original production:
Cast: Ramon Gay (Dr. Eduardo Almada), Rosa (Rosita) Arenas (Flora Almada/Princess Xochi), Crox Alvarado (Pincate), Luis Aceves Castaneda (Dr. Krupp, aka "The Bat"), Arturo Martinez (Bruno), Jorge Mondragon, Alejandro Cruz, Angel D'Esteffani, Jaime Gonzalez Quinones, Guillermo Hernandez, Julian de Meriche, Francisco Segura, Jesus Velazquez, Alberto Yanez, Enrique Yanez
PLOT OUTLINE:
(From IMDb): A mad doctor builds a robot in order to steal a valuable Aztec treasure from a tomb guarded by a centuries-old living mummy.
(From AFI): Dr. Krupp, a mad scientist, creates a robot with a human brain, but both are destroyed by the curse of the Aztec mummy.
GUEST SYNOPSIS:
by Gary Banks
Dr. Almada invites Dr. Diaz & Dr. Ester to his home. He tells them the story of the Aztec breastplate and bracelet that leads to an Aztec treasure. The doctors thought that the story of those two items was long over. But the story really begins five years previously.
Dr. Almada attended a medical convention five years ago. So did the two doctors, along with Dr. Krupp.
Dr. Almada gave a talk on past life regression that was greeted with disdain by members of the medical profession. Upset and disheartened, Dr. Almada returned home. With the aid of his fiancee Flora and her father, Almada began work again on his theories.
Under hypnosis, Flora regressed to the past life of Princess Xochitl. Xochitl was to be a virgin sacrifice to one of the Aztec gods. It seems the warrior Popoca had the hots for Princess Xochitl, who was "supposed to keep her maiden". However being young and horny they gave each other the business and were to be put to death for it. (Now that is severe!).
We are cursed with a screeching Aztec ceremony. Popoca was buried alive with the eternal curse to guard the Aztec breastplate & bracelet. Xochitl adorns the sacred items and then has her heart cut out.
Dr. Almada and his group go to the Aztec pyramid to find the relics. They were followed by Dr. Krupp (aka The Bat). After seemingly endless wandering the group discovers Xochitl's tomb. They find the breastplate, and head for home.
They discover they need the bracelet to decipher the breastplate, but there is a curse on those who defile the tomb. So the band returns to the pyramids in spite of the curse. Popoca shuffles out of the darkness. By this time, Popoca looks like he's been on a 2000 year bender. His groans & moans sounds like he has a bad case of Montezuma's revenge. The gang narrowly escape with their lives.
Popoca finds their house, and kidnaps Flora. He takes her back to the tomb and is preparing to cut out her heart. Dr. Almada, Pincate and Flora's father rescue her. Flora's father keeps the Aztec Mummy at bay with a cross. Her father also lights a stick of dynamite, sacrificing his life so the others may get free. Popoca is buried in the explosion, seemingly dead.
The Bat then kidnaps Flora and Dr. Almada's daughter. Krupp wants the doctor to decipher the code so he can get the treasure. (Being a mad scientist, he has a lot of overhead expenses to cover). Almada just finishes the translation and is about to be killed by Bruno (one of the Bat's gang) when Popoca arrives.
Popoca has a sort of psychic connection to the ancient relics. This allowed him to home in on The Bat's hideout. Popoca tosses Bruno into some acid, and tosses the Bat into a snake pit. The Aztec Mummy takes his relics and wanders off, muttering under his breath.
When Dr. Almada returns with the police, everything is gone. It also appears The Bat escaped death via a small trap door. Naturally, he is concerned, and the cops think Almada has been smoking his breakfast again.
The Bat lures Flora out of the house via hypnotism. She leads Krupp & Bruno to the old cemetary where Popoca has taken up residence. Bruno wants revenge but Krupp tells him they have to wait.(He and Bruno disappear for five years).
Almada discovers that his bride has been wandering nocturnally. He immediately deduces it is the work of The Bat. Doing some backtracking, they discover Popoca at his new residence and keep a silent, long vigil.
Recently (or five years later) a body, a brain and some radium have been stolen. Dr. Almada is positive it is the work of The Bat. If radium is used so is lead. So Dr. Almada & Pincate track down a lead shipment and get the address of delivery.
They tell Flora and the two doctors all of this in case they are murdered. They plan to go to the address, and maybe stop The Bat. If the duo doesn't return by 3am, Flora is to summon the police.
The two arrive at The Bat's, and are swiftly taken hostage by Bruno. Dr. Krupp greets them. He tells them he has been working on a very costly experiment. He has given life to a dead heart. He babbles about creating a living dead man, a human robot. We're also treated to a lot of eyeball rolling and scenery chewing by The Bat.
Krupp wants to send the robot to kill Popoca and get the breastplate and bracelet.Then he will force Almada to once again decipher the code so he can get to the treasure. (Expenses, ya' know). Krupp fires up the machinery and the robot LIVES!
The Robot uses radium to destroy living tissue, according to Krupp. Surely the Aztec Mummy is doomed!
Krupp, Bruno and the Robot head for the cemetary. Dr. Almada & Pincate make short work of their captors as Flora, the other doctors and the fuzz arrive. They all haul off to the cemetary to witness the big showdown.
Bruno takes the artifacts from Popoca. Popoca wakes up, and is pissed that the mad scientist and his goons are back. These fools never let him have a moment's peace! He attacks the Robot, which tosses him about the crypt and burns him with it's radioactive touch. It looks grim for our bandaged boy!
Dr. Almada shoots the control device out of Krupp's hands. The Aztec Mummy crushes the Robot like an empty beer can. He makes short work of Krupp & Bruno. Flora gives Popoca back the breastplate and bracelet and asks for Popoca to go in peace and that they are sorry they disturbed his eternal rest.
Popoca goes off yowling and groaning into the night, looking for yet another home where he won't be bothered by mad scientists and other morons.
THE END
GUEST REVIEW:
by Gary Banks
THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY is not my favorite movie in the Aztec Mummy series, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the film. It's just that a little of it goes a long way. I much prefer THE CURSE OF THE AZTEC MUMMY or THE WRESTLING WOMEN VS THE AZTEC MUMMY over this one.
About half of this movie is culled from two other movies, the first being LA MOMIA AZTECA, which was never released in the US in its original form, only in a chopped atrocity from Jerry Warren. The second film used is also the second movie in the series, LA MALDICION DE LA MOMIA AZTECA.
So we're talking about maybe thirty minutes of new material in this installment. This is a time honored tradition, dating back to Universal's "Kharis the Mummy" series.
The "Robot" is frankly a royal hoot. My first impression was of a giant garbage can with headlights and maybe parts from a 1957 Buick thrown in.
Dr. Krupp reminded me of an even more evil, more psychotic King Tut from the old BATMAN TV show. Ahh, they just don't make villains like that anymore!
This movie has suffered some slings and arrows critically. Sadly, it does deserve some of the criticism. However, this was entertainment for the masses, not high art. It may not be able to stand shoulder-to-(bandaged)-shoulder with the worst of the Kharis series. Then again, it probably had an eighth of the budget of the lowest of the Universal series. Besides, all the USA had to offer for viewing in 1957 was giant insects.
This was recently released on DVD by the now sadly departed Beverly Wilshire Filmworks. Once existing copies are snatched up, that will be it.
If you go in without high expecations, you'll be entertained for a little over an hour. Isn't that what it's all about?
REVIEW:
This film opens with a bang, of sorts: credits roll over odd graphics of a screaming mummy against a hieroglyphic-ridden wall, as dreary, creepy, sadly generic music plays.
Over haunting shots of Aztec temple ruins, an enthusiastic narrator intones:
"How far, can the human mind penetrate the mysteries of the great beyond? Who Knows? This picture, is based upon an extraordinary experiment, carried out by Doctors Hughes and Tooney of the University of Los Angeles. There is no doubt as to its authenticity; testimony of people participating in the experiment, sworn to by a notary public, preclude the possibility of any fraud! This picture is a combination of factual data, mixed with fiction."
Factual data, mixed with fiction? Whaa? Now, seriously, isn't that about the greatest cinematic disclaimer of all time? History books should have the same disclaimer! You know whatever follows will be exploitation history, for better or wicked. And wicked it is...
This wild flick, the third of the original "Momia Azteca" series, is a real Saturday-Afternoon classic.
Any movie that uses up half its hour-ling screen time with footage from its predecessors can't be all bad.
We start off with footage from LA MOMIA AZTECA (the scientific symposium and the beloved ritual murder sequence), and flash forward to scenes from LA MALDICION DE LA MOMIA AZTECA (the Aztec Mummy invades Krupp's lab).
In fact, this film may ironically be one of the few sources of footage from the original LA MOMIA AZTECA, which is now considered lost. Some of this rare footage also turns up in Jerry Warren's patchwork nightmares ATTACK OF THE MAYAN MUMMY and FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF.
Indeed, is it possible that the Aztec rituals sequence from LA MOMIA AZTECA holds the record for footage being recycled in the most movies?
At any rate, this film conveys a comfortable sense of deva vu, via its primarily flashback structure.
The first third of the film relies on the LA MOMIA AZTECA footage. Then we watch the exciting climax, as well as other scenes, from LA MALDICION DE LA MOMIA AZTECA. So it is at about the half-way mark before we actually "start" the new movie!
As in the earlier films (as in much of Mexican horror cinema of the period), hypnosis figures prominently, as the evil Dr. Krupp puts cute Flora under in order to locate Popoca's current resting place. Luckily, Krupp sends her out into the night wearing her cute little nightie...
There are some strange comparisons between this movie and its direct predecessor.
The address of Krupp's first lab is 22 Mount Lorraine. His next lab is located at 22 Shade Street. What could be the significance of the number 22 to "The Bat"?
Krupp's robot lab here is even cooler than his previous lab, full of weird, patchwork mechanisms like a tin-foil Frankenstein factory.
Our hero, Dr. Almada, was called "Almaden" last time. His assistant, Pincate, was called "Peacock"! Even weirder, Almeda's kid Bobby was referred to as his younger brother in the last film!
Krupp's main thug, Bruno, had the lyrical tag "Lilac" in the last outing.
And Krupp makes a passing reference to Pincate/Peacock's alter ego, super-wrestler The Angel. But why doesn't Pincate show any courage whatsoever in this installment? Was it the cool costume, after all, which gave The Angel his "cajones"?
Triva aside, there are much better mummy scenes here than in "our last episode".
The long-awaited title robot appears, after one of Krupp's long-winded rants, at 51 minutes into this hour-long feature, long after the kiddie matinee audience had likley run screaming to the popcorn stands in frustration.
And what a robot it is, a low-tech masterpiece with a water-heater body, a paint-can headpiece, and the human face of John Agar! Big pulsating light bulbs on its head, a couple of radio knobs for nipples, and a springy antenna! Just perfect!
One masterful scene has Krupp walking his new creation through the cemetery on the way to Popoca's pad. A drunken watchman stumbles by, and Krupp commands his devil-machine to attack him. The robot touches the drunk's arm, and atomic mist spews out as the poor old lush runs off, screaming in radioactive agony. Pure pulp gold.
The title bout is relegated to a scant two-minute fight at the very tail of the picture, virtually an afterthought.
The fight is brief, but memorable, with some great close-ups of both impossible creatures (Science vs Religion, if you wanna talk skid-row metaphors) hashing it out.
And as you would expect from a Catholic-culture artifact, the ancient beast beats the bejeezus out of the godless, soulless science-machine. One magnificent final shot shows the mummy thrashing the crap out of an obviously empty robot suit, until it literally disintegrates.
This cheesy mini-bout simply defines the whole notion of the exploitation racket: "always give the customer what you promised them, but just barely!"
And the whole idea of a fragile, centuries-old mummy as an intact, muscle-bound wrestler is pure, ludicrous comic-book heaven.
Overall, this flick is surely an example of a fascinating use of common footage, very much an homage to the thrilling cliffhanger serials of yore.
Whether you see it as an exciting new movie, pure comic book thrills, or a creaky retread rip-off, you have to agree that THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY is a classic of psycho-shlock cinema.
COMMENTS:
* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!
* THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY has the dubious distinction of being the only film in history to be "Recommended by the Young America Horror Club", a bizarre marketing ploy by Murray and Company, which doesn't seem to have had an actual club behind it! Perhaps it was a secret society. Considering the cheesy logo, perhaps it is/was a pseudonym (or front) for "Skull & Bones", the secret society at Yale University, whose members rule the world!
* Murray released two different versions of THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY. One print released was a syndicated TV version. Either before or after, Murray released his theatrical version, containing the same footage, but with an entirely different musical soundtrack, and with a revised opening credits sequence, containing the notorious emblem: "Recommended by the Young America Horror Club"! We believe the theatrical version contains Antonio Diaz Conde's original score, while the TV release, whose credits are missing a music credit, uses Gustav Cesar Carrion cues lifted from other horror films, but this has not been verified.
* According to AFI, THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY (presumably with its theatrical co-feature, THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN), had its US premiere in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 17, 1965. On the other hand, the theatrical poster has a late-1964 National Screen Service number, so again, exact release dates are anyone's guess...
* Rumors persist about a "reserved seat engagement" campaign mounted by Murray, to try and lure moviegoers in large cities to his wild horror double bill, THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN/THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY. It could not possibly have been successful.
* The Robot costume ("manufactured by Viana & Co. S.A."), also turned up in the Mexican fairy tales SANTA CLAUS and LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD AND THE MONSTERS. * (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!
* For the theatrical showings of THE ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY/THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN, Murray created a fictional psychological gimmick called "Hypno-Scope" which, according to the trailers, consisted of a whirling spiral which supposedly could hypnotize you into a state of sheer terror!
NOTABLE DIALOGUE:
*
"I tortured many animals with pleasure!"
*
"I'll make some more. Maybe a thousand!"
*
"Aw, this is great, doctor!"
*
"Flatterer!"
*
"You devil! You stinking devil!
How I'd like to chop your rotten flesh to pieces!"
*
"Wait? Wait? When I got so much hate eatin' down deep inside of my guts? You ain't got no idea what its like to live like this! Hiding myself from everyone and everything! Just because of that stinking monster!"
*
"When you feast your eyes on this,
no doubt you'll be amazed, doctor!"
*
"You devilish mummy!"
THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN/THE ROBOT VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY.
(photo courtesy of Gary Banks)
LA MOMIA AZTECA CONTRA EL ROBOT HUMANO.