The Curse of the Aztec Mummy

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1957 Mexican film

The Curse of the Aztec Mummy

Mexican theatrical release poster

Directed by| Rafael Portillo
Written by| Guillermo Calderón
Alfredo Salazar
Produced by| Guillermo Calderón (producer)
Starring| See below
Cinematography| Enrique Wallace
Edited by| Jorge Bustos
José Li-ho
Music by| Antonio Díaz Conde

Production
company

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.

Distributed by| Clasa-Mohme (1957 United States theatrical release)

Release date

* 1957 (1957)

Running time

| 65 minutes
Country| Mexico
Language| Spanish

The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (Spanish: La Maldición de la Momia Azteca) is a 1957 Mexican horror film directed by Rafael Portillo. It is the second film in the Aztec Mummy series which began with The Aztec Mummy (Spanish title:La Momia Azteca) which was released earlier that year.

## Plot

[edit]

The plot is continued from the first film in the series, The Aztec Mummy. The evil Dr. Krupp (Luis Aceves Castañeda) known as The Bat escapes from the police with the aid of his gang. He once again tries to get possession of the Aztec princess Xochitl's gold breastplate and bracelet by hypnotizing her current reincarnation, Flor Sepulveda, to get her to reveal the location of Xochitl's tomb.

Confusion reigns as Krupp and his thugs are opposed by Flor's fiancé Dr. Almada, his mild-mannered assistant Pinacate, and a mysterious masked superhero called the Angel. Dr. Krupp kidnaps Flor, Dr. Almada, and the Angel and tries to force Almada to translate the hieroglyphics on the breastplate, which will reveal the secret location of the Aztec treasure. It turns out their bookish friend Pinacate has been the man behind the Angel's mask.

However, he finally meets his match when Popoca, the warrior mummy who guards Xochitl's tomb, bursts into the mad doctor's lab, kills his thugs and throws the screaming Dr. Krupp into a pit filled with live snakes. Popoca takes his stolen artifacts and stumbles off back to his tomb. This film's plot leads into the third film in the trilogy, The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy.

## Cast

[edit]

* Ramón Gay as Dr. Eduardo Almada
* Rosa Arenas as Flor Sepulveda / Xochitl
* Crox Alvarado as Pinacate / El Ángel
* Luis Aceves Castañeda as Dr. Krupp (a.k.a. El Murciélago/the Bat)
* Jorge Mondragón as Dr. Sepúlveda
* Arturo Martínez as Henchman Tierno
* Emma Roldán as María, Dr. Almada's housekeeper
* Julián de Meriche as the Commandante de Policía
* Salvador Lozano
* Jaime González Quiñones as Pepe Almada
* Ángel di Stefani as Popoca the Aztec Mummy
* Jesús Murcielago Velázquez as El Murciélago (the Bat)
* Enrique Yáñez as Esbirro del Murciélago
* Guillermo Hernández as Esbirro del Murciélago
* Alberto Yáñez as Esbirro del Murciélago
* Firpo Segura as Esbirro del Murciélago
* Sergio Yañez as Esbirro del Murciélago
* Estela Inda as Aztec Chanteuse

## Release

[edit]

The Curse of the Aztec Mummy was released theatrically in 1957.[1] It was later dubbed in English and released in the U.S. by K. Gordon Murray.[2]

## Reception

[edit]

Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film one and a half out of four stars, calling it "Cheap" and "droning".[3] On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar noted that the film was slightly better than its sequel, having more plot than the other films in the series. Sindelar's only criticism was slow pacing during the last half of the film.[4] TV Guide awarded the film three out of four stars, calling it "wholly enjoyable".[5]

Horror DVDs.com on their review for the complete series gave the film a negative review calling it "the least satisfying entry in the series". The reviewer also criticized the introduction of the superhero El Ángel as "random".[6]

## Other films in the Aztec Mummy series

[edit]

* The Aztec Mummy (1957), released as Attack of the Mayan Mummy in the U.S.
* The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy (1957)
* The Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy (1964), featured a similar Aztec mummy named Tezomoc[7]
* Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy (2007)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ O'Neill, James (1994). Terror on Tape. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7612-1. Page 85
2. ^ Turner Classic Movies [bare URL]
3. ^ Leonard Maltin; Spencer Green; Rob Edelman (January 2010). Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide. Plume. p. 143\. ISBN 978-0-452-29577-3.
4. ^ Sindelar, Dave (9 July 2016). "The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (1957)". FantasticMovieMusings.com. Dave Sindelar. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
5. ^ "The Curse Of The Aztec Mummy - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
6. ^ "DVD Reviews A-M - Horror Digital". Horror DVDs.com. Jeremy. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
7. ^ Hardy, Phil (1995). The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror. Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-624-0. Page 164

## External links

[edit]

* The Curse of the Aztec Mummy on YouTube
* The Curse of the Aztec Mummy at IMDb
* Curse of the Aztec Mummy at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Curse of the Aztec Mummy at the TCM Movie Database
* La maldición de la momia azteca  at DB Cult Film Institute