The Skull (1965)A collector comes into possession of the skull of the Marquis de Sade and learns it is possessed by an evil spirit. Director:Freddie Francis |
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The Skull (1965)A collector comes into possession of the skull of the Marquis de Sade and learns it is possessed by an evil spirit. Director:Freddie Francis |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Peter Cushing | ... |
Dr. Christopher Maitland
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Patrick Wymark | ... |
Anthony Marco
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Jill Bennett | ... |
Jane Maitland
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Nigel Green | ... |
Inspector Wilson
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Patrick Magee | ... |
Police Surgeon
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Peter Woodthorpe | ... |
Bert Travers, Marco's Landlord
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| Michael Gough | ... |
Auctioneer
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George Coulouris | ... |
Dr. Londe
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April Olrich | ... |
French Girl
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Maurice Good | ... |
Pierre, Phrenologist
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Anna Palk | ... |
Maid
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Frank Forsyth | ... |
Judge
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Paul Stockman | ... |
First Guard
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Geoffrey Cheshire | ... |
Second Guard
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George Hilsdon | ... |
Policeman
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A collector of esoterica, Dr. Maitland, buys an unusual skull from his ordinary source of artifacts. The skull is what remains of marquis De Sade. Much too soon he discovers how the skull affects him: by turning him into a frenzied killer. Written by Mattias Thuresson
The Skull is probably the best film Amicus produced,based on a chilling short story by Robert Bloch and directed with visual flair by Freddie Francis it tells the story of a writer on Demonology ; Christopher Maitland(Peter Cushing excellent as usual) who is offered a skull and a fleshbound book originally belonging to none other than the Marquis de Sade for a mere £500,at first he is skeptical of its provenance but finally agrees to buy it from Marco a shifty character(memorably played by Patrick Wymark)who previously stole the skull and book from Sir Matthew Phillips(Christopher Lee)who had fallen under it's sinister spell in the past and was glad the skull and book had been stolen,Matthew tries to convince Christopher of its evil power and advises him to get rid of it as soon as possible,but to no avail,Christopher keeps the skull and begins to come unstuck, he starts hallucinating and having bizarre dreams. All the performances are first rate,but this is Peter Cushings film,he is literally in every scene and gives a convincing performance of a man falling pray to evil. I can't help thinking this could have been a true classic if it had had a bigger budget. The whole cast and crew have worked wonders with what little money and resources they must have had,it also remains(in my opinion) Freddie Francis best film as a director....a must for a cold winters night.