"Red" Willits was the leader of three thieves that were under the employ of the British Museum curator-turned cultist leader Baltus Hafez, that would later be killed by an ancient curse.
Biography[]
Red and his fellow thieves, Spivey and Jacques, were hired by Baltus Hafez to obtain certain artifacts and to end any that might cause trouble. Red was the leader of the other two, giving out orders as needed, and had an eye for a bargain when he needed it.
The Bracelet[]
Red prepares to fire at the O'Connells.
Red and his two fellows arrived at an ancient temple ruin in 1933, searching for the Bracelet of Anubis under the orders of their employer, and knowing that Rick O'Connell, along with his wife Evelyn, were searching for the same artifact. While Spivey and Red were ordered to search in the main atrium of the ruins, Red searched the corridors, pistols drawn, prepared to "sort out" the O'Connells. As Red ventured further into the tunnels and corridors, he reached one chamber that was littered with scorpions, snakes, and venomous spiders, shouting out in horror as the scorpions and spiders crawled up his leg, kicking them off as he ran away. Finally, Red managed to surreptitiously catch up with the O'Connells as they entered one chamber that Evelyn knew almost instinctively how to open. Guns cocked, Red was ready to kill the couple, but was quickly stopped when a great burst of water came pouring from the corridors where he stood. Running quickly from the scene, he re-entered the atrium, calling for the other thieves to leave empty-handed.
New Assignment[]
Red and his two fellow thieves drove in a pickup truck to the ruins of Hamanaptra, where they met with their employer, Baltus Hafez, who was overseeing a mass excavation at the ruin site. Hafez quickly asked of them if they had acquired the Bracelet, but before the thieves could answer, a massive rumbling noise came from the earth. As the rumbling sound intensified, the cause was shown: a swarm of carnivorous scarabs had erupted from a pit that the hired native diggers were working in, and the scarabs quickly devoured many of them; Red and his thieves had been right to quickly jump onto their truck. The scarabs continued killing until men armed with flame-throwers blasted the bugs away in great orange bursts. Hafez heard at that moment that the workers had found what they were looking for: a large crystallic object that Hafez referred to as "Imhotep".
Red and his friends pushed their way through the crowds of diggers, Red threatening to shoot one digger through the face if he didn't move, this threat being furthered by Spivey, who told that Red had shot someone before. Hafez demanded the Bracelet from the thieves, but Red told his employer that the opportunity had passed them by; Hafez crossly insisted that he and his cultists needed that Bracelet, as Lock-Nah, Hafez' enforcer, punctuated this by adding that they needed before it opened, and drawing his blade out. Red and the thieves instantly drew their pistols out as well, Spivey pointing his at Red's head by mistake. Only Meela Nais, another cultist, could end the dispute by telling Hafez that she should have handled it, Hafez quietly remarking that her past history might have become an issue. Red told Hafez that he needn't worry, for the thieves knew where it was going and that they would take care of it. Hafez, in a resolute tone, told Red and the thieves that he had a different chore for them instead, Meela demanding where the Bracelet had gone; Red replied that it was on its way to London. Shoving Red out of his way, Hafez declared that he and his cultists must go to London.
On the Train[]
The Bracelet was attained by the cultist group, along with the boy that Jacques would have killed, and the next stop on the journey of the cultists was Karnak. Onboard the train were Spivey, Red, and Jacques, all three having the item that Hafez had demanded of them before: a wooden chest decorated with hieroglyphs. Jacques, however, was not happy with the chest being in their possession, as he remarked that the chest was cursed and proceeded to read the hieroglyphs on the chest. The hieroglyphs told that one known as "the undead" would kill all who opened the chest; Hafez dismissed the hieroglyphs airily as being nothing but a story, but Red reminded his employer that the Americans that found the chest nine years ago all died horrible deaths. Bearing the present notion in mind, Red declared, they would want double their commission, Hafez insisted that the agreement was for half of the amount that they demanded. Red insisted that if they did not receive their higher payment, they would take the chest elsewhere. Hafez was about to refuse when Meela Nais stated that their demands would be acceptable, and led the three thieves into another car in the train.
Death[]
Red and Jacques fire at the mummy.
Red, Spivey, and Jacques reached a car in the train where Meela told them that they would, in that car, receive their just rewards. Red, not wanting to play any games, declared that he and his friends would not give up the chest until they were satisfied; Meela remarked that there was much satisfaction to be had, quickly moving out of the car and out the door, locking it. Hearing the locks sounds, Red angrily shouted out for her to open the doors and let them out. A loud rushing sound quickly changed his focus, as well as the focus of his friends, as the three men looked around uneasily. Jacques remarked that the place was cursed, which Red derided, as Jacques was always saying that things were cursed; Spivey then made more fun of Jacques' superstitious nature, with Red demanding that he stop.
Red's dried up rotting corpse
At that moment, a tall, rotting mummy burst out from the ceiling before the three men as it roared. Red and his friends shot at the apparition, which made no difference to the mummy, as it laughed at their attempts. Spivey ran to the door, where Meela appeared behind the spy-hole, telling the thief to open the chest, as the mummy wanted that. Spivey rushed to open it, tearing the lid off, much to Jacques' protest, and releasing a cloud of white dust in the process. The chest having been opened, the mummy was gone, though all men
were now on their toes at the unnatural silence left behind. As Spivey nervously held his guns out, the mummy appeared above him, crawling on the ceiling like an insect, where it dropped down in front of Spivey. As the thief screamed in horror, the mummy opened its mouth to an inhuman width and drained the life out of Spivey, reducing him to a dried corpse, and the mummy to some regeneration. Red screamed out in torment at his friend's death, and continued to shoot at the mummy. The mummy won the fight, killing Jacques, taking his organs and fluids in the process, and leaving Red to face the mummy alone as a powerful wind came from the depths of its throat, compelling Red, in his last thoughts, to see that he should have settled for less money.
Personality and Traits[]
Red was a brash man that believed in shooting first and asking questions later, and of the three thieves, was the most aggressive. Red took no nonsense from anyone and was not afraid to shoot any that stood in his path, as Spivey had said that he shot some person in the past. A short, thickset man with thinning hair, Red wore a red bandanna that covered his partial baldness and a grey shirt; boots, dark trousers, and holsters were also worn. In the nights in the desert, Red wore a dark green jacket.
Appearances[]
- The Mummy Returns (First appearance)
Behind the Scenes[]
Red was portrayed by actor Bruce Byron.
In the novelisation of the film, Red was portrayed as being taller than shown in the film, was American, and had red hair. In the novel, Red's surname was revealed to be "Willits".