The Mummy is a 1999 classic. Explorers Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan set off to dig in Hamunaptra, the famed "City of the Dead", but find much more than they ever bargained for when they uncover a deadly mummy, who begins wreaking havoc once Evelyn accidentally brings him back to life.
Running out of time, the trio, with help from Medjai Ardeth Bay, pool their resources to stop the mummy before it's too late. The film contains its fair share of humor, horror and action, making it an audience favorite to this day.
Hated By Camels
Beni isn't exactly loved by anyone in The Mummy, as he forms an alliance with Imhotep to save his own skin, willing to throw everyone else into the fire for his own benefit. Beni isn't even loved by the camels. There's a scene that demonstrates just that, when Beni is loading a significant amount of gold onto a camel and it refuses to budge when he instructs it to go. Apparently the camels just didn't care for Kevin J. O'Conner, and made it plainly obvious. Even if it wasn't in the script, it made for more laughs, and suited Beni's character in all his glory.
Dog Food As Hail
Egypt begins getting some its worst weather ever in The Mummy when fire and hail begin falling from the sky, signifying Imhotep has begun regenerating and intends nothing less than destruction.
The unusual thing about the hail is that it is actually dry dog food, painted white, and dropped from above the cameras onto the set. While an interesting way to concoct hail, audiences likely wouldn't like it falling on them, and thus can imagine how the actors must've felt.
Not A Horror Fan
Horror isn't for everyone, but it's surprising to find that, despite Rachel Weisz not being a fan of horror, she starred in The Mummy anyway. However, as she puts it, the movie is "hokum, a comic book world." She's not wrong; the movie is more aligned with comedy than horror, and contains a zany misadventure born of tragedy in the form of Imhotep's and Anck-Su-Namun's love story gone wrong. Perhaps Weisz would consider starring in movies like The Mummy in the future; she's certainly a great casting choice!
No Easy Feat To Blend Horror And Laughter
Stephen Sommers had a vision when it came to The Mummy, and that vision has withstood time, making the 1999 film into an eternal classic, beloved by audiences for generations, and generations to come. Audiences love everything about it: its quirky humor, memorable dialogue, slapstick comedy, its action and adventure, its love stories and the disturbing mummy, among other things.
However, achieving these qualities did not happen overnight. As Sommers puts it, the hardest thing about the movie was blending the humor and horror, as he "didn't set out to make a straight horror movie." To that, audiences would definitely tell him he did a marvelous job, regardless.
Last-Minute Ideas
Sometimes last-minute ideas make for some of the greatest stories, but also memorable movie moments. Rick isn't the traditional hero; sometimes, he's not entirely aware of his surroundings, or he misjudges something. This is notably shown when he and Evelyn are trying to flee the boat, and she grabs onto his clothes and pulls him to her to save him from two bullets that would've hit him head-on otherwise. Apparently this gag came from Director Stephen Sommers, the very night before this scene was scheduled to be filmed. Sometimes being on set helps get the creative juices flowing and by extension a fun addition in the script.
Ultimate Clumsiness In One Take
Evelyn didn't initially come across as a heroine. While bookish, witty and brilliant, she was also quite clumsy, as displayed by the mess in the library she created that according to Dr. Bey makes her a "catastrophe!" Rows upon rows of bookshelves were taken down, books flying everywhere, and by some miracle, no one was hurt. This scene was magnificently captured in one take, an impressive feat.
Considering the tedious work it would've taken to set everything up and capture it again had even just the slightest thing been off, the crew and cast definitely deserve accolades. Knowing this, audiences can appreciate this scene that much more.
Definitely Not Faking It
While The Mummy utilized its fair share of special effects, not everything was up to technological expertise. Sometimes brave actors have to be commended, like Rachel Weisz, for experiencing things in reality. Poor Weisz was faced with rats crawling all over her in one of the final scenes in The Mummy, and audiences assume her horrified reaction is less to do with acting and more to do with her genuine reaction. Audiences are still creeped out by this scene to this day; in regards to authenticity, the film nailed this scene.
Too Handsome For Tattoos
Originally, the Medjai were supposed to be covered in tattoos, from head to toe. While that certainly would have made them look more intimidating and badass (both qualities that were still expressed in the film regardless), audiences are glad that director Stephen Sommers ultimately decided against this idea as he considered Oded Fehr, who played Ardeth Bay, too handsome to be hidden behind so much ink.
Audiences can be eternally grateful for Sommers for making this call, given Fehr's bewitching and attractive looks.
A Near-Death Experience
Remember that scene in which Rick is hung in prison while Evelyn bargains with the warden for his life? Turns out, that scene could have gone in a very different, and deadly, direction. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly for the film's twentieth anniversary, Brendan Fraser mentioned that while filming that scene he was "fully choked-out." As Fraser puts it, he remembers seeing "the camera start to pan around" before regaining consciousness with an EMT saying his name. That is definitely a story audiences don't hear every day, and for good reason. Audiences can only imagine how scary that would've been to witness, or in Fraser's case, experience.
Unusual Insurance Claims
The Mummy was filmed in Morocco for safety reasons, but still certain measures had to be taken. Production of the film had the official support of the Moroccan military, and while that may put minds at ease, Director Stephen Sommers added further security measures by taking out kidnapping insurance on the main cast members. While thinking ahead and being prepared are good things, it's also frightening that such an insurance policy had to be taken out in the first place. The cast, however, had no idea such measures were taken until after filming had wrapped; perhaps if they'd known sooner, they may have considered other work.