THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE

Henry Daniell

THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE (1959). Director: Edward L. Cahn. Colorized version. 

Jonathan Drake's (Eduard Franz) whole family has been under a curse for generations, a curse that has to do with Jivaro headhunters and revenge down in South America. Drake's ancestor killed a whole host of Indians in retaliation for their beheading an important crew member. Now every male member of the Drake family will die on his 60th birthday and be buried without their heads. After this happens to Jonathan's brother, Kenneth, (Paul Cavanagh), both his daughter, Alison (Valerie French) and Police Lt. Jeff Rowan (Grant Richards of Guns Girls and Gangsters) are afraid Jonathan might be next. 

Valerie French and Grant Richards

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake is a gruesome hoot, a wild melange of shrunken heads (how they are processed is shown in detail), decapitations by machete, ancient Indians with their lips sewn together wearing moccasins made of human flesh, severed heads boiled in pots, and a centuries-old sinister figure with a white man's head stitched on top of an Indian's body! Skulls and heads show up at unexpected moments. The acting is all satisfactory, with Henry Daniell taking top honors in an underplayed performance as the sinister Dr. Zurich. Grant Richards has a brusque, butch style that works well for his role. 

Verdict: More shrunken heads than you can throw a stick at! ***. 

GUNS GIRLS AND GANGSTERS

Mamie Van Doren goes into her dance

GUNS GIRLS AND GANGSTERS (1959). Director: Edward L. Cahn. Colorized. 

When Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr of Angry Red Planet) gets out of prison, he makes a beeline for Las Vegas and his cellmate Mike's (Lee Van Cleef of Machete) estranged wife, Vi (Mamie Van Doren), who wants nothing to do with either of them. But the sleazy Chuck needs Vi's help in a two million dollar armored car robbery that he's planning, and he also enlists her boss and current lover, Joe Darren (Grant Richards). Everything is going according to plan -- Vi and Chuck are also inexplicably falling in love -- but the whole business is threatened when an angry Mike breaks out of jail three months ahead of schedule. Now it's a question if the robbery can go off and if either Vi or Chuck will survive the jealous Mike's wrath ...  

Grant Richards and Gerald Mohr

The generically-titled Guns Girls and Gangsters is a snappy and well-acted crime thriller that moves at a breathless pace, especially in the final quarter detailing the robbery and its aftermath. Although it's hard to fathom why Vi would ever fall for a cruddy and unattractive character like Chuck, the actors do the best they can to make their romance convincing -- Van Doren is better in this than usual. As the mad dog Mike Lee Van Cleef is a bit disappointing, adding no nuance to his character and just spitting out his lines as if he was fed them five minutes earlier. Richards is effective as Joe and there is a very good fight  scene between him and Van Cleef in an automobile. John Baer and Elaine Edwards are fine as a married couple who run the motel/cabins where Vi stays as she waits for the big day to come and where the armored car will wind up after a bullet strikes its tire, courtesy of Chuck and his rifle. Van Doren proves that she can put over a song in this (although I suspect she's dubbed) and does it twice. The narration threatens to become intrusive but doesn't ruin the film. Edward L. Cahn also directed You Have to Run Fast -- among numerous other films -- which co-starred Richards and Edwards. 

Verdict: Suspenseful, tense, action-packed crime drama. ***. 

THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE

Our villain prepares a shrunken head

THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE (1959). Director: Edward L. Cahn. 

Jonathan Drake (Eduard Franz), an anthropologist, has been frightened of a family curse that strikes male members when they hit sixty years of age. When the Jivaro Indians in South America kidnapped and beheaded a Swiss agent who worked with Drake's great-grandfather, the retaliation -- the murder of all the male Jivaros, including children -- was decided overkill. Now Drake's ancestors are paying the price. The latest victim is Kenneth Drake (Paul Cavanagh of Bride of the Gorilla), whose head is found missing when his coffin is opened at his funeral! When Jonathan himself is attacked, Lt. Jeff Rowan (Grant Richards of You Have to Run Fast) looks into the matter as Drake's daughter, Alison (Valerie French) wrings her hands and worries. 

Henry Daniell pontificates

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake is not one of prolific director Edward L. Cahn's better efforts, as a film with this plot should certainly be rich with atmosphere, which this isn't. However Orville H. Hampton's gleefully ghoulish screenplay makes this nifty horror film a contender. We not only have beheadings, shrunken heads, a mute Jivaro Indian with his lips sewn shut who runs about with a cleaver and a basket and wears sandals made of human skin, but there's his master, who has a white man's head sewn onto an ancient Indian's body. And we mustn't forget Henry Daniell, light years from Camille, who makes the most of his sinister role as Dr. Emil Zurich. Four Skulls is a lot of grotesque fun. 

Verdict: Delightfully gruesome horror flick. ***. 

YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST

Elaine Edwards and Craig Hill

YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST (1961). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

Roger Condon (Craig Hill), a young doctor, has to treat a dirty cop who was beaten by thugs who work for mob boss Jim Craven (Grant Richards). When the crooked cop dies, the police want to put Condon in protective custody, but he wants to stay in charge of his life. Therefore he runs off to become a sporting goods salesman -- rechristened Frank Harlow -- in a small hunting community. Meanwhile Craven and his men go on the hunt for Condon, hoping to eliminate him as a witness. The doc stays in an inn owned and run by Colonel Maitland (Willis Bouchey) and his daughter Laurie (Elaine Edwards).  

Craig Hill and Jack Mann as Lt. Carbo

The first problem with this poorly scripted movie is that the lead character is an asshole. He expresses not the slightest remorse nor regret after a cop who was assigned to protect him -- after he's refused to go to a hotel -- is gunned down (but then the lead detective doesn't seem especially bothered by this, either). His idea of "living his life" is shaving his mustache, getting contacts, and completely giving up his hard-earned career as a doctor -- say what? Laurie comes off like a hopeless she-geek -- she is so desperate to have a relationship with Condon that for a birthday present she actually gives him a picture of herself! (Talk about pushy!) Fortunately for her, Condon is equally interested in Laurie. 

As the excitement doesn't mount, Craven shows up in town with two more thugs, leading Condon to run off once more, and a gun battle develops with the old Colonel and his rifle playing a large part. You Have to Run Fast comes off like a barely-produced and padded television episode and it resists interesting developments at every turn. Craig Hill was a handsome "B" actor who went to Europe to make features. He finally got married at age 64 after having hot flings with Rock Hudson and, reportedly, Marlene Dietrich, among others. His early romantic life might have made a more interesting movie than this stinky picture. Director Cahn keeps things moving but to no avail with this bad a story. 

Verdict: Run fast from this movie. *1/2.