'Cleopatra
- The Mummy' followed 'Kulo-Luna,'
the first of the John Storm franchise to be adapted to a
script (available online). The John Storm
franchise is a series of
ocean awareness adventures, featuring the incredible solar
powered trimaran: Elizabeth
Swann. The first draft script of 'Cleopatra
The Mummy' is
under development by Cleaner Ocean Foundation as of March
2022, based on a story by Jameson Hunter.
To
date, only three 'Cleopatra'
movies have been made with sound, in colour. The first starred Elizabeth Taylor as the
queen of Egypt (1963). The second starred Vivien
Leigh in 1945. The third from 1972, starred
Charlton Heston, as a beefier Mark Antony.
The
earliest film
from 1917 starred Theda Bara. This movie was silent and monochrome;
made by William Fox. The 1917 film was a box office
blockbuster. The 1963 film struggled to make a small profit.
A
fourth film is potentially in the running, with Angelina Jolie, keen to
play Cleopatra, from 2013 to 2022, but with Gal
Gardot spearheading a cast from 2023-2025. We await news of
developments.
As
to mummies that come to life, there
are literally dozens of films featuring a curse that is used to
resurrect a mummified person from the dead.
In 1932,
Universal Studios started
a long-running series of films featuring a mummy that is
brought back to life. The original 'The Mummy' focused on the story of an ancient prince who was
accidentally brought back to life after being buried alive many years earlier. The mummy haunts those under his curse including his forbidden
lover.
Set in 1921, an ancient Egyptian prince called Imhotep (Boris Karloff) is brought back to life by an archeological expedition team led by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron). Imhotep was condemned and buried alive for attempting to resurrect his forbidden lover, the princess of Ankh-es-en-amon. 10 years later, he stalks Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann), who he believes is the reincarnation of his past love.
Boris Karloff also made a great Frankenstein
in 1931 and 1935.
The original mummy movie was remade three times with similar characters but always a slightly shifted storyline.
The Mummy’s Hand followed (1940). That movie was based on a mummy named Kharis (Tom Tyler). Four more mummy-themed films followed this one, including:
The Mummy's Tomb
(1942)
The Mummy’s Ghost
(1944)
The Mummy’s
Curse (1944) and
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
(1955)
The film’s sequels included:
The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb
(1964)
The Mummy’s Shroud (1967) and
Blood From the Mummy's Tomb
(1971)
Then came the spectacular:
The
Mummy 1999 - Brendan Fraser - Rachel Weisz
This
one was far better, really sucking us in with superior CGI,
a better storyline and a great cast. Brilliant.
The not too bad sequels that followed are:
The Mummy Returns (2001) and
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).
There
was also a spinoff series titled The Scorpion King (2002)
that followed the story of Mathayus (The Rock) and his rise to become the Scorpion King. Three sequels followed that:
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
(2008)
The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012) and
The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power
(2015)
Not really mummy stuff of legend. But good grist to the mill
for Conan the Barbarian fans, starved of testosterone. And
yes, we are fans of Arnie and The Rock.
Then Universal Studios kicked off again in 2017 with 'The Mummy' — starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella and Annabelle Wallis.
Once again this tells the tale of a 2,000-year-old princess
who is awakened from her mummy state and seeks revenge from the humans who killed her many years
ago, foiling her plans to live forever.
Unfortunately,
this film did not work. The Mummy grossed $80.2 million in the United States and Canada and $329.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $410 million. Due to a combined production and marketing cost of $345 million, it was estimated the film needed to gross $450 million in order to break-even, and ended up losing the studio between $60–100 million. This was largely due to
what many agree is the miscasting of Tom Cruise. Who we
appreciate in other movies such as Mission
Impossible and his best, Top Gun 2 (brilliant), but simply does not work
for us in this
genre. Sorry Tom.
The other potential fly in the ointment was Dr. Henry Jekyll,
lapsing into Edward
Hyde. The Marvel like mix and match compendium, detracts, rather than adds to the concoction. Sofia Boutella
is absolutely fabulous as the mummy come to life. A massive thumbs up.
Take out Henry Jekyll (sorry Russell), and slot in someone
the equivalent of Brendan Fraser as the foil, and you might get back on
track. The film quality and direction was more than
sufficient for mummy fans. Russell Crowe is of course superb in
Gladiator and
many other great movies (Master & Commander).
