In 1940, the first sequel to 1932’s The Mummy appeared via The Mummy’s Hand. Across 1942-1944, three more Mummy movies would hit, and this run started with 1942’s The Mummy’s Tomb.

Though Hand ended with the apparent destruction of the mummy Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.), Tomb proves differently. Our bandaged friend comes back for more fun, and the priests of Karnak continue to manipulate him.

Now these holy men desire revenge, as they want to destroy all of the folks who desecrated the temple during the first flick. This sends the action to America, where Kharis goes to kill the returning participants and their relatives too.

Essentially that’s all we find in this movie, and it takes place about 30 years after the events of Hand. We mainly see Kharis chase after Steve (Dick Foran), Babe (Wallace Ford), and their offspring. Apparently Steve married Marta and had a kid, but she died in the interim, probably because Peggy Moran didn’t want to appear in the film.

It’s a bad sign when the first 20 percent of a movie consists of a flashback to its predecessor, but that’s what we get with Tomb. This seems especially indicative of the thin plot and lack of creative inspiration when the film in question is so short, as after the flashback ends, we only find about 48 minutes of new material.

That makes this “movie” the same length as an episode of Matlock. This seems weak for a feature film, even considering the abbreviated running time of many efforts from the era.

If you want additional proof that Tomb offers a shoddy effort, look at this fact: Babe is called “Hanson” in this movie, whereas he was named “Jenson” in Hand! Two years later and no one could recall the correct surname? That’s ridiculous.

Had the material of Tomb been more compelling, I could excuse the film’s brevity and goofs, but this becomes a bland and uninspired piece. Hand could be pretty perfunctory as well, but the characters added some mild spark to the piece. Like the 1999 Mummy, it took an ordinary tale and spiced it up with some frisky elements.

Tomb features no such delights. The returning characters play minor roles, and the new participants feel drab and lifeless.

The movie becomes a monotonous chase flick, as Kharis pursues his victims, and that’s about it. Tomb doesn’t look too bad compared to its further sequels, but it still has little to offer. I don’t dislike the film terribly, but it turns into a thin and sluggish affair that never grabs my attention.

The Mummy’s Tomb appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though not the best-looking of the Universal monster Blu-rays, Tomb held up well.

Honestly, Tomb fell below “A”-level solely due to the recycled footage from the first film. These shots didn’t seem unappealing, but they came across as less rich and concise than they should have, and since these scenes made up a substantial portion of the film’s brief running time, they made a negative impact.

Otherwise, Tomb looked solid, with consistently appealing sharpness. A handful of interiors came across as slightly soft, but most of the movie seemed accurate and concise.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects appeared, and I witnessed no edge haloes. Grain seemed natural, and I witnessed no print flaws.

Blacks stood out as deep and dark, and contrast brought out a nice silvery impression. Shadows became smooth and clear as well. Other than the slightly subpar footage taken from Mummy’s Hand, this turned into a strong presentation.

As expected, the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack didn’t dazzle, but it held up fine given its age. Music and effects delivered material without great range. Nonetheless, those elements appeared accurate and distinctive, without distortion or obvious problems.

Speech showed some age-related thinness but the lines remained intelligible and free from edginess. The track failed to suffer from any noise or hiss. More than 75 years down the road, the audio seemed more than satisfactory.

How did the Blu-ray compare to the original DVD from 2001? Audio appeared more natural and clearer, while visuals seemed better defined, smoother and much cleaner. This developed into a substantial upgrade.

Only one extra appears here: the movie’s trailer.

Though its immediate predecessor offered some fun, The Mummy’s Tomb lacks much excitement or drama. Short and perfunctory, it feels like a cash grab. The Blu-ray boasts appealing picture and audio along with negligible supplements. Tomb doesn’t offer the worst Universal monster sequel, but it disappoints and lacks much to make it compelling.

As of fall 2018, Mummy’s Tomb can’t be purchased on its own. It can be found as part of a six-film “Mummy Complete Legacy Collection”. In addition to Tomb, we find The Mummy, The Mummy’s Hand, The Mummy’s Ghost, The Mummy’s Curse, and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.

In addition, Tomb comes in the “Universal Monsters Complete 30-Film Collection”. It actually packages the Mummy set mentioned above with similar compilations for six other Universal Monsters.