“How far can the human mind penetrate the mysteries of the great beyond?”
“The Robot vs The Aztec Mummy” was released in 1958 and was directed by Rafael Portillo. The movie is a Mexican venture made for the Spanish speaking American audience. It was dubbed into English and released in 1964. It is the third in the Aztec Mummy trilogy. The other two being “The Aztec Mummy” and “The Curse of the Aztec Mummy”. All three were shot in 1957 back to back. Since the third movie is a direct sequel to the first two the first half of the film is a recap of movies one and two. Having seen the third movie first I found myself a little confused here and there throughout the movie. Without the complete back story “The Robot vs The Aztec Mummy” seems a little disjointed at times. That’s not totally a big deal since everyone is there for the robot anyway. Unfortunately the robot doesn’t show up until the very end. That was disappointing.
As for the rest of the movie Dr. Eduardo Almada (Ramon Gay) and his wife Flor (Rosa Arenas) found a tomb belonging to a princess Xochitl. Like all princess tombs it is guarded by a mummy. Popoca (Angel Di Stefani) is also guarding a gold breastplate and bracelet that are suppose to have hieroglyphics that tell where a treasure is buried. Evil mad scientist Dr. Krupp (Luis Aceves Castaneda), who is also known as “The Bat”, and was supposedly killed in a previous movie, is actually still alive and making plans to get the breastplate and bracelet. He wants the treasure.
Since the mummy’s original tomb was also destroyed in a previous movie Dr. Krupp needs to find where the mummy is now hiding. Flor is known to be a reincarnation of the ill fated princess Xochitl, again in a previous movie. As such she has a psychic bond with the mummy. Dr. Krupp hypnotizes her and has her take him to where the mummy is now resting. She takes him to a mausoleum in an old cemetery. There he finds the mummy, the breastplate and bracelet. He still has a problem in that if he tries to take the golden objects the mummy will wake up and kill him.
His plan is to make a robot with a human brain in it that will battle the mummy and destroy it. Dr. Almada and his associate Pinacate (Crox Alvarado) must find Dr. Krupp and stop him.
The movie is confusing and wordy and slow. However, if you can get through all that you will be rewarded handsomely. Dr. Krupp’s secret hideout and laboratory has every blinking light and whirly gadget you can imagine. The robot is the coolest dopiest thing ever and looks like it would fall over any second. And Dr. Krupp is the perfect over the top mustache twirling mad scientist you could possible want in a “B” movie. You will either love it or hate it. I highly recommend it.
The Aztecs did not practice mummification per se. Most mummies from that era were the result of natural desiccation, not mummification. The dead were placed in a woven bag and often adorned with a ceremonial mask. In the bag the bodies were hunched up in more of a sitting position or fetal position instead of supine as the Egyptian mummies were. The Aztec language was called Nahuatl. Their writing was usually on deer skin or paper. Their writing was a system of pictures, icons and glyphs. These writings were called codices. The Aztec empire flourished between 1345 and 1521 CE (Common Era) and covered a good portion of Mesoamerica.
Full movie
MST3K version