

Outside, members of the archaeological team hear his screams and rush into the tomb to find Stephen in a catatonic state. After Joseph leaves to tell John the good news, Stephen finds the Scroll of Life and reads from it. Stephen and Joseph ignore him, and discover within the sarcophagus of Ananka. Before they enter, an Egyptian named Mehemet Bey ( George Pastell) warns them not to go in, lest they face the fatal curse against desecrators.

John has a broken leg and cannot accompany his father and uncle when they open the tomb. In Egypt in 1895, archaeologists John Banning (Cushing), his father Stephen ( Felix Aylmer) and his uncle Joseph Whemple ( Raymond Huntley) are searching for the tomb of Princess Ananka, the high priestess of the god Karnak.
