The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake

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", 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.

Wow! For a relatively obscure late fifties programmer, this minor little film has gotten a lot of rave reviews in this forum. Thankfully, this film was not (apparently) ripped on an episode of MST3K. If that were the case, I'm sure this site would be filled with negative and mostly silly, smart-alecky comments by persons who would rather come across as sounding clever than providing informed opinions and interesting comments. I'll beat them to it; how about "The Four Numb Skulls of Jonathan Drake"?

Having seen this film for the first time since the early seventies, I can only say that most of the raves about this film are influenced by nostalgia. I should know, there are many unremarkable films that bring back fond memories to me as well. Its not an unsung classic, but it has it moments. The Jivaro witchdoctor with his mouth sewn shut because he doesn't have to breath or eat (apparently, he doesn't have to talk either) was rather creepy. Although a bit slow at times, the film is not cluttered with any extraneous material. Every scene in the film has to do with the supernatural goings on. There is a hint of romance between the police detective and Drakes daughter, but it is kept to a minimum. The writers seemed to have done their homework on shrunken heads, the process described in the film is correct, although it takes a lot longer than shown here.

The films direction is rather poor. Edward L. Cahn seemed only interested in getting the film done quickly. The cast looks as if they were on their own. Now, this doesn't matter to much for seasoned professionals like Henry Daniel or Ed Franz, but rest of the cast looks lost. The film is shot on only a handful of sets. Everyone wanders in and out of the house through out the film. Overall, THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE is a not bad programmer horror film, despite Cahn's direction. This film was paired with the Cahn helmed INVISIBLE INVADERS when it first came out. I would say FSKOJD was clearly the superior of the pair.

Hilarious little horror film involving a curse on the Drake family--each male member of the family is killed at age 60 and decapitated! There's more but it's really too complicated (and unbelievable) to go into.

I originally saw this on a local TV station on a Saturday afternoon in the 1970s. I was in the fourth grade and it scared me silly! A shot of a headless corpse in a coffin really did it for me. I saw it again in high school and just thought it was silly. Seeing as an adult it still IS silly---but in a good way.

This is a LOW budget film with tacky looking sets (obviously borrowed from another picture) and a cast of virtual unknowns. The only name here is Henry Damiell who looks miserable. Also Valerie French is just terrible. Good acting is given by Grant Richard (as Lt. Rowan) and Eduard Franz (as Jonathan Drake).

This is not a good movie but worth seeing--for laughs. The plot is really out there (especially a twist at the end). Also notice the vault with electric lighting (!!!) and a knife used at the end that is (pretty obviously) rubber. LOVED the way it shook! A camp classic!

I'm always nearly stupefied when browsing through the career overview of director Edward L. Cahn. This man directed low-budget horror treasures at an incredibly immense pace; - sometimes up to eight or nine movies per year. No wonder he dropped dead at the age of 64! But unlike other people who directed hundreds of films, like Jess Franco or Cirio H. Santiago, the efforts of the sadly unknown and underrated Cahn were always reliable and competent B-movies. Like "The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake", for instance, which is a short and straightforward (barely 70 minutes) but grimly compelling tale about tribal voodoo, shrunken head routines, floating skulls and ancestral curses! When, after his grandfather and father, also his brother unexpectedly dies from a sudden heart condition at the age of sixty, Jonathan Drake is convinced that the curse placed upon his great-great-grandfather by a witchdoctor in the Amazon jungle is still active. The floating skulls of his ancestors keep appearing in his nightmares, and there truly is a native tribesman (with his lips sewn shut) strolling around to kill the masculine Drake family members and cut off their heads to perform a voodoo shrinking rite. There's absolutely nothing to dislike about "The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake". The plot is simple but effective, with a proper explanation regarding the family curse's origin and a good mixture of believer & non-believer characters. Several of the ideas and sequences were quite gruesome and explicit for their time (like the headless corpse in the coffin or the uncanny resemblance between the victims' faces and their shrunken potato versions) and there are many more and even nastier little gimmicks coming to the surface as the story unfolds itself further. The acting performances are more than adequate for a late fifties' B-movie, with particularly Henry Daniell stealing the show as the mean & vicious Dr. Zurich. Recommended and fun, just like other Edward L. Cahn horror efforts such as "Invisible Invaders", "It: The Terror from Beyond Space" or "Invasion of the Saucer Men"

My VHS copy of this film-taken from a television broadcast 25 years ago is never long on the shelf. I show this film alot. This is one of those rare films that stands alone. It defies being pigeonholed. The plot is one of a kind. Although the budget appears to be slight the film actually benefits from this. The acting is high caliber. I remember as a kid originally seeing it late one Saturday night on Chiller Theatre (out of Pittsburgh Pa.) The headhunter with his lips sown shut haunted my dreams for weeks! Fans of B-movies should make an effort to see this film. It would be an excellent candidate for restoration and digital release.