Classic Horrors Club

I’ve never seen The Screaming Skull (1958) and didn’t realize it was an adaptation of the short story by F. Marion Crawford. Of course, now that I’ve seen the 1973 version from “The Classic Ghosts” that I  knew was an adaptation, I’ll have to watch it. I’m curious if it shares the same flaws, although from what I read and hear, the 1958 version has flaws all its own.

The main flaw I found in The Screaming Skull (1973) was that although it runs just over an hour, it seems longer. At the point it could have ended… the point when I was saying, “That was pretty good…” the story continued. On its own, the last section is good, but with the first, it’s redundant. Plus, I don’t know that revenge needed to be served to the character.

On a dark, cold night, Dr. Ollie Pratt (Vincent Gardenia) arrives at a big gothic mansion for a reunion with his brother, Dr. Luke Pratt (David McCallum), whom he hasn’t seen in 10 years. During his absence, Luke was married to Helen (Carie Nye), they had a child (Alden), and then the child died. Helen blames Luke and not a day goes by that she doesn’t remind him.

During a conversation over drinks, Ollie tells a story of murder from one of his adventures. It gives Luke pause and he begins to fantasize about killing Helen in the same manner. The trouble is, other than her constant nagging driving him crazy, almost literally, it’s not demonstrated that he has the motive to kill her.

You see, she’s been funding his experiments in the laboratory just off the entry hall in the house. We don’t know the nature of the experiments other than the fact that he keeps a lot of skulls on his shelves in the lab. Killing Helen could end his cash flow; we’re not aware at the time whether or not he’s her heir. The way she felt about him, she may have changed her will.

Well, I guess when he said he’d leave her, she gave him a day to be gone, so at least he wouldn’t have to pack up his lab and set up shop in a homeless encampment. She’s got to die, though, so that her spirit can return to haunt him. You can guess what form that spirit takes by looking at the title of the story.

How it manifests is grisly, but since it was broadcast on television in 1973, even though it was late night, we can only imagine seeing its genesis. Luke carries a scalpel into her crypt, pulls out her coffin, opens it, then twists the weapon in the light, causing it to glimmer and shine. But the next thing we know, he’s pulling a clean white skull out of his medical bag.

Ollie left the house the first night he met Helen because of the tension between them. We neither see nor hear of him until a funeral later in the show. Spoiler alert! After Luke’s haunting, Ollie becomes the next victim.This is what I meant when I said I didn’t know if he needed to be served revenge. Other than telling the murder story, he’s not responsible in any way for Helen’s death.

Ollie’s fate comes to a climactic end, but after Luke’s climactic end earlier, it’s almost anti-climactic. I realize I’m practically obsessed with this plot point, and I’m repeating myself, so I’ll stop. I still enjoyed The Screaming Skull and think it was a good introduction to “The Classic Ghosts.” Maybe future installments will be more satisfying.

Next week: And the Bones Came Together…