THE SCREAMING SKULL In Color - 1958

So, here's another recent colorized horror movie from Allied Artists, this time it's THE SCREAMING SKULL where you are assured a free burial if you die of fright while viewing it at the theater. Eegah and I didn't see this one when it came out, but we did have the 1 sheet poster!

The story's about newlyweds Erik and Jenni Whitlock who move into the home of his late wife Marianne who died under mysterious circumstances a few years earlier. Jenni has history of mental illness, and when things start to get weird, she doesn't know if it's real or just her imagination playing tricks on her...

Here's the complete cast, left to right, Russ Conway as Reverend Snow, Tony Johnson as Mrs. Snow, Peggy Webber and Jenni Whitlock, John Hudson and Erik Whitlock and Alex Nicol as Mickey, the mentally challenged gardener.

The day after Erik and Jenni arrive, Erik has to go into town to take care of business. I used this still because it just looks cool.

Lots of back story going on here. Mickey adored the dead Marianne because they worked on the gardens together, she was like his mother figure. He misses her a lot.

Jenni is getting ready for bed when she hears something like a door slamming shut. As a kid, this is a part that we could only wish for, Peggy gots some dangerous curves there!

She puts on her nightgown and goes into a room where a skull is on a shelf in a cabinet. She ends up throwing it out the window to the ground below. Erik is away that night.

Then, someone or something is pounding on the front door so Jenni goes down the stairs to see who or what is there. In this shot, you get to see through her gown, revealing that she's not wearing a slip! Fairly risqué  for 1958.

Well, when she opens the door, this is what she sees. It rolls over to her and she faints.

A painting of Marianne seems to be bugging Jenni so Erik takes it and has her set it on fire in the back yard near Marianne's gravesite.

As Erik and Jenni put the embers out, she rakes over a spot and uncovers the skull, which makes her faint, again! Erik picks the skull up and hides it in the pond where Marianne had died.

But when Erik goes back to find the skull, it's gone! Mickey must have taken it so Erik physically assaults him, slapping him hard five times, but Mickey denies taking it.

After Erik leaves, Mickey looks around in the greenhouse and finds the skull beneath some leaves. He takes it to Reverend Snow to show him. 

Erik has decided that him and Jenni are leaving the place that night. Jenni goes to the greenhouse to say goodbye to Mickey but cannot find him. But, she does see Marianne's ghost there, the thing starts chasing her and she runs screaming back to the house.

Upstairs, Erik is fashioning a noose for Jenni. His plan is to make it look as if she has committed suicide, you see, he killed Marianne so that he could inherit her estate, and Jenni also inherited an estate from her deceased parents. Connect the dots!

After chocking Jenni out, he hears that crazy pounding on the front door and goes down to see who's there...

Surprise, surprise!! It's Marianne, there for revenge.

Erik runs outside trying to get away from the skull but it keeps following him.

It corners him in the pond, and of all things, it starts biting him on the throat!

Reverend and Mrs. Snow show up to console Jenni, who was not killed by Erik as he got distracted by the pounding on the door.

So, Erik got what he deserved, bringing this wild story to an end. Hope you enjoyed this colorized tale of horror...