Mummy's Boys (1936)
- Director
- Fred Guiol
- Writers
- Jack Townley(screen play)
- Philip G. Epstein(screen play)
- Charles E. Roberts(screen play)
- Stars
- Bert Wheeler
- Robert Woolsey
- Barbara Pepper
Were it not for the deplorable Silly Billies, Mummy's Boys might well have been the weakest of the Bert Wheeler-Robert Woolsey comedies. The boys are cast as ditch diggers Stanley Wright and Aloysius Whittaker, who sign on as "excavators" for an archaeological expedition into Egypt. What our heroes don't know is that their destination, the tomb of King Pharantine, carries a deadly curse which has apparently claimed the lives of nine previous explorers. It turns out that the deaths have actually been caused by a member of the first Pharantine expedition, who has systematically poisoned his colleagues so that he can lay claim to all the tomb's treasures. The film wraps up with a slapstick chase through the surprisingly well-illuminated tomb, with Stanley and Aloysius doing their best to protect heroine Mary Browning (Barbara Pepper) from harm. Many of the best gags have nothing to do with the wearisome plotline, but even these lack the zip and spark of Wheeler & Woolsey's earlier routines. The film's best performance is rendered by Moroni Olsen as the maniacal, bug-eyed murderer (whose guilt is obvious the moment he's introduced to the audience!)
