A Caveira que Assobia

The Three Mesquiteers accompany an archeological expedition to a lost Indian city of gold called Lukachuke in a mystery western full of humour, intrigue and rollicking action, especially at the end with a landslide. It's called a horror-western but apart from the cursed lost city there isn't much horror. What there is is great landscape, a well-designed lost city and plenty of fun. Definitely top tier of its type.

Stuntman actor Ray Corrigan stars as one of the three mesquiteers in "Riders of the Whistling Skull". Costars Robert Livingston (Stony) and Max Terhune (Joslin) accompany him to Lukachuke, along with "Betty" (Mary Russell). The acting and story are very "B" feature, from Republic. They pack a lot into those 58 minutes, so no time for goofing around. Some great old scenery of Painted Canyons in Mecca California from the 1930s, but it's all pretty forced. The group travels into the hills to see what the heck happened to the archeology professor. Directed by Mack Wright, who had started in silents. Wright worked six times with John Wayne and six times with Gene Autry. It's all very okay.

The Riders Of The Whistling Skull is The Three Mesquiteers best and most famous adventure and the best B-western of the nineteen-thirties, with more action, thrills, and suspense in it's fifty-three minutes than in all twelve chapters of some of Republic Pictures' serials!

The story involves the Three Mesquiteers and their search for the missing father of a pretty archaeologist, kidnapped by a sinister Indian cult after discovering the lost city of Lukachukai and it's treasure, all surrounding the creepy rock formation known as The Whistling skull.

This is first rate all the way with great locations and lots of weird touches like the cult's ritual dance (with a young Iron Eyes Cody in attendance) and the "mummy" who stands up and brandishes a knife!

I recommend this heartily to fans of B-westerns and to people who want to witness the best that the genre has to offer.

The Three Mesquiteers (Stony, Tucson, & Lullaby) ride with a band of explorers searching for Professor Marsh an archeologist, the father of the female lead, who has discovered a lost city with hidden treasure, but who has been held by a prisoner by an Indian tribe, who has killed Marsh's partner, through a traitor amid the archeology party. Its up to the Mesquiteers to discover the villain among them and save the party from thirst and the murderous rampage of the tribe. Very enjoyable 3M film with nice emphasis of the comradery between the three friends, and also gives a nice glimpse of the style Republic used in their westerns and serials set out west. Wright's direction is quicker than what else I've seen of him, but he rushes through the end which is the drawback of the film. Nice location shooting in Nevada, and a good supporting cast make this one a winner. Rating, based on B westerns, 9.

Plot - The 3 hero buddies join a girl (Russell) and others, all determined to find her missing archaeoloist dad in a strange Indian land far from settler civilization.

The flick's a genuine oater oddity. The 3 Mesquiteers and their allies are arrayed against a mysterious rock skull and its hostile Indian cult, with hints of preternatural happenings surrounding the ugly skull. For example, there's the apparently dead Indian woman suddenly and jarringly coming to life. Now, oaters of old may not have been known for their realism, but here there's a strange air of an 'other world' that may be lurking behind the disappearance of the archaeologist.

And dig that spectacular Technicolor cliff-scape, whose jagged rocks the two warring sides climb, clamber, and fall from. It's a landscape from Mars and unlike the usual cowboy wilderness. Oddly, the effect is all from inspired location filming, with no studio backdrops in sight. And catch the many creative camera angles and set-ups that magnify the strange visual atmosphere.

There's also plenty of action that largely replaces the usual talk or character development; instead, it's the rocks and cliffs that get center stage. Then too, shouldn't overlook that big rock-slide near the end that still has me wondering how they did it, and in only an 8-day filming schedule. My only complaint is the apparent use of a trip-wire to bring down two horses head-over-heels and probably to their doom. Good thing the movie practice was soon outlawed.

I suspect the flick's been generally overlooked because of a strangeness that doesn't easily fit into the matinee cowboy genre. Now, I'm not saying the flick's a sleeper classic or hidden gem. Instead it's definitely a weird one-of-a-kind and should not be missed. So catch it if you can.