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I’ve been recently reading The Mummy (1999) novelization by Max Allan Collins because it has been a very long time since I last read it. While it’s still fresh in my memory I figured I’ll take notes and list down what the film audience doesn’t know about the characters and the extra details about the scenes we’re familiar with.
The novelization does a decent job at matching up with what was seen on film. Some of the characters are fleshed out a bit more, certain scenes and storyline expanded upon. That’s because a lot of times, the extra material is taken from the original screenplay or production notes so the author has a better understanding of what’s suppose to happen.
Occasionally, little details or even an entire scene will be different (or cut out) from the movie indicating the change was made during the casting and the filming. The reason for that is because majority of film novelization is written in advance (using the early draft of the film’s script) so that the novel can be published before the films’ release. An example of that is in Alan Dean Foster‘s novelization of Aliens, in which Newt is written as a six-year-old but she’s clearly older in the movie.
Anyway, here are my notes along with stuff I’ve remembered from the film’s behind-the-scenes commentary, interviews, and my previous research into ancient Egypt.
When and where was Richard “Rick” O’Connell born?
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, US, in 1902 to an Irish-American explorer named Jack O'Connell and his American wife.
At some point in his childhood his parents died, leaving him to grow up in an orphanage in Cairo, Egypt.
Some people guessed that his mother could’ve died at childbirth or of unknown causes later on. That would leave Rick with his father and because his father is an explorer, something must’ve happened to him while they were in Cairo.
Rick wondered out loud why Beni was in the legion. His reply…
“They’re after me in Hungary for robbing a synagogue—that’s my specialty, synagogues: Hebrew’s one of my seven languages.”
Beni asked Rick how he ended up in the legion. His reply…
“It was Paris, it was spring, and I was looking for a way to impress a young lady…and maybe I was looking for a little adventure.”
He was also very drunk, but didn’t want to admit that out loud to Beni.
Why was the French Foreign Legion in Egypt?
Their commanding officer, Colonel Guizot had found a map showing the way to the fabled Hamunaptra. With the promised of ancient riches the garrison of two hundred men abandoned their post and followed the Colonel across Libya and into Egypt to the City of the Dead.
Fun Fact 1: The name Libya is historically inaccurate. In 1923 (and in 1926 when Rick talks to Evelyn), that territory was known as Italian North Africa. The Italian government would not give it the name “Libya” until 1934, though the name comes from the region dating back to ancient times, so Rick could have been using it informally, as was common.
Fun Fact 2: Hamunaptra (also known as the City of the Dead) is a fictional Egyptian city made up for the film. The film is set, naturally, in Egypt, but was filmed mainly in Morocco with Marrakech being the 1925′s Cairo. Hamunaptra was a vast set built at an old fort inside a dormant volcano crater about 12 miles southwest of Erfoud, in the southeast of the country.
How did Rick get the puzzle box and map?
In Hamunaptra Rick was saved when he decided to take shelter right underneath the statue of Anubis where Imhotep was buried. It scared off the Tuaregs because they heard voices/shrieks while the sand moved on its own. When Rick looked down he found the puzzle box in the sand, he grabbed it and ran off when he realized the sand was forming a screaming face.
I assumed it belonged to his commanding officer who dropped it when he ran away. Because I figured the Medjai would’ve separated the key (and map) from its lock and hide it somewhere far away from Hamunaptra as another deterrent. At some point it must’ve gotten lost or stolen and it found its way into the Colonel’s hands. If that was the case I’m surprise the map wasn’t destroyed to begin with, unless the Medjai didn’t know the key contain a map within it.
Another possibility was that the Colonel might’ve only found the map (and not the key) and when Imhotep felt people above him, he manipulated the sand to unearthed the key. Rick might’ve been holding onto the map his Colonel found and placed it inside the key for safekeeping.
This is probably what happened because what other reason would Imhotep make himself known? After all, he had plenty of opportunities to spook people when they were all camping there.
How did Rick survive the desert? Well, Ardeth wasn’t wrong to leave him to the desert because Rick would’ve been dead if it wasn’t for…
A caravan of diggers out of Cairo that stumble on to him.
Then how did Beni survive the desert?
After hiding from the marauding band of Tuaregs in the ruins. He waited until it was quiet and escaped the desert by taking the camels of a few dead legionnaires.
Why the camels? Because any valuable supplies, such as water and food would’ve been on them and not on the legionnaires’ bodies.
Why did the Medjai not deal with Beni?
Eh…I don’t know.
I suppose the Medjai could’ve assumed he was a camel trader, but it’s more likely that they overlooked him. They were too focused on Rick to notice Beni taking the back route of Hamunaptra with his fallen comrades’ camels.
Does Evelyn need glasses?
No, she doesn’t actually need them.
One of the things clarified in the novelization was that she only wore them for close-up work. They messed with her depth perception and that was what caused her to misjudge the ladder and knock over all the book shelves in the library.
How did Jonathan get the puzzle box?
Jonathan was at Sultan’s Casbah, a dump catering to European rabble in one of the less reputable corners of the French Quarter —where he pick-pocked Rick.
Why was Rick in jail and what did he do to be hanged?
According to Jonathan, Rick was involved in a drunken brawl, after which he (O’Connell) had been arrested.
When he was in custody they would’ve checked his name and/or his belongings and realized he was a legionnaire that wasn’t at his post (or that he wasn’t dead unlike his comrades). They marked Rick and his unit as a deserters and that’s a hanging offense. But like Jonathan said, “But the French Foreign Legion have no jurisdiction here. This isn’t Algeria, for heaven’s sake…”
The warden, Gad Hassan, admitted that he has “A reciprocal arrangement with the legion—for fifty of your pounds, we waive them the trouble of extradition.”
Because of that Evelyn negotiate with him, “I will give you fifty pounds more to let him live than the legion’s paying you to kill him.” But in the end she had to reveal the reason they needed Rick and had to negotiate the percentage of the treasure Hassan can have.
How did Rick get clean up, pay for the supplies, and guns?
He convinced Evelyn to give him twenty pounds to cover expenses and supplies.
What fragrance does Evelyn wear?
A lilac-scented perfume.
I made a note of this because not only does Rick find Evelyn attractive, but he also noticed how good she smelled too.
What is the name of the passenger barge they're on?
Ibis
What book was Evelyn reading on the passenger barge?
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
Was the sunlight-reflecting mirrors trick a real thing or made up?
The underground sunlight via mirror-refractions used by Evelyn in the movie is factual; this method was actually used by the ancient Egyptians to light building interiors in some situations.
It works, but it wasn’t quite that effective and they weren’t used as the only light source (i.e. torches and lamps). Plus, the mirrors would only provide light for about 4 minutes before needing readjustment due to the Earth’s rotation.
Fun Fact 1: Mirrors were actually reflective polished metal.
Fun Fact 2: The MythBusters made an episode on exactly this. MythBusters Episode 169: Let There Be Light
Were all scarabs flesh-eaters?
No, it was only those found in the City of the Dead that were flesh-eaters.
It can be assumed that they were specially created or bred in Hamunaptra to be used for the Hom-dai (and possibly to protect Seti’s riches from thieves). Because pouring the scarabs into Imhotep’s sarcophagus wasn’t just to torture him further; it was an essential part of the ritual. They would eat his flesh, and when he became desperate he would eat them, and this would continue for years. This dark mockery of the cycle of life was an important aspect of making him immortal so that he would suffer forever.
The rest of the scarab species are normal and they’re worship as a symbol of the heavenly cycle of the sun god Ra, who would roll the sun across the sky each day. They’re also represent rebirth and/or regeneration.
In the film the flesh-eating scarabs are a navy-shelled color, but in the novelization they’re purple like amethyst quartz.
What liquor bottle did Warden Gad Hassan have in his bag?
In the film it was Glenlivet (a Scotch whisky brand that has been brewed in Scotland since 1824). When Jonathan says, “Glenlivet 12 years old,” he is actually stating the name of one of Glenlivet’s products, not just its age; “The Glenlivet 12 Year Old” is one of the company’s core products. However, in the novelization it was a bottle of Glen Dooley, also aged 12 years.
Was Evelyn grossed out at seeing Beni and Rick roasting rat meat over the campfire?
Nope, she didn’t even blink an eye at them and even asked for one herself.
“Do you have an extra rat-ka-bob, Mr. O’Connell? I’m famished.”
What was the point of the Hom-dai in the first place?
As Evelyn put it – “As a threat, a deterrent—as something that could be invoked, should anyone really misbehave.”
The ancient Egyptians never thought anyone would ever commit a crime so terrible that they would need a punishment that was just as terrible. After all, the curse meant that a person could never find peace in death for their soul would be condemned to eternal torture.
What is the Hom-dai?
The Hom-dai is a curse and in order to ‘curse’ Imhotep they put him through a different mummification ritual.
They first cut out his tongue and then began wrapping him entirely in bandages while he is still alive. When the embalmers finished they apply detritus to Imhotep’s wrappings as he squirms, which act as a glue to keep it in place. As soon as it was set they would then bring in a bucket filled with carnivorous scarab beetles and pour them into his sarcophagus.
They sealed him in with the four-sided key and buried him underneath the statue of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death.
Fun Fact: The Hom-dai it isn’t a real Egyptian curse. It is a fictional concept made up for the film.
Why was Imhotep given the Hom-dai?
Imhotep committed the crime of using the Book of the Dead to bring back his lover, the Pharaoh Seti I’s mistress, Anck-Su-Namun, from the dead.
He also betray and murdered the Pharaoh Seti the First (because Pharaohs’ are considered divinely appointed representatives of the gods on earth), but they consider the use of the Book of the Dead to be a much greater offense.
Otherwise, I think they would’ve just executed him or torture him to death using conventional means. As for his priests, they would’ve probably been given the offer to commit suicide, public flogging or sentenced to have their nose and ears cut off.
What was inside the five canopic jars?
The lungs are placed into the canopic jar of Hapi, which has the head of a baboon.
The intestines are placed into the canopic jar of Qebehsenuef, which has the head of a falcon.
The liver was placed into the canopic jar of Imsety, which has the head of a human.
The stomach was placed into the canopic jar of Duamutef, which has the head of a jackal.
The heart was placed into the canopic jar of (I’m guessing) Sekhmet, which has the head of a lion.
Fun Fact: Only four canopic jars were ever used during mummification and the heads on the jars represented the four sons of the Egyptian deity Horus.
The heart was left in the body – on account of it being considered the seat of character and identity. Ancient Egyptians believed that the heart would be weighted by Anubis.
In particularly, the heart would be weighed against the feather of ma’at; if the heart weighed less then the feather, the deceased was admitted to paradise. If not, the heart would be fed to the goddess Ammit, and the soul condemned to eternal restlessness.
The brain was not considered to have any importance, and was disposed of.
Why does the phrase ‘death will come on swift wings” sound familiar?
“Death will come on swift wings to whomsoever opens this chest.”
It’s the inscription on the chest containing Anck-Su-Namun’s canopic jars.
Fun Fact: It sounds familiar because this phrase was borrowed from the real world inscription (often referred to as “curse”) that was reportedly inscribed near the door of King Tutankhamen’s tomb, “Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the King.”
Who are Evelyn and Jonathan’s parents and what happened to them?
Her parents, who had died several years ago in a plane crash, had not been as wealthy as some supposed, and at any rate had left the bulk of their estate to the Cairo Museum of Antiquities, leaving her brother, Jonathan, and herself only the house and an allowance of a few hundred pounds a year each.
Many believe that their plane crash was because of a curse connected to a mummy that their father, Howard Carnahan had disturbed.
Evelyn spends her allowance according to her needs, while Jonathan wastes the vast majority of his on liquor. Their mother was Egyptian and “quite an adventurer herself.”
Fun Fact 1: Evelyn Carnahan’s father – Howard Carnahan is a reference to the real-world archaeologist Howard Carter, who was involved in the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb. However, it was Carter’s employer Lord Carnarvon (who was also there) that had died. Many believed it was due to a curse because he disturbed the King’s tomb, while Carter lived for another sixteen years.
Fun Fact 2: Evelyn Carnahan was also based on a real person – Lady Evelyn Beauchamp, the daughter of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. She was also present for the 1922 discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun.
What does Evelyn wear around her neck?
A locket that contains a small photo of her parents.
It’s reveal that Evelyn shares the same features – blue eyes and mouth – as her Egyptian mother. In this novelization Evelyn has auburn hair, while in the film she has brown hair which I think is more fitting for a half-Egyptian and half-English character.
Fun Fact: The English actress, Rachel Weisz, who plays Evelyn Carnahan, actually has hazel eyes.
The scene where Evelyn gets drunk is slightly different in the novelization.
In the film she passed out in Rick’s arms before she could kiss him. However, in the novelization she does managed to kiss him and he falls asleep with her in his arms.
She doesn’t remember anything in the morning and Rick teases her that something happened between them and that it’s a shame she’s doesn’t remember it. She’s horrified and embarrassed at what he’s implying, but he assures her that…
How well can Impotep see with Burns’ eyes?
Not very well, because as soon as he took Burns’ eyes, he mistook Evelyn for Anck-Su-Namun.
However, once he absorbed the others, his eyesight fully regenerated. And later on he most likely decided that Evelyn –being the only woman he’s seen around– would work as a sacrifice needed to regenerate the body of his beloved.
Why did Imhotep spare Beni’s life?
When Beni began to pray in Hebrew Impotep recognizes the chanting as “the language of the slaves”.
Imhotep forces Beni into serving him, since having someone around who can actually understand him and knows how to navigate the modern world would be useful to have.
However, setting aside the debate about the historicity of the Bible and the Exodus story, the time period in which Imhotep—an ancient Egyptian High Priest—would have any familiarity with the Israelites, it should have been Aramaic, not Hebrew.
Where did the white cat come from?
The white cat, named Cleo, actually belongs to Evelyn.
At Hamunaptra the two groups (the Americans’ and the Carnahan’s) had broken camp, and loaded up their horses and their camels. After a three-day trek from oasis to oasis, they sought sanctuary at Fort Stack, which was located at the southernmost outskirts of Cairo. They had trudged up to the front gate, showed their papers, and were granted admittance. The Fort’s commandant had even offered them the guest quarters to stay in.
While staying there Evelyn sent Jonathan to the Carnahan’s residence in Cairo to bring a steamer trunk of clothing (because she lost all of her luggage at the barge) and he brought along her cat.
Fun Fact 1: Cats were not guardians of the underworld.
This myth was based on a very loose interpretation of their Cat Goddess, Bastet. She was Goddess of protection against contagious diseases and evil spirits which had no relation with the Underworld.
Her only tenuous connection to the Underworld was because she was seen for a short while as the wife of Anubis, the embalming God (who is often known as the “second in charge” in the underworld after Osiris).
Fun Fact 2: In the movie, it was called Fort Brydon and was named after Colonel Brydon, a character in The Jungle Book, which was another film that Stephen Sommers had worked on.
In the novelization, Fort Stack was named after Sir Lee Stack, the assassinated governor general of the Sudan and Sirdar of the Egyptian Army.
What’s different from the film and novelization of when Rick and Evelyn are arguing about whether to stay and fight or run away?
In the novelization, Evelyn is planning another expedition to Hamunaptra and is packing her bags to return. Rick tries to convince her to stay in Cairo. Rick removes her underthings from the trunk to put them back into the chest of drawers. Evelyn grabs them and returns them into her trunk. He takes them again, but he forgets he’s holding them in their argument. He slams the door shut on his way out, then realizes he still has her underthings. He opens the door, pitched them in and goes out to get a drink.
In the movie Rick is the one packing her luggage because he wants them all to leave Cairo, but she wants to stay. She keeps taking her things back out. Rick stalks out of her room clutching a teddy bear. In the director’s commentary, Sommers reveals that the scene was shortened and, originally, Rick was supposed to suddenly walk back in and give her teddy bear back and storm out again.
Did you know that the scene in which Imhotep was fully regenerated, Evelyn was suppose to say something else?
Evelyn clutched O’Connell’s arm, and gasped. “He’s … he’s like a god!”
The scene in the novelization is the same as the film, but it was revealed in the film’s commentary that in the final script, Evelyn was supposed to say, “He’s … he’s gorgeous” when she first sees the fully resurrected Imhotep.
The line was filmed, but removed from the final cut because it marred the tone.
Why does Imhotep call Evelyn his princess?
“Come with me, my princess. It is time to make you mine, forever for all eternity.”
I don’t know, but I wanted to make a note of this because of all the things he could’ve called her (such as my…beauty, flower, precious, and so on), he went with princess. Calling her princess makes sense if you’ve watched The Mummy Returns, but it could’ve been just a coincidence. As far as I know a lot of movie sequels back then didn’t plot that far in advance.
Where is the Book of the Living?
At Hamunaptra – “The statue of Horus should be located fifty kadams west of the Anubis statue.”
At the base of the Horus statue there was a secret compartment with the gold Book of Amun Ra. Just like the Book of the Dead, it too was booby trap with pressurized salt acid. In the film the scene was cut, but in the novelization before Rick and Jonathan could open the compartment themselves, the mummies knocked them away and opened it to presumably steal the book. They triggered the trap, melted away and left behind holes in the floor.
Fun Fact 1: The codex-style books (pages, covers, and binding) were not invented until the Roman Empire. Ancient Egyptians used scrolls. Therefore, the Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra should not look like modern books at all.
Fun Fact 2: There are real world manuscripts referred to in modern times as the Egyptian Book of the Dead and are actually varying scrolls of funerary rites which they referred to as the Book of Coming Forth by Day; these books are meant to tell the soul of the deceased the proper procedures and incantations for proceeding to the afterlife.
Fun Fact 3: Salt acid is another name for hydrochloric acid, though it is not generally accepted to have been invented by humankind until the 15th Century at the earliest.
Fun Fact 4: The idea of elaborate booby-traps like crushing ceilings, poisoned darts firing from the walls, falling boulders, decapitating blades, and so on in ancient tombs and temples is nothing more than a fantastical depiction by Hollywood.
In reality Egyptian tombs only had dummy passages, false walls and a few simple sliding-slab traps to seal thieves off or drop them in holes. But after many years those traps have deteriorate and/or have been triggered (which many of them still did not deter thieves).
How did Winton die?
His neck snapped on impact.
I made a note of this because I was a kid when I first watched the movie and I didn’t realized that was how he died. I always thought he died from a heart attack or a stroke.
Fun Fact: There’s no quicksand in the desert. Quicksand is sand or clay and salt that becomes waterlogged, often in river deltas. Because it’s very hot and there’s no water in the desert; quicksand isn’t at all possible.
Why was Evelyn laying unconscious on the sacrificial altar?
Impotep started to speak in Hebrew, a language that Evelyn didn’t know. She realized he was avoiding his own language because he didn’t want her to know what he was up to. So she demanded Beni to tell her what he was saying. He informed her that Imhotep wanted to remove her organs. She objected and Imhotep backhanded her and she fell to the floor unconscious.
In the movie we’re not shown how she was rendered unconscious.
Does the novelization end the same way as the film?
Yes, but it hints that Evelyn becomes the first female curator in the history of the Cairo Museum of Antiquities.
And because of Beni, each of the camels’ saddlebags was filled to the brim with the gold and jewels of the pharaoh’s treasure. The treasure was probably how they were able to afford that big fancy house in England from The Mummy Returns. It probably helped fund some of Evelyn’s and Jonathan’s expeditions too.
Rick obviously pursue a romantic relationship with Evelyn and eventually married her.
As for Ardeth, he survived and return to his people. Just because Imhotep was defeated didn’t mean his duty was done. The Medjai still needed to stand guard to make sure Imhotep stayed buried in the sand.
Fun Fact 1: Apparently, in the original script of the film, Ardeth Bay was suppose to die at the end. But thankfully, the revised version of the script that they gave Max Allan Collins was the one in which Ardeth survives.
Fun Fact 2: Oded Fehr’s character name wasn’t used once throughout the entire movie until the end credits. And it wasn’t until the next movie, The Mummy Returns, that his name was said aloud. In the novelization we learn his name when they go to the museum to get answers from the curator.
Speaking of which, the name Ardeth Bay is an anagram of the phrase, “Death By Ra.” It’s also a nod to Boris Karloff’s mummy, Imhotep, who’s alter-ego was called Ardath Bey (and yes, the two letters were purposely switched).
Fun Fact 3: The tattoos on Ardeth Bay’s forehead are the Egyptian Hieroglyphs that spell “Underworld”, and the ones on his cheeks are the Egyptian Hieroglyphs for the word “truth”. All Medjai males get these tattoos as part of the coming-of-age rite.
Fun Fact 4: The Medjai were originally supposed to be tattooed from head to toe, but Stephen Sommers vetoed it because he thought Oded Fehr was “too good-looking” to be covered up.
 DamnBlackHeart · Thu Mar 10, 2022 @ 12:11am · 0 Comments |
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