Since the discussion has somewhat focused on Hammer "Mummy" films, I'll note that that I watched "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb" last Saturday. If I ever watched it earlier, I was no doubt too young to actively remember it. It was supposed to star Peter Cushing as Julian Fuchs, the acheologist heading the expedition and father to Margaret, the focal point of the story. But Cushing left the production after one day's shooting when he learned his wife fell ill with emphysema. Andrew Keir, probably better known to genre fans for portraying Professor Quatermass in the film adaptation of "Quatermass and the Pit", replaced Cushing as Fuchs. Adding to the problems, the director, Seth Holt died literally on set and the final days of shooting was done by Michael Carreras. It was loosely based upon a story by Dracula's author, Bram Stoker, titled "The Jewel of Seven Stars".
It was atypical for a "mummy" film as it did not depict a lumbering, desicated cadaver seeking revenge. rather, it dealt with a beautiful young woman being slowly possessed by the spirit of an Egyptian sorceress, both played by Valerie Leon. Actually, she didn't have to do much as the Egyptian other than hold her breath as they filmed her reclining in a sarcophagus mystically and perfectly preserved, unencumbered by linen wrappings.
Since it was the early 70s, Hammer grew even more daring with the suggestive nature of its films. In some shots of Ms. Leon as Queen Tera, she appears to reveal the underside of her bustline, nipples strategically hidden by a decorative pectoral collar. Other shots reveal her wearing a flesh toned "bra" likely because she had to struggle and there was a danger the collar would slip. But at least one shot used repeatedly certainly looked as though she genuinely bared, ahem, "under-boob". I wondered if that was berely wishful assumption on my part, but there was a scene with Margaret bolting from the bed where her lover slept and she steps into a patch of light that revealed a very bare, uh, "backside".
I won't debate the merits of the narrative as that kind of thing is highly "subjective".
Sincerely,
Bill
