ready, effendi.
You want to see
the tomb one last time?
I'll be happier when it's sealed.
I feel the same way.
I've worked in dozens of tombs.
Most of my life has been
spent amongst the dead.
But I've never worked in a place
that had such an aura of menace.
There's something evil in there,
Uncle Joe. I felt it.
Oh, well. Let's get it over.
I've placed a charge in the tunnel.
It'll bring the roof down.
Great god Karnak,
father of all living things...
...hear these words from me,
the humblest of your servants.
For this desecration,
you will be avenged.
Those unbelievers who
disturbed your handmaiden...
...the Princess Ananka,
shall suffer for their blasphemy.
Though it takes years of earthly time,
I shall reenter the tomb...
...and find the instrument
of your revenge...
...as ordained by your servants
4000 years ago.
This I swear!
Yes, completely unexpected. When they
woke him today, he asked for you.
For three years, he hasn't
acknowledged me. Now he asks for me.
How do you explain it?
Frankly, I can't. I thought
his condition was permanent.
I believed he suffered
a physical stroke to the brain.
- Should be incurable.
- Could this mean he'll get better?
I don't know, Mrs. Banning.
It could be purely temporary.
- May I see him?
- Of course.
I would suggest alone.
- I'll wait for you here.
- All right.
James, show Mr. Banning to his father.
- Yes, sir. This way, sir.
- Thank you.
Hello, Father.
John?
You must excuse me.
I've been unwell, you understand.
My memory. You look well, son.
I am well. Thanks.
Your leg, what's the matter with it?
I damaged it three years ago.
It didn't mend very well.
You should have seen the doctor
and had it set.
You wanted to see me, Father?
Yes. The mummy.
- I wanted to tell you about the mummy.
- The mummy?
- From Ananka's tomb.
- She's in the British Museum.
Not the princess. Not her.
It was the mummy who lives.
I'm afraid I don't understand.
- The mummy I brought to life.
- There was no other mummy.
Don't talk rubbish.
I was there. I saw it.
It came from the rock
when I read the scroll.
- What scroll?
- The Scroll of Life.
After 4000 years, the words
of the scroll brought it to life.
It hates us, John. It hates us
for desecrating the tomb.
It will kill us! All of us!
You mustn't upset yourself.
Stop thinking about it.
Nothing really happened
that day, you know.
You're a fool, John.
Thank you for coming.
Goodbye, Father.
Remember, John.
Someone has found the scroll.
The mummy is released again.
As I was saying, I says to him, "If
you think I'm going to cart goods...
...which I know nothing about,
you've got another thing coming. "
So he says?
"It don't matter what you're carting
so long as you get paid. "
So you says?
To which I agreed,
times being what they are.
He tell you what's in it?
Something about relics.
Aye, relics. All the way from Egypt.
Relics? Why send to Egypt for them?
We've got them here in Engerfield!
Well, these come from Egypt.
- I don't like the look of him.
- Who?
The foreigner we're carting for.
Well, he can't help that.
Drink up. We've got to get going.
- Good night, Bill.
- Good night.
- I'll drive.
- I'll drive. You're drunk.
It's my cart. My horses.
I'll drive.
What a dear old horse.
A man's best friend is a horse.
It's a dog.
It's a horse.
I'm not that drunk and I'll drive.
All right, you drive.
You think we'd better
tie that down?
- What for?
- The road's bumpy.
Just past the nursing home, he said.
Only half a mile.
The mummy.
It's waiting. It's always there.
Help! Help!
- That's from the nut house!
- Perhaps one got out!
The box is moving. You'd better
slow down over the causeway.
I won't have my throat cut
by no lunatic...
...not for all the relics in Egypt!
Take care there.
You'll have me in too. Be careful.
It's hopeless.
Parts of this bog are bottomless.
We'll never find it.
Now for some particulars, if you
don't mind. What was on the cart?
A ruddy box. We was taking it
to the house up the ways.
- What was in it?
- I don't know.
- I reckon it's better in the bog.
- Why do you say that?
There was something in it
which wasn't quite right.
I see. Now, where did you say
you was taking the box?
Up the ways.
A big house, set back, he said.
- Who said?
- I said, officer.
Morning, sir.
You was expecting this box?
Yes, I was. I engaged this man
to transport it from the station.
I see. Well, hard luck, isn't it?
Losing it like this.
Is it quite irrecoverable?
- Oh, yes, sir. Quite.
- I see. Thank you, officer.
One moment, sir, if you don't mind.
The contents of the box?
Relics, officer. Egyptian relics.
Nothing more.
I'm very sorry.
I simply cannot explain it.
First, this recovery, and now this.
I've never known him so violent.
He seems to have a persecution mania.
He thinks someone wants to kill him.
- When did it start?
- Yesterday evening.
There's nothing I can do.
Nothing whatever, I'm afraid.
We have him in a padded cell.
- Is that necessary?
- We can't afford to take any chances.
He may do himself a serious injury.
With this persecution complex...
...he's liable to take his own life
to cheat whoever is after him.
What could have done this to him?
He hasn't an enemy in the world.
Great Karnak,
god of all light and darkness...
...hear this prayer from
the humblest of your servants.
Help me in my task.
Make my way easy,
that I may achieve your desires...
...and return to the land
of my forebears.
"Return, O Ka, the double.
O Ba, the soul.
Pulse strong, O Ab, the heart.
Make supple the limbs
and strong the sinews.
Refill this heart with tenderness
that he may walk the land of Khem...
...in all thy strength and beauty...
...and wear once more the Urolith. "
O Karnak, through me...
...guide this, thy servant,
on his appointed task.
Go now. Go and destroy those who
desecrated the tomb of our princess.
Those unbelievers who gazed
upon her long-dead face.
Go.
And let the spirit of Karnak,
our god, go with you.
If you want anything in the night,
ring this bell.
It's no good shouting or banging
on the door. We won't hear you.
All right now?
Good night, Mr. Banning.
Help! Help! Help!
The nature of this deed...
...points to the fact that it was
committed by a homicidal maniac.
If it weren't for the evidence
of forced entry...
...I wouldn't hesitate
in telling the doctor...
...to look among his own inmates.
However, there is no doubt...
...that the perpetrator
came from outside...
...and left the premises
immediately after the crime.
I can only exhort the police...
...to apprehend this individual
with the utmost dispatch.
The verdict of this court is murder
by person or persons unknown.
- "Person or persons unknown. "
- Coroner said it was a maniac.
I can't believe that.
There must be a motive somewhere.
Let's go through his papers. He was
in the nursing home for three years.
Before that, 10 years in Egypt.
We'll have plenty to work on.
Father kept a record of everything.
I don't know what we're looking for.
I don't know myself. A letter, a note.
Anything that may give us a lead.
Uncle, you knew Father well.
Did he ever mention anyone
to you who bore him a grudge?
Your father never said
a harsh word about anyone.
- Except that Egyptian fellow.
- What Egyptian?
The day we entered Ananka's tomb.
The man who tried to stop us.
I remember.
That sort of thing always happened.
"Unless this account is settled... "
He was so methodical, but he would
leave paying bills to the last minute.
He was always being sued.
Remember the argument
when you took him in hand?
He said he could deal
with his own affairs.
Then there was someone serving a writ.
We had a good laugh about it.
You were fond of your father,
weren't you?
- Yes. Yes, I was.
- In spite of that leg.
That was my own fault.
I could have gone back to base.
Then all the trouble started.
Do you remember that day?
I shall never forget it.
That look on your father's face
when he discovered Ananka's tomb.
And then afterwards.
It was never established
what made him crack, was it?
- Overwork and excitement.
- The doctor's verdict.
That's it. What else was it?
I can't get out of my mind
what Father said.
The nonsense about the mummy
and the Scroll of Life?
You'd better, otherwise you'll
be having a breakdown too.
What's that?
The Ananka folio.
You know the legend?
Vaguely. What about it?
- Do you know it?
- No, I don't really.
Some wild story about the living dead.
That sort of thing.
And here it is.
"In the year 2000 B.C.,
the Princess Ananka...
...high priestess of Karnak,
set out on a pilgrimage.
She was bound for Amtak,
the reputed birthplace of her god.
They traveled for three months,
when the princess fell ill and died.
The princess lay in state
in her tent...
...while the mourning ceremonies
took place. "
I am come unto thee, O Osiris...
...who art cleansed of all impurities.
Thou goest 'round heaven.
Thou seest Ra.
Thou seest the beings
who have knowledge.
Behold, thou art in the Sektet boat...
...as it goeth 'round
the horizon of heaven.
Prosper thou for me.
All the ways unto thee.
Homage to thee, Osiris.
Thou mighty and beneficent being.
Thou holy god.
Thou prince of eternity.
i
i
i
Hail, Osiris, triumphant.
The goddess Wa
hath given thee birth.
And Anubis, who sitteth
upon the hill...
...hath set thee in order...
...and will fasten thee
thy swathings.
Thou art more beautiful
than a goddess...
...and hath been begotten for
transformations more numerous...
...and with a created form
more perfect than those of the gods.
i
i
The god, Ta Sekret...
...hath given unto thee the honors
of the divine house which he hath.
Peoples and nations exalt thee.
The majesty of thy terror is
in the hearts of men and the dead.
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
Hail to thee, child of the god Shu.
The underworld has gained
mastery over his diadem.
Like the Hammamet beings,
may thou arise...
...even as Karnak doth arise
and fare forth.
Have power over the speech
of thy mouth.
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
"O, thou lord of souls.
O, thou lord of the tomb.
Thou mighty one of Amentet.
Let not these limbs be
without movement.
Let them not pass away. And let them
not suffer from corruption.
Make supple these limbs
and strong these sinews.
Refill, oh, my soul,
this heart with tenderness...
...that she may walk again
the land of Khem...
...in all her strength and beauty.
Give life.
Give life when I pronounce
the mighty word of power. "
Fulfill ye now the will
of the lord god Karnak.
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
The rest of them never got back
to Egypt. Illness, perhaps?
Savages? Who knows?
That is the legend of Ananka.
The dictionary defines legend
as being historical myth.
Half the story we know is fact.
Ananka died and was buried
in the jungle.
No survivors returned to Egypt.
If half is true,
why not the other half?
Because the other half is removed
from fact. It's fantasy.
Dad knew the legend. Perhaps
discovering half of it was true...
...he thought the rest was too.
Is it possible that drove him crazy?
Possible, yes.
He was overexcited and overworked.
But remember, John, historical myth.
Treat it as such
or the same will happen to you.
A fairy story. Nothing more.
Help us, your servants, O Karnak...
...to fulfill the second of our tasks.
Go now.
Destroy the second of the infidels...
...who dared to desecrate
the tomb of your princess.
Hey, Bill, give us a whiskey.
Make it a large one.
- Anything wrong?
- Gamekeeper troubles?
I wish it was. I seen the like tonight
that mortal eyes shouldn't look at.
Been to Molly Grady's again.
Ten foot tall he was,
swathed in bandages!
Come lumbering through
that wood like a bear.
- Who?
- You mean what!
I tell you, it wasn't human.
I needed that.
- Are you sure that's the first one?
- Have you been seeing little people?
If it's little people,
it's the biggest little people ever.
I'll have another one. Something very
unpleasant is gonna happen tonight.
Well, I'm going to bed.
I think you should too.
- We'll do more tomorrow.
- You must be tired. I'm sorry.
- Good night.
- Good night.
If you hit him like you say you did,
you must have killed him.
As there is no body,
we must assume you missed.
I hit him twice at least
from here.
- At four yards?
- At four yards.
I see. What are your impressions as
to who this intruder must have been?
- You never saw him before?
- He was bandaged...
...with slits for eyes.
The rest was covered.
With bandages. Extraordinary.
And you hit him twice?
- At four yards.
- I see. I've got men looking for him.
That's all we can do now. You'll
let me know if you have any ideas.
- I have one.
- Why didn't you say so?
- You wouldn't believe me.
- I don't believe you hit him.
All right, inspector, I believe
the intruder was a living mummy.
- One of those Egyptian things?
- That's right.
- Aren't they always dead?
- Yes. This one should be dead too.
- Now, look-
- Would you sit down, please?
Something happened three years ago.
I'm now sure it happened to my father.
As you know,
he was driven out of his mind.
We were excavating the tomb of Ananka
who died 4000 years ago.
I was out of action at the time.
i
i
"Ananka, lady of the Two Kingdoms.
High priestess of
the great god Karnak. " It is, Joseph.
I'll tell John.
- Stephen, I'll tell John.
- Yes, do that.
It is the Scroll of Life.
"To life.
O, thou lord of souls.
O, thou lord of the tomb.
Thou mighty one...
...of Amentet.
Let not these limbs...
...be without movement.
Let them not pass away.
And let them not suffer
from corruption.
Make supple these limbs...
...and strong these sinews.
Refill, oh, my soul...
...this heart with tenderness...
...that he may walk as... "
When my uncle found him, Father
was unbalanced. He never recovered.
I didn't believe Father's story.
I thought he was-
But I'm beginning
to think differently.
Are you saying...
...these two murders
were committed by a dead man?
- I knew you wouldn't believe me.
- You're right.
It's incredible you should
imagine such a story.
I deal in facts, Mr. Banning.
Cold, hard facts.
Someone broke in,
committed a murder and got away.
Whoever did it
killed your father too.
This I consider a fact also.
But that's where the facts run out.
It's my job to dig around
until I unearth more facts.
But facts, not fantasies
straight out of Edgar Allan Poe.
If you've more ideas, tell me.
They're fascinating, if nothing else.
There is one more.
I think I'm the next to be killed.
It was only a hare, sir.
- Thank you.
- It was dead anyway.
- Sit down, would you?
- It was a-
I'm Inspector Mulrooney from London.
The squire's gone mad altogether.
- I beg your pardon?
- It was only a hare, sir. You're a-
I'd better explain. I was out having
a stroll, minding me own business.
I happened to see
this bunny lying down.
It was killed in one
of them wicked traps.
I picked it up to give it a burial-
- What else did you see in the woods?
- Nothing. Only a little bunny.
You rushed into the Red Lion
saying you'd seen a man in the woods.
- Yes, I saw him all right.
- Describe him to me.
He was horrible, sir.
He was 10 foot high-
How high?
Well, 7'6"? Yeah, he be about that.
About 7'6", 7'7".
I had a father once.
He was tall, about seven foot.
And then?
There was all this yelling
in the nut house.
I got scared, whipped the horses.
Over the causeway, the box fell...
...into the swamp.
There wasn't a hope of saving it.
It was a nasty business all round.
Very scarifying, it was.
Thank you.
Give him another, will you?
I thought the crate was gone.
Parts of the bog are
next to bottomless, sir.
- I went to see this man-
- Who?
The one whose crate it was.
The Egyptian. I didn't have to.
He arrived on the scene
and I told him.
- How did he take it?
- It was funny, sir.
This crate's come thousands
of miles from Egypt.
Then to lose it on his doorstep.
He didn't seem to mind.
Treated it all casually.
- The contents of the box?
- Relics, he said.
- Relics?
- Egyptian relics.
The last task is upon us, Karnak.
Watch over us as you have watched
over me during the past three years.
Watch as you did
throughout the journey...
...from our own land to this strange
country of the unbeliever.
Watch while Kharis, the living mummy,
your servant, performs this last task.
The one that will release him
from his eternal bondage.
The destruction of the last man...
...who desecrated the tomb
of your high priestess.
Go now, Kharis.
Kill the last unbeliever...
...who disturbed the sleep
of your beloved.
Isn't it time you came to bed?
- What's the matter?
- Extraordinary!
With your hair like that,
you're the image of Ananka.
Am I?
She was the most beautiful woman
in the world.
- I'm flattered.
- The world wasn't so big then.
Don't spoil it all.
- Have you heard from the police?
- Not since this morning.
Why don't they do something
before there's another murder?
They're doing their best.
It's frightening to think
a maniac's wandering loose here.
Yes, yes, it is.
Oh, thank you.
You know something, don't you?
- Just an idea.
- Have you told the police?
They didn't believe me.
I can't blame them.
Won't you tell me?
- The maniac might come here again.
- Here?
- Yes, he wants to kill me.
- What are you saying?
My only chance to catch him is
to wait here.
- But the police didn't believe you.
- They didn't.
- You're going to do this by yourself?
- What else can I do?
I won't allow it.
This is ridiculous. What can you
do alone against this man?
I'll have to take a chance.
I'll have my gun and wait for him.
I won't let you.
You should get away or at least
ask for police protection.
I tried to convince him.
He wants facts.
If you really want to help,
you'll go upstairs and lock the door.
I've never ordered you to do anything
before, but I am doing so now.
Please do as I ask.
Please go, Isobel.
Very well, John.
John, please take care.
I will, darling.
Don't worry.
Darling! Darling!
Are you all right?
He thought your wife was Ananka?
- There's a strong resemblance.
- She's been dead 4000 years.
So has the mummy.
A comatose state of living death.
- I was for having you certified.
- And now?
I asked questions all day
trying to get leads.
What I've come up with helps
confirm what you say.
- I'm glad you're convinced.
- I'm not. It's a theory.
My facts seem to have gone wrong.
- Tell me about this Egyptian man.
- What man?
- In the house by the nursing home.
- Egyptian?
So the locals say. They wouldn't
know an Egyptian from a Chinese.
- What's an Egyptian doing here?
- I wonder.
Didn't you ask him?
If he's here to grow mushrooms,
I must accept it.
He won't say he's here
to murder people.
- You know nothing about him?
- Not even if he's really Egyptian.
- I could find out.
- But you won't.
- It's too great a coincidence.
- You'd place yourself in danger.
It's your neck, but I'm responsible
for keeping it where it belongs.
- Don't take action yet.
- All right.
It'll take time.
I'll find out about him.
- You're going?
- I am. I shan't be far away.
Now, remember, no private police work.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Great god, we have accomplished
what we set out to do.
The three desecrators are now dead.
At last you've been avenged.
Now we are free to return
to our own country...
...if that is your desire.
You've done well, Kharis.
You may rest.
Soon we start the long journey home.
Rest, Kharis. I will call you
when it's time.
Go!
Good evening, my name is Banning.
I live a few miles from here.
I heard you're new to this district
so I thought I'd pay a call.
This is very courteous of you.
I haven't called
at an inconvenient time?
- Not at all. Do come in.
- Thank you.
My name is Mehemet Atkil.
This way, please.
Thank you.
It's difficult getting
to know people in a strange land.
- You come from Egypt?
- I do.
I spent many years in your country.
- You must know Egypt well.
- There's still a lot I want to learn.
- Are you Banning, the archaeologist?
- John Banning, junior member.
- Of course, Stephen Banning's son.
- You knew my father?
Only by reputation.
I haven't heard about him lately.
Has he retired?
My father is dead.
I'm sorry.
Please accept my sympathy.
May I have your coat?
- Won't you sit down?
- Thank you.
This is indeed an honor.
To meet someone who's unearthed so
many of my country's sacred secrets.
- Are you interested in archaeology?
- Yes, I am.
Academically, that is,
not commercially.
I'm puzzled about archaeologists.
Has it occurred to them...
...that by opening sacred beings'
tombs, they commit desecration?
If we didn't, a great part
of civilization would be unknown.
Nevertheless, those tombs were sealed
for all time. You are an intruder.
You force your way in, you remove
remains of long-dead kings...
...and send them
to the British Museum...
...where thousands of people
can stare at them.
Does this not trouble your conscience?
- No, it's my job. It troubles you?
- Why should it trouble me?
I'm a civilized man.
To me, the dead are the dead. Clay.
- Can I offer you some refreshment?
- No, thank you.
- A cigar, perhaps?
- Do you mind if I keep to these?
Not at all.
I am very sorry to hear about
your father. When did he die?
Recently.
Had he been ill for some time?
Yes, he had. But that wasn't
the cause of his death.
What was the cause then?
He was murdered.
It was a great shock to me.
Please forgive my apathy.
In my country,
violence is quite commonplace.
It doesn't leave the same impression
as in this peaceful community.
The history of your country
is steeped in violence.
Indeed it is.
I remember the opening
of Princess Ananka's tomb.
She was high priestess
to a pagan god, Karnak.
We believe 100 people were put
to death during her funeral.
Most probably.
Karnak wasn't an important deity.
A third-rate god.
- Not to those who believed in him.
- Perhaps not.
Their standard of intelligence
must have been low.
- Why do you say that?
- He was insignificant.
He had nothing to commend him
to anyone intelligent.
- You assume a great deal.
- I don't think so.
I've studied extensively
this so-called religion.
It's based upon artificial,
ludicrous beliefs.
Did it occur to you that
beneath the superficial...
...there could be a great devotion
to this god?
- It occurred to me. I dismissed it.
- You're intolerant.
- Not intolerant. Just practical.
- Intolerant.
Because you can't experience
the greatness of a deity...
...you dismiss it
as of no consequence.
But believe me, to those who worship
and serve Karnak, he's all-powerful.
Surely there can't be people
who still have such beliefs?
You talk about something
of which you know nothing.
You've scratched only the surface
and you know nothing.
You disturb the everlasting peace
of the gods.
You pry and meddle
with unclean hands and eyes.
Profanity, blasphemy,
religious desecration.
All these you are guilty of.
But the powers with which
you have meddled do not rest easy.
- I think you will not go unpunished.
- Punished? By whom?
There are certain things
for which civilization has no answer.
If you choose to meddle thus...
...be prepared to face
the consequences, whatever they are.
Consequences?
That sounds like a threat.
You must excuse me, Mr. Banning.
We think our European dress,
our liberal education...
...have buried the past.
But occasionally one is forced
to realize that this is only a veneer.
Thousands of years of belief can't
be dismissed in one generation.
Please accept my apologies.
Please, I should apologize to you.
I came here to welcome you.
I'm afraid I got rather carried away.
I mustn't detain you any longer.
You haven't detained me at all.
- May I?
- Please do.
- The 20th dynasty, isn't it?
-19th.
Of course. Stupid of me. Have you
any other pieces in this period?
Very few. A large consignment
was lost in transit.
- Unfortunate. They're irreplaceable.
- Quite.
Thank you. Most interesting.
Thank you for calling.
We shall meet again.
- It's a small world. Good night.
- Good night.
Karnak, your servants have failed you.
The task is not yet accomplished.
This will be remedied.
Before the sun strokes the horizon...
...the last desecrator will be dead.
This I promise.
I've served you faithfully, great god,
to the best of my humble ability.
But if it should be that I'm unable
to commune with you again...
...then so be it. We go now.
Our fate and our destiny,
we place in your merciful hands.
Come, Kharis.
This time you shall not fail.
If he'd killed you,
it'd have served you right.
My father and uncle were killed.
I had to do something.
- I found out what you wanted.
- You sure it's him?
Apart from his conversation,
he had the seal to Ananka's tomb.
- What more do you want?
- I'll tell you.
Perhaps he is controlling the mummy.
What you don't understand is,
he's now forced to act and act soon.
I didn't want to force any action
till I was ready.
- Then it might have been too late.
- Can't we get help?
Sergeant's rounding up villagers. All
I have is P.C. Blake and another man.
- Where are they?
- Blake's out back.
- The other man's up the road.
- It's loaded.
As you're a decoy, it's safer
if Mrs. Banning came with me.
- I don't think so.
- We'll have plenty of warning.
It's best, dear.
If anything happens,
fire your gun as a signal.
You stay here. I'll go around
to the front to check up.
All right.
Inspector Mulrooney!
Stop!
Isobel, your hair!
Stop!
Kill her, Kharis. Kill her!
Kill her!
What happened?
He's taken Isobel!
- Where will he take her?
- The house!
Wait, look!
He's taking her to the swamp!
No! Don't risk it!
Don't shoot. You'll hit Mrs. Banning.
- Now what?
- Have the men line up.
Come on, into position!
Isobel! Isobel! This is John!
Tell him to put you down.
Tell him quickly!
Kharis?
Kharis, put me down.
Let's go around.
Tell them to be ready.
Stand by, men! Be ready!
Put me down. Kharis, put me down!
Start walking towards me slowly.
When I shout,
get down as low as you can.
Now, Isobel! Fire!
Come on, Isobel.
You're safe now.
- Just look at this.
- What is it?
We found it 10 foot from the entrance.
Looks like a badge.
It is. And it proves
we're on the right track.
- I hope so, for John's sake.
- Let's go and talk to him.
Steve, John must get
his leg properly set.
He's your son.
You must send him back to base.
That's for him to decide.
I'll abide by what he says.
- Hello, Father.
- We've got something.
Where was this found?
Ten foot from the entrance.
It's the badge of the Karnak guards.
- It could be.
- You know it is.
Look at the hieroglyphic
on the reverse.
Yes, it is.
Have you seen this, Uncle?
- Yes, I've seen it.
- How long is the gallery?
-5 foot, possibly 10.
- We can break through in a few days.
- What about your leg?
- What?
I don't know much about medicine...
...but if that leg isn't set properly,
it'll knit the way it is.
It's your decision, son.
- Five days isn't long to wait.
- It's too long.
You're not an archaeologist, but you
know what's been put into this search.
For 20 years, I've been looking
for the Tomb of Ananka.
She set out on a pilgrimage to Amtak.
She disappeared with her party.
There's a concealed tomb
in the rock face...
...and new evidence
one of her soldiers had access.
He might be part
of the burial party.
In five days we might be
looking at Ananka herself.
Or we might be looking
at an empty hole in the ground.
Joseph!
I promised to abide
by John's decision.
You're his father.
You could order him back.
He'll have a twisted leg for the rest
of his life and it'll be your fault.
Well, this is it.
Pity poor old John couldn't come.
I promised to let him know
what we found.
- Glad you stayed, Joseph?
- I'll tell you when John's leg heals.
It'll be all right. You haven't
heard him complain, have you?
Because he's as pigheaded as you.
- He's my son. Are you ready?
- Ready.
Mr. Banning?
- I'm Banning.
- I must ask you to stop.
- I don't understand.
- You must not continue.
- We've got permits, haven't we?
- I'm not interested in permits.
- You're not from the government?
- No.
- There's no more to be said.
- Allow me to appeal to your reason.
Believe me, what you're doing...
...places yourself and your party
in the gravest danger.
If you persist in continuing,
I cannot answer for the consequences.
Nobody's asking you.
If you'll excuse me.
Mr. Banning!
You would do well
to remember the ancient saying:
"He who robs
the graves of Egypt dies. "
Please stop what
you are doing and leave.
Kindly mind your own business.
Come on, Joseph.
Superb!
Is it?
Yes. It's the royal seal of Ananka.
Now then, hold your breath, Joseph.
Marvelous!
Absolutely undisturbed.
- Is it really Ananka?
- It must be.
"Ananka, lady of the Two Kingdoms.
High priestess of the great god
Karnak. " It is, Joseph.
I'll tell John.
- Stephen, I'll tell John.
- Yes, do that.
- Is it the tomb, effendi?
- Yes, the tomb of Ananka.
It's the Scroll of Life.
- Is he quite sure? There's no doubt?
- No doubt at all.
After all these years.
Confound this leg.
You'd better get back.
He'll need help.
Let him have his moment of triumph.
Steve, what is it?
What's happened?
Was that the last?
- What did you say?
- Was that the last?
- Yes, yes. That was all of it.
- Isobel? How is she?
She's fine.
What did she say about your father?
She went to see him. He's the same.
Doctors think it's permanent.
How can they say that?
The nursing home said if he didn't
improve in six months, he never would.
They may be wrong.
They know little about mental illness.
All is ready, effendi.
You want to see
the tomb one last time?
I'll be happier when it's sealed.
I feel the same way.
I've worked in dozens of tombs.
Most of my life has been
spent amongst the dead.
But I've never worked in a place
that had such an aura of menace.
There's something evil in there,
Uncle Joe. I felt it.
Oh, well. Let's get it over.
I've placed a charge in the tunnel.
It'll bring the roof down.
Great god Karnak,
father of all living things...
...hear these words from me,
the humblest of your servants.
For this desecration,
you will be avenged.
Those unbelievers who
disturbed your handmaiden...
...the Princess Ananka,
shall suffer for their blasphemy.
Though it takes years of earthly time,
I shall reenter the tomb...
...and find the instrument
of your revenge...
...as ordained by your servants
4000 years ago.
This I swear!
Yes, completely unexpected. When they
woke him today, he asked for you.
For three years, he hasn't
acknowledged me. Now he asks for me.
How do you explain it?
Frankly, I can't. I thought
his condition was permanent.
I believed he suffered
a physical stroke to the brain.
- Should be incurable.
- Could this mean he'll get better?
I don't know, Mrs. Banning.
It could be purely temporary.
- May I see him?
- Of course.
I would suggest alone.
- I'll wait for you here.
- All right.
James, show Mr. Banning to his father.
- Yes, sir. This way, sir.
- Thank you.
Hello, Father.
John?
You must excuse me.
I've been unwell, you understand.
My memory. You look well, son.
I am well. Thanks.
Your leg, what's the matter with it?
I damaged it three years ago.
It didn't mend very well.
You should have seen the doctor
and had it set.
You wanted to see me, Father?
Yes. The mummy.
- I wanted to tell you about the mummy.
- The mummy?
- From Ananka's tomb.
- She's in the British Museum.
Not the princess. Not her.
It was the mummy who lives.
I'm afraid I don't understand.
- The mummy I brought to life.
- There was no other mummy.
Don't talk rubbish.
I was there. I saw it.
It came from the rock
when I read the scroll.
- What scroll?
- The Scroll of Life.
After 4000 years, the words
of the scroll brought it to life.
It hates us, John. It hates us
for desecrating the tomb.
It will kill us! All of us!
You mustn't upset yourself.
Stop thinking about it.
Nothing really happened
that day, you know.
You're a fool, John.
Thank you for coming.
Goodbye, Father.
Remember, John.
Someone has found the scroll.
The mummy is released again.
As I was saying, I says to him, "If
you think I'm going to cart goods...
...which I know nothing about,
you've got another thing coming. "
So he says?
"It don't matter what you're carting
so long as you get paid. "
So you says?
To which I agreed,
times being what they are.
He tell you what's in it?
Something about relics.
Aye, relics. All the way from Egypt.
Relics? Why send to Egypt for them?
We've got them here in Engerfield!
Well, these come from Egypt.
- I don't like the look of him.
- Who?
The foreigner we're carting for.
Well, he can't help that.
Drink up. We've got to get going.
- Good night, Bill.
- Good night.
- I'll drive.
- I'll drive. You're drunk.
It's my cart. My horses.
I'll drive.
What a dear old horse.
A man's best friend is a horse.
It's a dog.
It's a horse.
I'm not that drunk and I'll drive.
All right, you drive.
You think we'd better
tie that down?
- What for?
- The road's bumpy.
Just past the nursing home, he said.
Only half a mile.
The mummy.
It's waiting. It's always there.
Help! Help!
- That's from the nut house!
- Perhaps one got out!
The box is moving. You'd better
slow down over the causeway.
I won't have my throat cut
by no lunatic...
...not for all the relics in Egypt!
Take care there.
You'll have me in too. Be careful.
It's hopeless.
Parts of this bog are bottomless.
We'll never find it.
Now for some particulars, if you
don't mind. What was on the cart?
A ruddy box. We was taking it
to the house up the ways.
- What was in it?
- I don't know.
- I reckon it's better in the bog.
- Why do you say that?
There was something in it
which wasn't quite right.
I see. Now, where did you say
you was taking the box?
Up the ways.
A big house, set back, he said.
- Who said?
- I said, officer.
Morning, sir.
You was expecting this box?
Yes, I was. I engaged this man
to transport it from the station.
I see. Well, hard luck, isn't it?
Losing it like this.
Is it quite irrecoverable?
- Oh, yes, sir. Quite.
- I see. Thank you, officer.
One moment, sir, if you don't mind.
The contents of the box?
Relics, officer. Egyptian relics.
Nothing more.
I'm very sorry.
I simply cannot explain it.
First, this recovery, and now this.
I've never known him so violent.
He seems to have a persecution mania.
He thinks someone wants to kill him.
- When did it start?
- Yesterday evening.
There's nothing I can do.
Nothing whatever, I'm afraid.
We have him in a padded cell.
- Is that necessary?
- We can't afford to take any chances.
He may do himself a serious injury.
With this persecution complex...
...he's liable to take his own life
to cheat whoever is after him.
What could have done this to him?
He hasn't an enemy in the world.
Great Karnak,
god of all light and darkness...
...hear this prayer from
the humblest of your servants.
Help me in my task.
Make my way easy,
that I may achieve your desires...
...and return to the land
of my forebears.
"Return, O Ka, the double.
O Ba, the soul.
Pulse strong, O Ab, the heart.
Make supple the limbs
and strong the sinews.
Refill this heart with tenderness
that he may walk the land of Khem...
...in all thy strength and beauty...
...and wear once more the Urolith. "
O Karnak, through me...
...guide this, thy servant,
on his appointed task.
Go now. Go and destroy those who
desecrated the tomb of our princess.
Those unbelievers who gazed
upon her long-dead face.
Go.
And let the spirit of Karnak,
our god, go with you.
If you want anything in the night,
ring this bell.
It's no good shouting or banging
on the door. We won't hear you.
All right now?
Good night, Mr. Banning.
Help! Help! Help!
The nature of this deed...
...points to the fact that it was
committed by a homicidal maniac.
If it weren't for the evidence
of forced entry...
...I wouldn't hesitate
in telling the doctor...
...to look among his own inmates.
However, there is no doubt...
...that the perpetrator
came from outside...
...and left the premises
immediately after the crime.
I can only exhort the police...
...to apprehend this individual
with the utmost dispatch.
The verdict of this court is murder
by person or persons unknown.
- "Person or persons unknown. "
- Coroner said it was a maniac.
I can't believe that.
There must be a motive somewhere.
Let's go through his papers. He was
in the nursing home for three years.
Before that, 10 years in Egypt.
We'll have plenty to work on.
Father kept a record of everything.
I don't know what we're looking for.
I don't know myself. A letter, a note.
Anything that may give us a lead.
Uncle, you knew Father well.
Did he ever mention anyone
to you who bore him a grudge?
Your father never said
a harsh word about anyone.
- Except that Egyptian fellow.
- What Egyptian?
The day we entered Ananka's tomb.
The man who tried to stop us.
I remember.
That sort of thing always happened.
"Unless this account is settled... "
He was so methodical, but he would
leave paying bills to the last minute.
He was always being sued.
Remember the argument
when you took him in hand?
He said he could deal
with his own affairs.
Then there was someone serving a writ.
We had a good laugh about it.
You were fond of your father,
weren't you?
- Yes. Yes, I was.
- In spite of that leg.
That was my own fault.
I could have gone back to base.
Then all the trouble started.
Do you remember that day?
I shall never forget it.
That look on your father's face
when he discovered Ananka's tomb.
And then afterwards.
It was never established
what made him crack, was it?
- Overwork and excitement.
- The doctor's verdict.
That's it. What else was it?
I can't get out of my mind
what Father said.
The nonsense about the mummy
and the Scroll of Life?
You'd better, otherwise you'll
be having a breakdown too.
What's that?
The Ananka folio.
You know the legend?
Vaguely. What about it?
- Do you know it?
- No, I don't really.
Some wild story about the living dead.
That sort of thing.
And here it is.
"In the year 2000 B.C.,
the Princess Ananka...
...high priestess of Karnak,
set out on a pilgrimage.
She was bound for Amtak,
the reputed birthplace of her god.
They traveled for three months,
when the princess fell ill and died.
The princess lay in state
in her tent...
...while the mourning ceremonies
took place. "
I am come unto thee, O Osiris...
...who art cleansed of all impurities.
Thou goest 'round heaven.
Thou seest Ra.
Thou seest the beings
who have knowledge.
Behold, thou art in the Sektet boat...
...as it goeth 'round
the horizon of heaven.
Prosper thou for me.
All the ways unto thee.
Homage to thee, Osiris.
Thou mighty and beneficent being.
Thou holy god.
Thou prince of eternity.
i
i
i
Hail, Osiris, triumphant.
The goddess Wa
hath given thee birth.
And Anubis, who sitteth
upon the hill...
...hath set thee in order...
...and will fasten thee
thy swathings.
Thou art more beautiful
than a goddess...
...and hath been begotten for
transformations more numerous...
...and with a created form
more perfect than those of the gods.
i
i
The god, Ta Sekret...
...hath given unto thee the honors
of the divine house which he hath.
Peoples and nations exalt thee.
The majesty of thy terror is
in the hearts of men and the dead.
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
Hail to thee, child of the god Shu.
The underworld has gained
mastery over his diadem.
Like the Hammamet beings,
may thou arise...
...even as Karnak doth arise
and fare forth.
Have power over the speech
of thy mouth.
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
"O, thou lord of souls.
O, thou lord of the tomb.
Thou mighty one of Amentet.
Let not these limbs be
without movement.
Let them not pass away. And let them
not suffer from corruption.
Make supple these limbs
and strong these sinews.
Refill, oh, my soul,
this heart with tenderness...
...that she may walk again
the land of Khem...
...in all her strength and beauty.
Give life.
Give life when I pronounce
the mighty word of power. "
Fulfill ye now the will
of the lord god Karnak.
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
The rest of them never got back
to Egypt. Illness, perhaps?
Savages? Who knows?
That is the legend of Ananka.
The dictionary defines legend
as being historical myth.
Half the story we know is fact.
Ananka died and was buried
in the jungle.
No survivors returned to Egypt.
If half is true,
why not the other half?
Because the other half is removed
from fact. It's fantasy.
Dad knew the legend. Perhaps
discovering half of it was true...
...he thought the rest was too.
Is it possible that drove him crazy?
Possible, yes.
He was overexcited and overworked.
But remember, John, historical myth.
Treat it as such
or the same will happen to you.
A fairy story. Nothing more.
Help us, your servants, O Karnak...
...to fulfill the second of our tasks.
Go now.
Destroy the second of the infidels...
...who dared to desecrate
the tomb of your princess.
Hey, Bill, give us a whiskey.
Make it a large one.
- Anything wrong?
- Gamekeeper troubles?
I wish it was. I seen the like tonight
that mortal eyes shouldn't look at.
Been to Molly Grady's again.
Ten foot tall he was,
swathed in bandages!
Come lumbering through
that wood like a bear.
- Who?
- You mean what!
I tell you, it wasn't human.
I needed that.
- Are you sure that's the first one?
- Have you been seeing little people?
If it's little people,
it's the biggest little people ever.
I'll have another one. Something very
unpleasant is gonna happen tonight.
Well, I'm going to bed.
I think you should too.
- We'll do more tomorrow.
- You must be tired. I'm sorry.
- Good night.
- Good night.
If you hit him like you say you did,
you must have killed him.
As there is no body,
we must assume you missed.
I hit him twice at least
from here.
- At four yards?
- At four yards.
I see. What are your impressions as
to who this intruder must have been?
- You never saw him before?
- He was bandaged...
...with slits for eyes.
The rest was covered.
With bandages. Extraordinary.
And you hit him twice?
- At four yards.
- I see. I've got men looking for him.
That's all we can do now. You'll
let me know if you have any ideas.
- I have one.
- Why didn't you say so?
- You wouldn't believe me.
- I don't believe you hit him.
All right, inspector, I believe
the intruder was a living mummy.
- One of those Egyptian things?
- That's right.
- Aren't they always dead?
- Yes. This one should be dead too.
- Now, look-
- Would you sit down, please?
Something happened three years ago.
I'm now sure it happened to my father.
As you know,
he was driven out of his mind.
We were excavating the tomb of Ananka
who died 4000 years ago.
I was out of action at the time.
i
i
"Ananka, lady of the Two Kingdoms.
High priestess of
the great god Karnak. " It is, Joseph.
I'll tell John.
- Stephen, I'll tell John.
- Yes, do that.
It is the Scroll of Life.
"To life.
O, thou lord of souls.
O, thou lord of the tomb.
Thou mighty one...
...of Amentet.
Let not these limbs...
...be without movement.
Let them not pass away.
And let them not suffer
from corruption.
Make supple these limbs...
...and strong these sinews.
Refill, oh, my soul...
...this heart with tenderness...
...that he may walk as... "
When my uncle found him, Father
was unbalanced. He never recovered.
I didn't believe Father's story.
I thought he was-
But I'm beginning
to think differently.
Are you saying...
...these two murders
were committed by a dead man?
- I knew you wouldn't believe me.
- You're right.
It's incredible you should
imagine such a story.
I deal in facts, Mr. Banning.
Cold, hard facts.
Someone broke in,
committed a murder and got away.
Whoever did it
killed your father too.
This I consider a fact also.
But that's where the facts run out.
It's my job to dig around
until I unearth more facts.
But facts, not fantasies
straight out of Edgar Allan Poe.
If you've more ideas, tell me.
They're fascinating, if nothing else.
There is one more.
I think I'm the next to be killed.
It was only a hare, sir.
- Thank you.
- It was dead anyway.
- Sit down, would you?
- It was a-
I'm Inspector Mulrooney from London.
The squire's gone mad altogether.
- I beg your pardon?
- It was only a hare, sir. You're a-
I'd better explain. I was out having
a stroll, minding me own business.
I happened to see
this bunny lying down.
It was killed in one
of them wicked traps.
I picked it up to give it a burial-
- What else did you see in the woods?
- Nothing. Only a little bunny.
You rushed into the Red Lion
saying you'd seen a man in the woods.
- Yes, I saw him all right.
- Describe him to me.
He was horrible, sir.
He was 10 foot high-
How high?
Well, 7'6"? Yeah, he be about that.
About 7'6", 7'7".
I had a father once.
He was tall, about seven foot.
And then?
There was all this yelling
in the nut house.
I got scared, whipped the horses.
Over the causeway, the box fell...
...into the swamp.
There wasn't a hope of saving it.
It was a nasty business all round.
Very scarifying, it was.
Thank you.
Give him another, will you?
I thought the crate was gone.
Parts of the bog are
next to bottomless, sir.
- I went to see this man-
- Who?
The one whose crate it was.
The Egyptian. I didn't have to.
He arrived on the scene
and I told him.
- How did he take it?
- It was funny, sir.
This crate's come thousands
of miles from Egypt.
Then to lose it on his doorstep.
He didn't seem to mind.
Treated it all casually.
- The contents of the box?
- Relics, he said.
- Relics?
- Egyptian relics.
The last task is upon us, Karnak.
Watch over us as you have watched
over me during the past three years.
Watch as you did
throughout the journey...
...from our own land to this strange
country of the unbeliever.
Watch while Kharis, the living mummy,
your servant, performs this last task.
The one that will release him
from his eternal bondage.
The destruction of the last man...
...who desecrated the tomb
of your high priestess.
Go now, Kharis.
Kill the last unbeliever...
...who disturbed the sleep
of your beloved.
Isn't it time you came to bed?
- What's the matter?
- Extraordinary!
With your hair like that,
you're the image of Ananka.
Am I?
She was the most beautiful woman
in the world.
- I'm flattered.
- The world wasn't so big then.
Don't spoil it all.
- Have you heard from the police?
- Not since this morning.
Why don't they do something
before there's another murder?
They're doing their best.
It's frightening to think
a maniac's wandering loose here.
Yes, yes, it is.
Oh, thank you.
You know something, don't you?
- Just an idea.
- Have you told the police?
They didn't believe me.
I can't blame them.
Won't you tell me?
- The maniac might come here again.
- Here?
- Yes, he wants to kill me.
- What are you saying?
My only chance to catch him is
to wait here.
- But the police didn't believe you.
- They didn't.
- You're going to do this by yourself?
- What else can I do?
I won't allow it.
This is ridiculous. What can you
do alone against this man?
I'll have to take a chance.
I'll have my gun and wait for him.
I won't let you.
You should get away or at least
ask for police protection.
I tried to convince him.
He wants facts.
If you really want to help,
you'll go upstairs and lock the door.
I've never ordered you to do anything
before, but I am doing so now.
Please do as I ask.
Please go, Isobel.
Very well, John.
John, please take care.
I will, darling.
Don't worry.
Darling! Darling!
Are you all right?
He thought your wife was Ananka?
- There's a strong resemblance.
- She's been dead 4000 years.
So has the mummy.
A comatose state of living death.
- I was for having you certified.
- And now?
I asked questions all day
trying to get leads.
What I've come up with helps
confirm what you say.
- I'm glad you're convinced.
- I'm not. It's a theory.
My facts seem to have gone wrong.
- Tell me about this Egyptian man.
- What man?
- In the house by the nursing home.
- Egyptian?
So the locals say. They wouldn't
know an Egyptian from a Chinese.
- What's an Egyptian doing here?
- I wonder.
Didn't you ask him?
If he's here to grow mushrooms,
I must accept it.
He won't say he's here
to murder people.
- You know nothing about him?
- Not even if he's really Egyptian.
- I could find out.
- But you won't.
- It's too great a coincidence.
- You'd place yourself in danger.
It's your neck, but I'm responsible
for keeping it where it belongs.
- Don't take action yet.
- All right.
It'll take time.
I'll find out about him.
- You're going?
- I am. I shan't be far away.
Now, remember, no private police work.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Great god, we have accomplished
what we set out to do.
The three desecrators are now dead.
At last you've been avenged.
Now we are free to return
to our own country...
...if that is your desire.
You've done well, Kharis.
You may rest.
Soon we start the long journey home.
Rest, Kharis. I will call you
when it's time.
Go!
Good evening, my name is Banning.
I live a few miles from here.
I heard you're new to this district
so I thought I'd pay a call.
This is very courteous of you.
I haven't called
at an inconvenient time?
- Not at all. Do come in.
- Thank you.
My name is Mehemet Atkil.
This way, please.
Thank you.
It's difficult getting
to know people in a strange land.
- You come from Egypt?
- I do.
I spent many years in your country.
- You must know Egypt well.
- There's still a lot I want to learn.
- Are you Banning, the archaeologist?
- John Banning, junior member.
- Of course, Stephen Banning's son.
- You knew my father?
Only by reputation.
I haven't heard about him lately.
Has he retired?
My father is dead.
I'm sorry.
Please accept my sympathy.
May I have your coat?
- Won't you sit down?
- Thank you.
This is indeed an honor.
To meet someone who's unearthed so
many of my country's sacred secrets.
- Are you interested in archaeology?
- Yes, I am.
Academically, that is,
not commercially.
I'm puzzled about archaeologists.
Has it occurred to them...
...that by opening sacred beings'
tombs, they commit desecration?
If we didn't, a great part
of civilization would be unknown.
Nevertheless, those tombs were sealed
for all time. You are an intruder.
You force your way in, you remove
remains of long-dead kings...
...and send them
to the British Museum...
...where thousands of people
can stare at them.
Does this not trouble your conscience?
- No, it's my job. It troubles you?
- Why should it trouble me?
I'm a civilized man.
To me, the dead are the dead. Clay.
- Can I offer you some refreshment?
- No, thank you.
- A cigar, perhaps?
- Do you mind if I keep to these?
Not at all.
I am very sorry to hear about
your father. When did he die?
Recently.
Had he been ill for some time?
Yes, he had. But that wasn't
the cause of his death.
What was the cause then?
He was murdered.
It was a great shock to me.
Please forgive my apathy.
In my country,
violence is quite commonplace.
It doesn't leave the same impression
as in this peaceful community.
The history of your country
is steeped in violence.
Indeed it is.
I remember the opening
of Princess Ananka's tomb.
She was high priestess
to a pagan god, Karnak.
We believe 100 people were put
to death during her funeral.
Most probably.
Karnak wasn't an important deity.
A third-rate god.
- Not to those who believed in him.
- Perhaps not.
Their standard of intelligence
must have been low.
- Why do you say that?
- He was insignificant.
He had nothing to commend him
to anyone intelligent.
- You assume a great deal.
- I don't think so.
I've studied extensively
this so-called religion.
It's based upon artificial,
ludicrous beliefs.
Did it occur to you that
beneath the superficial...
...there could be a great devotion
to this god?
- It occurred to me. I dismissed it.
- You're intolerant.
- Not intolerant. Just practical.
- Intolerant.
Because you can't experience
the greatness of a deity...
...you dismiss it
as of no consequence.
But believe me, to those who worship
and serve Karnak, he's all-powerful.
Surely there can't be people
who still have such beliefs?
You talk about something
of which you know nothing.
You've scratched only the surface
and you know nothing.
You disturb the everlasting peace
of the gods.
You pry and meddle
with unclean hands and eyes.
Profanity, blasphemy,
religious desecration.
All these you are guilty of.
But the powers with which
you have meddled do not rest easy.
- I think you will not go unpunished.
- Punished? By whom?
There are certain things
for which civilization has no answer.
If you choose to meddle thus...
...be prepared to face
the consequences, whatever they are.
Consequences?
That sounds like a threat.
You must excuse me, Mr. Banning.
We think our European dress,
our liberal education...
...have buried the past.
But occasionally one is forced
to realize that this is only a veneer.
Thousands of years of belief can't
be dismissed in one generation.
Please accept my apologies.
Please, I should apologize to you.
I came here to welcome you.
I'm afraid I got rather carried away.
I mustn't detain you any longer.
You haven't detained me at all.
- May I?
- Please do.
- The 20th dynasty, isn't it?
-19th.
Of course. Stupid of me. Have you
any other pieces in this period?
Very few. A large consignment
was lost in transit.
- Unfortunate. They're irreplaceable.
- Quite.
Thank you. Most interesting.
Thank you for calling.
We shall meet again.
- It's a small world. Good night.
- Good night.
Karnak, your servants have failed you.
The task is not yet accomplished.
This will be remedied.
Before the sun strokes the horizon...
...the last desecrator will be dead.
This I promise.
I've served you faithfully, great god,
to the best of my humble ability.
But if it should be that I'm unable
to commune with you again...
...then so be it. We go now.
Our fate and our destiny,
we place in your merciful hands.
Come, Kharis.
This time you shall not fail.
If he'd killed you,
it'd have served you right.
My father and uncle were killed.
I had to do something.
- I found out what you wanted.
- You sure it's him?
Apart from his conversation,
he had the seal to Ananka's tomb.
- What more do you want?
- I'll tell you.
Perhaps he is controlling the mummy.
What you don't understand is,
he's now forced to act and act soon.
I didn't want to force any action
till I was ready.
- Then it might have been too late.
- Can't we get help?
Sergeant's rounding up villagers. All
I have is P.C. Blake and another man.
- Where are they?
- Blake's out back.
- The other man's up the road.
- It's loaded.
As you're a decoy, it's safer
if Mrs. Banning came with me.
- I don't think so.
- We'll have plenty of warning.
It's best, dear.
If anything happens,
fire your gun as a signal.
You stay here. I'll go around
to the front to check up.
All right.
Inspector Mulrooney!
Stop!
Isobel, your hair!
Stop!
Kill her, Kharis. Kill her!
Kill her!
What happened?
He's taken Isobel!
- Where will he take her?
- The house!
Wait, look!
He's taking her to the swamp!
No! Don't risk it!
Don't shoot. You'll hit Mrs. Banning.
- Now what?
- Have the men line up.
Come on, into position!
Isobel! Isobel! This is John!
Tell him to put you down.
Tell him quickly!
Kharis?
Kharis, put me down.
Let's go around.
Tell them to be ready.
Stand by, men! Be ready!
Put me down. Kharis, put me down!
Start walking towards me slowly.
When I shout,
get down as low as you can.
Now, Isobel! Fire!
Come on, Isobel.
You're safe now.