The Mummy is a 1959 British horror film from Hammer Films. Starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, it tells the story of an Egyptian high priest who is resurrected centuries after being mummified alive in order to exact revenge on the archaeologists who desecrated a princess's tomb.
Classification Issues
- Violence
- There are bloodless shootings, stabbings, and scenes in which the mummy strangles his victims. It is implied a character’s tongue is removed as part of the process of mummification.
- Threat and horror
- Characters are attacked and killed by a reanimated mummy.
Script advice
A script written by Jimmy Sangster was sent to the BBFC in February 1959 prior to shooting. The BBFC were familiar with Hammer horror films by this time, having previously classified such titles as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958). Elements of the script that were noted as potential classification issues included the various instances of “throttling” and the sounds of bones crunching.
Following the initial response to their script, Hammer sent an amended version to the BBFC for further advice. The second script featured a new sequence set in 2000 B.C. and a revised ending. The major changes did not raise issues with the BBFC, yet concern remained about the sounds of “bones snapping” in the film.
Cinema classification
The finished film was submitted for classification in May 1959, and was seen in black and white.
At this stage, the BBFC considered an A certificate, indicating the film was more suitable for adults but without age restrictions, but deferred a final decision until the colour version could be viewed. The introduction of colour and its impact led the BBFC to assign the film an X rating, restricting it to viewers over 16.
Video classification
The film was submitted for home entertainment classification in 1996, nearly 40 years after it was made. By this time, the BBFC’s modern video age ratings (U, PG, 12, 15 and 18) had been introduced.
Examiners who viewed the film on video were split between PG and 12. While all tended to agree that “the horror effects – though presumably frightening in the 1950s – had lost their power in the late 1990s”, some felt that the film’s scenes of violence may still be upsetting for younger children and therefore more appropriately classified at the higher rating.
Ultimately, arguments for the lower rating prevailed, with one Examiner remarking, “Taken as a whole this is good fun family entertainment by contemporary standards and will have no more traumatic effect than the Daleks.”
