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Monday, December 3, 2018

The Egyptian Mummy (1914)

Starring Lee Beggs, Constance Talmadge, Billy Quirk, Joel Day, Nellie Anderson
Directed by Lee Beggs
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A young man disguises a vagrant as an Egyptian mummy and sells him to a scientist so he can obtain enough money to marry the scientist's daughter.

We have here an early comedy short notable for the presence of Talmadge, one of a trio of sisters famed for their parts in silent films.  It's also interesting as perhaps a hint of inspiration for future Mummy films, as the scientist (played by director Beggs), creates an "elixir of life" for returning consciousness to ancient mummies.  As a comedy, it's fairly entertaining if not laugh out loud, although I did laugh when the scientist puts a notice in the want ads that he's willing to pay for an Egyptian mummy.  I guess that's how you got anything you needed back then.

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