The Screaming Skull is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white horror film, produced by John Kneubuhl and directed by Alex Nicol, starring John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Russ Conway, Tony Johnson, and Nicol. The Screaming Skull marked Nicol's directorial debut; he decided to try it because he felt that he was not acting in the roles which he wanted. <br /><br />The film's storyline concerns a newlywed woman who believes she is being haunted by the ghost of her new husband's previous wife. <br /><br />The Screaming Skull's opening disclaimer that a free burial would be provided to anybody who died of fright while watching the film was inspired by a gimmick that had been used by William Castle in his film Macabre (1958), in which he offered every viewer who bought a ticket life insurance in case they died watching the film. Unlike Castle, Nicol did not actually contact an insurance company. <br /><br />The Screaming Skull was released in August 1958. It was never registered with a copyright office, despite the presence of an onscreen copyright notice belonging to Madera Productions. As a result, it has seen many public domain DVD releases by video companies. <br />Credits <br />Cast: <br />John Hudson as Eric Whitlock <br />Peggy Webber as Jenni Whitlock <br />Russ Conway as Rev. Edward Snow <br />Tony Johnson as Mrs. Snow <br />Alex Nicol as Mickey <br /><br />Directed by Alex Nicol <br />Written by John Kneubuhl <br />Produced by John Kneubuh <br />Cinematography Floyd Crosby <br />Edited by Betty J. Lane <br />Music by Ernest Gold
