The Screaming Skull
About The Screaming Skull
Eric Whitlock brings his new wife Jenni to the country house where his first wife, Marion, died. Jenni hears screams and sees skulls and thinks Marion is in the house. Eric feeds that fear. The gardener Mickey takes the skull. Eric moves to kill Jenni. Marion's ghost shows, and Eric drowns in the pond. Jenni lives. How Marion died is left open.
Cast & crew
More about The Screaming Skull
Alex Nicol directed, his first film as director, and plays Mickey. John Kneubuhl wrote and produced. American International Pictures released it in August 1958 on a double bill with Terror from the Year 5000. Nicol said he directed because the acting parts he was getting were not the ones he wanted. An opening card offers a free burial if a viewer dies of fright. Unlike William Castle's Macabre, no insurer was brought in.
Themes
Reviews
Leonard Maltin called it dreary, and reasonably eerie near the end, with a twist that does surprise. Phil Hardy and Tom Milne wrote that the action is let out too loosely and the mood does not hold.
Music
Ernest Gold wrote the score. It keeps returning to the Dies irae.
Preservation
Not registered for copyright despite the on-screen notice, and long sold as a public-domain title.
Notes
- John Hudson plays Eric. Peggy Webber plays Jenni. Russ Conway plays the Reverend Edward Snow. Tony Johnson plays Mrs. Snow.
- An on-screen copyright notice was not matched by a registration. The film has circulated as public domain.
- Named public-domain discs include Alpha Video, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, and Mill Creek Entertainment.
Scenes
- The prologue offers a free burial to anyone who dies of fright.
- Jenni finds skulls and hears screams in the house.
- Eric goes into the pond and does not come out.
Also available
- Internet Archive (TheScreamingSkull)
- Wikimedia Commons (The Screaming Skull.webm)
- Alpha Video DVD
- Echo Bridge Home Entertainment DVD
- Mill Creek Entertainment DVD