Noted archeologist, Dr. Gustav Zoomer, has located the remains of the mummy of Klaris in the deserts of Egypt. Klaris was the guardian of the tomb of Princess Ara. Along with the mummy, Zoomer has in his possession Klaris’s medallion which gives the directions of where to find Princess Ara’s treasure. Zoomer relates all of this to reporters and his intention to take the mummy back to the United States.
Zoomer divulges all of this information in a restaurant where any and everybody is listening. Two such attentive diners are Bud and Lou, American all the way and looking to get back to the States. They decide to seek out Zoomer and apply for the job of two assistants that the archeologist said he needed.
It seems a lot of the wrong people were listening in, as well. The servants of a cult of Klaris were eavesdropping; they keep the mummy alive to protect the secrets of Princess Ara. Further interested parties are Madame Rontru and her henchmen. She wants the treasure just for the sake of getting rich(er).
Bud and Lou go to the doctor’s house to seek employment to get out of Egypt (Ra only knows why they were there to begin with). As is their standard luck, the duo find Dr. Zoomer murdered. In addition to discovering the mummy Klaris, which is still very much alive, they find the medallion and also Klaris cult thugs. Not wanting to be mistaken for the killers, Bud and Lou brought their camera with them and send photos of the body to the police, anonymously.
Actually, it’s not so anonymous as Bud is one of the photos. The photo is then plastered all over the newspapers and Bud is wanted for murder. Trying to get the heck out of Egypt before they get thrown into the slammer, the two Americans hit upon the idea to pawn the medallion. The shop owner runs screaming as the medallion means death to any who holds it, but, luckily, Rontru arrives on the scene to make them an offer.
One thing leads to another and soon Bud and Lou are working with Rontru and the cult. Each faction has their own goal in mind: the Klaris worshippers want to kill Rontru to keep their secrets, Rontru wants to kill the sect to get the treasure and Bud and Lou just want to go home.
The works of Abbott and Costello were a mainstay of my childhood. I’ve seen nearly all of their movies. Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy has never ranked high with me. It’s amusing in certain scenes where the duo still shine with magic, but overall it’s just silly business– sound and fury signifying nothing– and the silliness is tired. It’s good for a few smiles and not much more.
There is nothing here the comedy legends haven’t done elsewhere, and they did it better in those other movies. But even bad Bud and Lou is still better than no Bud and Lou.
Curio Macabre 