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| Mehemet Bey | |
| Continuity: | Universal Monsters Hammer Horror |
| Notability: | Antagonist |
| Type: | High Priest |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | Hill of the Seven Jackals, Karnak, Egypt Mapleton, Massachusetts |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Died: | 1970 |
| First: | The Mummy's Tomb |
| Actor: | Turhan Bey George Pastell |
Mehemet Bey is a fictional character featured in the Universal Monsters film series. He is associated with the Mummy line of films and appeared in The Mummy's Tomb in 1942. He was played by actor Turhan Bey. A version of Mehemet Bey appeared in the 1959 version of The Mummy by Hammer Film Productions. He was played by actor George Pastell in that film.
Biography[]
Universal Monsters[]
Mehemet Bey was an Egyptian male who was a member of a cult in service to the god Amon Ra. In 1970, the High Priest of Karnak, Andoheb, bequeathed Mehemet with a medallion and named him his successor. He told him about the mummy of Kharis and the curse that existed for more than thirty years relating to the families of those who defiled the tomb of the princess Ananka. He further instructed Mehemet on how to utilize Kharis by distilling fluid from Tana leaves. Three Tana leaves would maintain Kharis' life, but nine Tana leaves would turn him into an engine of destruction.
Committed towards fulfilling the edicts of the curse, Mehemet Bey left Karnak and brought the sarcophagus of Kharis to the United States. He settled down in Mapleton, Massachusetts, and acquired employment as the caretaker of the Mapleton Cemetery. Using the knowledge he had been given, he brewed the Tana leaves to resurrect Kharis and set him off to kill the members of the Banning family and others who had offended the gods back in 1940.
Through the course of events, Mehemet Bey learned of Isobel Evans - an attractive young woman who was betrothed to marry John Banning. Bey became smitten with Isobel and sent Kharis off to retrieve her for his own ends. When Kharis returned with Isobel, Mehemet had her bound to the top of a coffin. He intended on using Tana leaves on a living person to make her immortal. From there, she would become his bride and a priestess of Karnak who would bear his progeny.
After Isobel went missing, John Banning and the town sheriff tracked Bey down to the caretaker's hut at the cemetery. Mehemet attempted to keep the police at bay with his gun, but was in turn gunned down by the sheriff.
Abilities[]
- Botany: Mehemet Bey's knowledge of botany was exclusive to the cultivation and treatment of Tana Leaves.
- Occult: Mehemet Bey was a scholar of ancient Egyptian lore and was also schooled in various disciplines including prayer and ritualism.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Mehemet Bey was created by director Harold Young and screenwriters Griffin Jay and Henry Sucher.
- Final fate: Shot to death by the sheriff of Mapleton, Massachusetts.
- Actor Turhan Bey was of Turkish and Czechoslovakian descent.
- Actor George Pastell hailed from the island country of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. Neither he nor Turhan Bey were of Egyptian descent.