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

Writers:

Robert Bloch (story), Milton Subotsky

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Patrick Wymark, Jill Bennett

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Christopher Maitland
Patrick Wymark	...	Anthony Marco
Jill Bennett	...	Jane Maitland
Nigel Green	...	Inspector Wilson
Patrick Magee	...	Police Surgeon
Peter Woodthorpe	...	Bert Travers, Marco's Landlord
Michael Gough	...	Auctioneer
George Coulouris	...	Dr. Londe
April Olrich	...	French Girl
Maurice Good	...	Pierre, Phrenologist
Anna Palk	...	Maid
Frank Forsyth	...	Judge
Paul Stockman	...	First Guard
Geoffrey Cheshire	...	Second Guard
George Hilsdon	...	Policeman

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

skull | marquis de sade | collector | nightmare | doctor | 

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Taglines:

When the Skull strikes you'll Scream!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Caveira

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The heirs of Donatien Alphonse François de Sade pressed charges to prevent any use of his name on the advertising material. The changes on posters and lobby-cards were made at the very last minute by sticking the new title "Le Crâne Maléfique" (meaning "The Evil Skull") on top of the former, "Les forfaits du Marquis de Sade" (meaning "the Infamies of Marquis de Sade"). Only on that condition the film could finally be released in the French territory.

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Goofs

The table seen at the very end of the film that the skull sits on is different from the table it is on through the rest of the movie. The table seen in the ending has no pattern, just horizontal wood grains. The table seen earlier has a pattern of hexagons.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pierre: What are you doing here?
French Girl: Aren't you pleased to see me?

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Connections

Spoofed in Top Secret! (1984)

User Reviews

Amicus,Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing at their best.

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.