The Skull *** (1965, Peter Cushing, Patrick Wymark, Christopher Lee, Jill Bennett) – Classic Movie Review 3,104

Freddie Francis’s 1965 Amicus horror thriller film The Skull stars Peter Cushing as a professor who wants to acquire the Marquis de Sade’s skull from an eccentric dealer (Patrick Wymark). Christopher Lee has given Cushing a dire warning about its terrible powers.

Director Freddie Francis’s 1965 Amicus Productions horror thriller film The Skull stars Peter Cushing as Dr Christopher Maitland, a collector and writer on the occult, who is offered to acquire the Marquis de Sade’s skull from an unscrupulous eccentric antiques dealer, Anthony Marco (Patrick Wymark).

Christopher Lee also stars as Cushing’s antiquarian collector friend, Sir Matthew Phillips, who has given him a dire warning about its terrible powers. The evil skull has been stolen from him and he sure does not want it back. Alas Cushing does not heed the warning. Marco dies mysteriously, Cushing finds his body and takes possession of the skull. He hallucinates, is driven to madness and tries to stab his wife (Jill Bennett).

Strong performances lift some sub-standard writing in the screenplay by Amicus producer Milton Subotsky for Francis’s film, based on a foolish but eerie short story by Robert Bloch (Psycho) called The Skull of the Marquis de Sade. However, Freddie Francis rewrote much of Subotsky’s script and the film’s final 25 minutes have virtually no dialogue, which must have helped the script-writing process.

There are some very good moments in this nifty little chiller and there is also plenty of panache in the direction, while the evocative sets in Bill Constable’s art direction and cinematographer John Wilcox’s darting camerawork contribute to a satisfyingly creepy atmosphere. The score by English avant-garde composer Elisabeth Lutyens is another point of fascination.

The story takes place in modern-day London, but a 19th-century preface shows a phrenologist called Pierre (Maurice Good) robbing the grave of the recently buried Marquis de Sade and dying horrifically while boiling his severed head to leave just the skull.

The film’s original title was that of the story, The Skull of the Marquis de Sade, but had to be changed when the Marquis’s descendants complained. In France, a new title of Le crâne maléfique [The Evil Skull] had to be pasted over the original French title of Les Forfaits du Marquis de Sade ]Infamies of the Marquis de Sade] on posters and lobby cards, after legal action by the de Sade family. 

The Marquis de Sade’s skull was removed for phrenological analysis after his body was exhumed from its grave in the grounds of the lunatic asylum at Charenton, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France, where he died in 1814. In real life, the skull is believed lost.

The film runs 89 minutes but the cut version runs at 83 minutes.

Release date: 25 August 1965.

Amicus were obviously trying to challenge Hammer Film Productions, taking over their horror territory and their two main stars. Christopher Lee plays only a supporting role and is billed as a guest star. 

The cast

The cast are Peter Cushing as Dr Christopher Maitland, Patrick Wymark as Anthony Marco, Christopher Lee as Sir Matthew Phillips, Jill Bennett as Jane Maitland, Nigel Green as Inspector Wilson, Patrick Magee as Police Surgeon, Peter Woodthorpe as Bert Travers, Michael Gough as auctioneer, George Coulouris as Dr Londe, April Olrich as French girl, Maurice Good as Pierre, and Anna Palk as naid.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 3104

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com