Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!
Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic
Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
Scott LeBrun Jonathan Drake (Eduard Franz) and his brother Kenneth (Paul Cavanagh) are the latest in the line of Drake men and as such must suffer the curse placed upon the men of their family for ages. This curse dates back for centuries and involves heads being severed and shrunken. This is an effective touch in the screenplay by Orville H. Hampton, which is fairly strong and violent stuff for 1959. Capable B movie director Edward L. Cahn, whose credits include the sci-fi thriller "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" that served as a basis for "Alien", is at the helm of this decent programmer. It's nothing special, but not bad, either. As one can see, it's not without its creepy elements, although it's awfully talky for much of its running time. It's clearly not too concerned about functioning as a mystery, as our villain is revealed much sooner than we expect, and it becomes a matter of waiting for our protagonists to get caught up to speed. It benefits from a pretty strong cast. Franz, usually a supporting actor or bit player in features (such as the classic "The Thing from Another World") is wholly believable in a lead role. Grant Richards co-stars as the intrepid police detective Jeff Rowan, who goes through the biggest character arc in the story, as a hard headed man who believes in rational and sane explanations who's forced to acknowledge some truly unreal things. Valerie French is Franz's worried daughter, Paul Wexler the most memorable character in the film as the Jivaro Indian henchman who's had his lips sewn shut, and Henry Daniell is lots of fun as the intense archaeologist Dr. Emil Zurich. A short running time (71 minutes) ensures that the story go on no longer than it needs to, while a thunderous score by Paul Dunlap plays in the background. Those shrunken heads, designed by Charles Gemora, are really quite convincing; in general, the special effects, what little there are, are well done. In the end, this little film does have some potency going for it as well as some entertaining climactic action and revelations. Fans of the B movies of the era should find this a reasonable diversion. Six out of 10.
Michael_Elliott Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, The (1959) ** (out of 4) The Drake family has a curse on it because after the male members die their heads are removed. Before MGM released this on DVD it was pretty hard to see the film and it had a very good reputation from the few who remembered seeing it back in the day. Flash forward to my viewing and I was left very disappointed. The film has a terrific ending but everything leading up to this point is rather dull and boring. The performances are also rather annoying but this is probably due more to the screenplay. The one nice bonus was seeing Henry Daniell from The Body Snatcher fame.
babeth_jr I just recently viewed this film for the first time and was surprised at some of the more gory elements of this film. It was made in 1959, and it dealt with decapitation and shrunken heads. Although it didn't actually show the decapitation, it did show the skin being removed from a decapitated skull. By today's horror standards it was pretty mild (this picture was filmed in glorious black and white so you don't get the blood red effect of today's films) but nonetheless, it was pretty gory for it's day.The story revolves around Jonathan Drake (portayed by Eduard Franz), the remaining male survivor of his family. His family has been cursed since his grandfather's time by a tribe of Amazon indians that were slaughtered by his grandfather and several other men.Henry Daniell is just great as the creepy Dr. Zurich. There are several other strong supporting performances by Grant Richards as the stalwart Detective Jeff Rowan and Paul Cavanaugh as Kenneth Drake, Jonathan Drake's brother, who unfortunately loses his head to fulfill the "Drake Curse".I did laugh a few times during the movie...Paul Wexler portrays Xutai, one of the Amazon indians, and he has to be seen to be believed. Even with his mouth sewn shut he looked more funny to me than menacing. Also you can tell that this movie was filmed on a very low budget. The sets are pretty substandard.Despite these minor flaws I found this movie to be highly entertaining.
Mike-764 Jonathan Drake, and daughter Alison, visits his brother Kenneth because he is becoming more unnerved due to a family curse. Kenneth is killed before his brother's arrival by a mysterious Indian. When Drake and Alison arrive, the funeral is in progress and later discover that Kenneth Drake's head is missing. Enter police detective Lt. Rowan, who soon discovers that the males of the Drake family have died suddenly at the age of 60 and were decapitated. An associate of the Drake family, Dr. Zurich, is the man responsible for the killings and is quick to kill Jonathan Drake before Rowan and Alison try to stop him, but must combat the supernatural of the killings even when they learn that Zurich is actually dead! Decent horror schlock from the 50's with good acting, directing, and atmosphere, but nothing really standout from similar films of the same era. My big problem is that the reason Zurich wants revenge on the Drake family is never fully explained. A good ending for the film helps the enjoyment. Rating, 7.
