After the unexpected death of a rich relative, the reading of his will brings a motley crew of greedy family members to a mansion by the sea to collect.After the unexpected death of a rich relative, the reading of his will brings a motley crew of greedy family members to a mansion by the sea to collect.After the unexpected death of a rich relative, the reading of his will brings a motley crew of greedy family members to a mansion by the sea to collect.
Evelyne Scott
- Lady Marta Tobias
- (as Evelyn Scott)
Ángel Menéndez
- Lord Archibald Marian
- (as Ángel Meléndez)
Jesús Franco
- Andy
- (as J. Franco)
Dan van Husen
- Albert Pagan
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaEdgar Wallace was not credited in this movie, but in an interview with a fan, director Jesús Franco admitted that he used one of Wallace's novels for this movie.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits claim the story is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cat and the Canary." There is no work by Poe with that title or plot. It is actually a play written in 1922 by John Willard, which was officially adapted to film in 1927, 1930 and 1979.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Featured review
NIGHT OF THE SKULL (Jesus Franco, 1973) **1/2
This is a rare example of a period giallo, and an interesting one; not tremendously suspenseful and quite predictable in the long run, but certainly enjoyable along the way (with welcome touches of humor from time to time). It was supposedly adapted from John Willard's "The Cat And The Canary", erroneously attributed to Edgar Allan Poe on the credit titles (though this was probably done strictly for commercial purposes!).
The pace is somewhat lethargic but the atmosphere is well enough caught, accentuated by a slightly unnerving score, frenzied cross-cutting and some weird images (the assassin's 'costume' itself and the first claustrophobic murder). The casting is effective, though I wasn't familiar with too many of the actors: from Lina Romay and Antonio Mayans as the young couple to the various conniving members of the family (including William Berger) and various other interlopers (like the Police Chief who always forgets to pick up his sombrero when he leaves, and Franco himself as a drunken 'lawyer'). This is my first Lina Romay film: frankly she seems so young it's hard to believe she would soon be appearing in films that would border on the hardcore (this film's only perverse erotic charge is delivered by the scene where the sleeping Romay, nude of course, is beaten up by her tipsy and jealous step-mother with a belt)!
The concept of a series of murder methods lifted from a passage in the Apocalypse is an interesting one, though the death-by-fire itself is pretty unconvincingly staged. All things considered, a minor Franco but one I wouldn't mind revisiting in future.
The pace is somewhat lethargic but the atmosphere is well enough caught, accentuated by a slightly unnerving score, frenzied cross-cutting and some weird images (the assassin's 'costume' itself and the first claustrophobic murder). The casting is effective, though I wasn't familiar with too many of the actors: from Lina Romay and Antonio Mayans as the young couple to the various conniving members of the family (including William Berger) and various other interlopers (like the Police Chief who always forgets to pick up his sombrero when he leaves, and Franco himself as a drunken 'lawyer'). This is my first Lina Romay film: frankly she seems so young it's hard to believe she would soon be appearing in films that would border on the hardcore (this film's only perverse erotic charge is delivered by the scene where the sleeping Romay, nude of course, is beaten up by her tipsy and jealous step-mother with a belt)!
The concept of a series of murder methods lifted from a passage in the Apocalypse is an interesting one, though the death-by-fire itself is pretty unconvincingly staged. All things considered, a minor Franco but one I wouldn't mind revisiting in future.
- Bunuel1976
- Oct 12, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 22 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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