The Screaming Skull ~ 1958 -BW

QUICKIE: Newlywed couple returns home to a house haunted by the husbands first wifes' ghost.

PLOT: Newlyweds Eric and Jenni Whitlock retire to his desolate mansion, where Eric's first wife Marianne died from a mysterious freak accident. Jenni, who has a history of mental illness, begins to see strange things including a mysterious skull, which may or may not be a product of her imagination. Suspicion falls on Mickey, the estate's mentally challenged gardener, who seemingly was very attached to his former mistress.

SUMMARY: You know you're in for a goodie when the movie opens with the promise that you just might die of fright from watching the following movie, and if by chance you do die, you are promised free burial services by the movies' producers. Haw! I'm sure my family would appreciate that. So, was I frightened? I'll admit I turned the sound down a few times because I hear creaking wood floors enough from my upstairs neighbors. Now, if you want a real fright we can discuss the noises they make in bed, but I'm digressing. The screaming gets tiresome too. Why must every female in every B&W movie try to destroy our hearing with that shrieking?

The story had a few twists and I suspected the gardner, the husband, the wife, and then the ghost. You never know in some movies untill they're over. The end was predictable, but what do you expect? The floating skull harassing the husband was just too far from reality for me to buy any of it. But who cares! I don't watch for realism, I watch for laughs. Generally at the end of this movie I was laughing more than being scared to death as the opening cautioned us. But I suppose one could die from laughing while choking on their popcorn. That'd be scary.

It was interesting enough to keep me watching although I knew it would be the skull knocking on the door. How predictable was that? Very. Also predictable that the husband would die the same way his previous wife had. The nice thing about these classic films is that every bit of dialogue is significant. So if they go into great detail about the 1st wifes' death, then you can bet it's some type of forshadowing. But again, a strong grown man couldn't stop a skull from biting his neck? & a female skull at that? I guess it was the power of vengance that fueled the skull to murder? Letting go of reality is a requirement in these films.

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