The Curse of the Aztec Mummy was first released (in Mexico) on 11 December 1957. It is the second of the Aztec Mummy trilogy. And it is also the most loopy. As such, it is arguably the best of the three — although you can definitely argue the first is better.
Let’s get straight on the series. Cinematografica Calderon SA released all three films over a period of 9 months. For a long time, people were confused about these releases. For example, Michael Weldon thought the second was third. So here are the release dates (in Mexico):
- La Momia Azteca (The Aztec Mummy) — 13 November 1957
- La Maldición de la Momia Azteca (The Curse of the Aztec Mummy) — 11 December 1957
- La Momia Azteca Contra el Robot Humano (The Robot vs the Aztec Mummy) — 17 July 1958
Producer Guillermo Calderon shot the three films back-to-back. It’s clear that he worried that this might create three very similar films. So he made the first film standard horror, the second film a Luchador (kind of setting up El Santo’s film career), and the final film science fiction.
But I find the inclusion of the masked superhero The Angel very strange. In the second film, Dr Almada’s soft-spoken assistant Pinacate is The Angel. And then, in the third film, he’s just Pinacate again. What’s with that?! It’s very disappointing to me. The Angel is my favorite thing in all the films!
Regardless, the films are more like a serial than anything. This includes heavy reuse of material from the previous film(s).
The Aztec Mummy films are a bit of a problem for English-speaking audiences. This is because Jerry Warren combined the original film with new material he shot to create Attack of the Mayan Mummy. He did the same thing with the later La Marca del Muerto. As far as I know, there is no English-language version of The Aztec Mummy. I’ve only watched it in Spanish.
K Gordon Murray is responsible for the English-language versions of the other two films. But he did not make major edits or add new material. And this is why they are better known to English-speaking audiences than the original.
Let’s celebrate this day by watching The Curse of the Aztec Mummy!
The Curse of the Aztec Mummy poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
