Dec. 16, 2022

This Day in Halloween: Hammer Studios’ "The Mummy" starring Hammer icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee opens in the U.S. in 1959. / Illustration by Noah Ayub

Hammer Studios’ The Mummy opens in the U.S. in 1959. The iconic British studio’s version of the monster movie borrows heavily from Universal’s Mummy sequels The Mummy’s Hand, The Mummy’s Tomb and The Mummy’s Ghost, while following very little of the original Mummy plot. The film, directed by Terence Fisher, is still regarded as a classic and stars Hammer icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.