Bad Movies For Good People

"The Screaming Skull" -1958.

Tagline: "The tortured ghost who claims vengeance in the bride's bedroom!". No, actually. The ghost claims vengeance in the pond. You'd think the people who make the film would know.

Not the first movie to offer a free burial and not the last. These days if a studio offered free burial service because of their movie, the lawyers would have turnstiles installed just to keep up. "Has a loved one died of fright after seeing 'The Screaming Skull'? Call Shyster and Howe, attorneys at law and we'll trade in your common sense and morals for cash!"

Plot: Newlyweds Eric and Jenni

are checking out Eric's house. Eric and his former wife, Marianne, used to live here along with their mentally challenged gardener Mickey.

Life had been good until Marianne slipped on some conveniently wet grass and bashed her skull in on the conveniently placed rock wall and drowned in the conveniently close pond.

Poor Eric. He had to comfort himself with the insurance money and a brand new Mercedes. Until he met Jenni life had no meaning. But Jenni is a delicate flower, since her parents drowned in front of her all those years ago and she has been in and out of several asylums since. Of course, Eric knows all about her misfortune and her inheritance and he wants Jenni to get better....right? Maybe. But Mickey doesn't like the idea of Eric being back, especially with a new wife. Mickey loved Marianne as if she was his mother

and Mickey might not be as slow as he seems. And that good, God-fearing Eric is in tight with Reverend Snow and his wife,

so he must be a nice guy....right? Maybe. But it isn't long before Jenni starts hearing strange noises that aren't always made by the local peacocks.

Of course, she has to investigate (in her nightgown) and doesn't like what she discovers.

No one else sees any skulls or hears any screams. Is she losing her grip on reality?....Maybe. Or maybe Eric has put together a carefully crafted scheme to drive her insane and collect her inheritance. Who knows?

Things I learned from this movie: 1- it's perfectly acceptable to continually refer to your deceased previous wife in front of your new bride, 2- if you find a painting of your new husband's dead wife to be disturbing just burn it,

3- every time someone said "Mickey" I had Toni Basil going through my head, 4- if you wake up in the middle of the night to strange noises you should always investigate half-naked,

5- the best part of this movie is it's use of silence or very feint noises to creep you out, 6- a skull can knock on a door, 7- there are 17 knocks on the door before Jenni opens it and sees....

apparently her own reflection....yeesh!, 8- this skull certainly has a peculiar means of locomotion,

9- "I call shotgun!"...sure, it's a skull, but he called shotgun,

10- skulls are coming in nice this year,

11- try new "Skull On A Stick", kids! Fool your family! Amaze your friends! Only $9.99! (Some restrictions apply. Not a real skull. Stick not included. Not available in Canada.),

12- "Alas! Poor Yorick. I knew....glub, glub, glub!",

13- I think you're using too strong of a detergent, Marianne.

Totally useless bonus facts:
The film is based on Francis Crawford's classic horror story of the same name, published around 1906. Crawford's inspiration came from the folklore surrounding the so-called "screaming skull" that was kept on display at Bettiscomb Manor in Dorset, England. The actual skull that inspired both the story and the movie is said to be that of a black slave whose request for burial in his native country was denied. Afterwards strange occurrences happened and unexplainable shrieking noises emanated from the wooden box in which the skull was kept.

Eric was played by John Hudson, whose identical twin brother William Hudson

acted in several classic B-movies, including "Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman" and "The Amazing Colossal Man". I guess you could say he went on to big things. John Hudson did okay himself, playing Virgil Earp in "Gunfight At The O.K. Corral" and opposite Elvis in "G.I. Blues".

Peggy Webber played Jenni. Webber started acting at the tender age of 2 1/2, performing during intermissions at the local silent movie theatre. By the age of 18 she was writing, producing and directing her own radio productions. And in 1948 she played Lady MacDuff opposite the likes of Orson Welles in "MacBeth".

I'm here to tell you, this wasn't "MacBeth". Let's concentrate on her previous performances, shall we?

Russ Conway played Reverend Snow. Conway was married to the same woman for 60 years! That's about eight centuries in Hollywood.

Alex Nichol played Mickey. Nichol grew up the son of a real-life prison warden (Sing Sing) and wasn't a stranger to playing two-fisted tough guys. If you have watched any oaters from the 40's or 50's, you probably saw Nichol punching somebody. Here he is in "The Man From Laramie" with Jimmy Stewart.