Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937) User Reviews

Author Oliver Drake was having an off day, but lots of action

[morrisonhimself · 7/10 · 11 September 2019]

Oliver Drake is one of my script-writing heroes, but his work here is just not up to his usual standard. Much of the story doesn't quite hold together, and, besides, it looks like somebody's idea for a serial after somebody (Pappy Yates?) changed his mind.

However, it does star the Three Mesquiteers, and all three get a chance to shine.

In fact, Crash Corrigan even gets to remove his shirt. (What a gorgeous specimen he was, even still when I met him, just a month before he died. He started as a physical fitness expert and continued to take care of himself.)

Probably the best way to enjoy "Riders of the Whistling Skull" is to ignore the story and appreciate the action, of which there is plenty, and the scenery, including the Whistling Skull of the title.

Yakima Canutt is present so you know there will be lots of stunts, and some very good ones.

Another reviewer mentions the "comradery" among the three and it's true there is almost no friction this time, except for a little joshing.

Lullaby, in an interesting change, ends up with a lady, but "ends up" surely means only till the next entry in the series.

It's a rather weak 3M movie, but the series itself was always uneven, with different eras and different roles for the heroes. Still, it's a pleasant enough way to spend about an hour.

Roy Rogers... its okay.

[ksf-2 · 5/10 · 26 September 2018]

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.

"This expedition is hopeless I tell ya..."

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 9 January 2010]

It looks like this film might have been trying to capitalize on the success of the Frank Buck and Clyde Beatty jungle films of the 1930's, as part of the cast is outfitted in safari suits, but that's about as far as the jungle connection goes. "Riders of the Whistling Skull" is one of the cooler sounding titles coming out of the early Western era, and it's somewhat off the beaten path for the Three Mesquiteers. The trio must lead a small party past a cult of fanatic Indians on the way to an enormous treasure of lost gold, while knowing that there's probably a traitor in their midst. The story line is a bit of a relief from the classic Western programmer in which a villainous town boss attempts to hoodwink local ranchers out of their property rights, and you know the 3M's had a fair share of those stories as well.

The coolest thing about this flick is that rugged mountain cliff that actually resembles an Indian face. With the wind whipping through the canyon, it wasn't too tough to come up with the whistling skull connection. The other scene to keep on the lookout for is that wild horse spill that Miss Betty Marsh (Mary Russell) and Lullaby Joslin (Max Terhune) take when their horses are tripped up by a rope across the trail. It's the first and only time I've actually been able to see a trip wire used to make the horses go down, and it always amazes me to see the broncs get back up. You can chalk up the stunt work to veteran Yakima Canutt who also pulls double duty in the picture as Indian guide Otah, even though he's virtually unrecognizable.

There were a couple of things that didn't make sense to me as some of the action scenes played out, but that's not unusual. Keep an eye on the scene when Tucson (Ray Corrigan) makes his way down a rock face and an Indian cuts his rope. Stony (Robert Livingston) is standing on the ledge where he knocked the Indian off, and when the rope breaks, the end of it is at Stony's waist level. Couldn't Stony have just held on to the rope below the cut to prevent the rope from breaking? I also had to wonder why Tucson's shirt sleeve was missing after he tumbled down the cliff, how exactly does that work?

If you're keeping score, this is the fourth in Republic's series of Three Mesquiteers films, and the third featuring Livingston, Corrigan and Terhune as the title characters, (Syd Saylor appeared in the first flick as Lullaby). Some fans find it to be one of their best, but I'll have to reserve judgment. I think Lullaby's dummy Elmer should have had a larger role.

Nice B Western

[Michael_Elliott · 27 October 2015]

Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A woman's father goes missing looking for a lost Indian city. Soon a survivor from the exploration shows up with bizarre terrors so The Three Mesquiteers (Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune) agree to help the woman search for her father and the lost city.

RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING SKULL often gets called the best "Western- horror" film but that's a bit of a stretch. I'm not going to challenge it being called the best of its sub-genre but at the same time, to be honest, there aren't too many horror elements, although the haunting and curse of the lost city is enough to make it of slight interest to horror fans who might not other wise watch a film with The Three Mesquiteers.

With that said, for the most part this is a pretty entertaining Western as Livingston, Corrigan and Terhune are all in fine form and Mary Russell is also good in her role as the daughter. The supporting players contain some very bad performances but nothing to take away from the entertainment. There are several nice action scenes and of course several scenes where our heroes are in peril and have to find a way out.

I thought the stuff dealing with the lost city was handled well. RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING SKULL isn't going to be mistaken for the work of John Ford but it's entertaining.

Plenty of action, plus a bit of mystery

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 7 May 2014]

By the humble standards of the Three Mesquiteers, this is definitely one of the more exciting entries in the series with plenty of fast-moving action – especially in the 53-minutes TV cutdown version which seems to be the only one now available on DVD. There is a bit of a jump in the storyline where the excision has been made, but it's easy enough to paste together what's happening even if the events are dime-novel absurd. It's amazing to think that director Mack Wright managed to shoot this one in only eight days. Diminutive heroine, Mary Russell, played mostly bits in her Hollywood career (1934 through 1938) – and no wonder. She's an attractive little lass and she knows her lines, but that's about all that can be said for her. Also on the plus side, we see and hear very little of Max Terhune's Elmer in this TV version, although there was probably not much more in the full 59 minutes theatrical offering – especially when we remember that 59 minutes would translate to under 57 minutes on TV and DVD. (My DVD is Volume 32 in Platinum's Great American Western series).

To find a treasure and capture a killer

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 14 January 2015]

One of the most interesting of the Three Mesquiteer films has the guys getting involved in an archaeological expedition to find a hidden treasure guarded by a legendary Indian cult, presumably descendants of the Aztecs because they believe in human sacrifice. At least Robert Livingston almost ends up being barbecued at the stake.

Mary Russell's father and his partner went off in search of the cult and the partner came back, but he's murdered in one of those locked room puzzles. Despite or maybe because of the fact the Three Mesquiteers were in the room they go along to find a treasure and capture a killer.

These modern Aztec type cultists have kept up with modern weaponry because of their leader and when you find out who it is that will be self explanatory.

I'm agreeing that the film does resemble some of those cult Kharis mummy films some of which were not all that good. The end is a rather spectacular climax where the cultists are wiped out. Mother nature has more to do with it than the Mesquiteers.

Mesquiteer fans should enjoy this.

Intriguing

[Cristi_Ciopron · 5/10 · 12 June 2009]

This short mystery, possibly drastically overvalued by the very few people who know it, constitutes nonetheless a nice surprise to be offered by a phase in the evolution of the genre rather given to cliché.

When movie culture lacks, the praises and superlatives generously granted by the half-wits serve only to expose the ignorance involved. Kids, first learn some western; watch lots of such flicks, even read widely, and then pronounce solemn superlatives.

For those who lavish superlatives on this flick as if it were Hawks suddenly turned into Buñuel, it might be well to watch some WILD WILD WEST episodes or some European westerns from decades ago—for some genuinely creepy westerns.

The script drags the Mesquiteers into an adventure which is not specifically their own brand.

3 Mesquiteers Show the Future of Republic

[Mike-764 · 9/10 · 31 August 2003]

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.

Bad even for this crop of the Three Mesquiteers

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 4 March 2011]

There were a long string of Three Mesquiteer films during the 1930s. The films consisted of three friends who were government agents in the old West and the films were very low-budget B-movies. However, the lineup changed all the time--and there must have been about two dozen different lineups--including, for a while, a young John Wayne. Among the most consistent lineup for the series were Crash Corrigan, Robert "Whistling Skull" begins with a member of a lost expedition arriving in town. He begins talking about some lost Indian treasure--and then is suddenly killed with a poison-tipped knife. So, the Boys and their new friends all go in search of the lost party--and possibly find the treasure as well.

Livingston and Ray Terhune. Oddly, Terhune's shtick was having Elmer (his ventriloquist dummy) and--a very strange thing indeed for the West! While I'll quickly admit that these weren't particularly good films (I've seen a lot with this particular lineup), they were reasonably fun and worth seeing if you like the genre. However, among the Mesquiteer films I have seen, this must be the very worst--mostly because the acting is simply atrocious. I am not exaggerating when I say that many of the extras repeat their lines like they are reading them off cue cards...and they were dyslexic! In addition, the plot, though original, was truly bizarre.

By the way, in addition to the weird plot and bad acting, the language was often amazingly offensive--even for 1937. My favorite line is "...those dirty ignorant savages" when members of the search party meet up with natives.

Great mystery western

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 19 January 2008]

I was never a western fan. It was made worse when we first got cable back in 1976 and several of the stations were heavily running the black and white programmers where only the names changed slightly from film to film. What ever it was never hooked me into liking westerns. John Wayne was never a favorite of mine as a result.

But as time went on I did find I will watch a western now and again and have raved about several, Unforgiven, Tombstone and Silverado for example, when really good ones come along.

But I've never been a fan of the genre, so when Sinister promised something different in their catalog I jumped.

The film is one of the Three Mesquiteer series that came from a a long running series of novel and was turned into a long running series of films. John Wayne was one of the original trio of ranch hands who do good in the West.

The plot involves an expedition to find a lost Indian city and a lost pair of scientists who earlier went looking for it. Supposedly its located in a Whistling Skull. Just as the party is to leave one of the scientists shows up speaks of finding the city and being taken prisoner only to be killed before revealing the exact location. The Mesquiteers, who had found the now dead scientist, tag along as the party sets out in order to find the city and the one remaining scientist.

The movie moves like the wind, running in this print only 53 minutes, and has just about every western cliché you can think of and then some. Assuming you haven't seen a bunch of these in a while its worth seeing, and even if you have seen a bunch of these its still fun.

Its simply a fun frantic mystery western, recommended.

An OK B-Western

[StrictlyConfidential · 5/10 · 9 December 2021]

"Riders Of The Whistling Skull" was originally released back in 1937.

Anyway - As the story goes - Our trio of heroes has set out to help a young woman find her missing archeologist father who was searching for a lost city full of hidden treasures. After facing perils along the way, the group eventually discovers the lost city and find the archeologist alive but held captive.

For the most part this was a fairly run-of-the-mill cowboy picture. Our heroes find themselves up against a whole lot of bad guys.

Avatar

[tedg · 5 February 2010]

Usually it eludes me, but sometimes the past comes and smacks me with its ridiculous tragedies. Ridiculous now.

When I park my car at work, it is opposite the back of what used to be a Woolworth's drug store. I see a misused window. That is where "coloreds" had to get their food, lest they annoy the whites. This was in my lifetime. I visited that store as a child when this was the law. Now, the building is a bar owned by an African American sports figure.

Recently, I saw "Avatar," and celebrated the defeat of the interlopers. Avatar was (still is as I write this) a big movie. But it is a very small presence in movieland compared to this, because this is merely one of thousands. Written in a day, shot in a week, in the theaters in a months and discarded a month later. The same characters, the same plots. I count this as one face of ten thousand movies.

Here is the plot: white guys from far away come to "Indian territory." They are looking for an ancient collection of artifacts. They happen to have value when melted down, but are also central to a religious tradition thousands of years old. Natives try to protect this treasure, and they are the BAD guys!

This is a pastiche: part jungle safari, part mystery, part comedy, part western. It is, in fact, an "every-movie."

The whistling skull is a cliff in the shape of an Indian face spooked out to look like a skull. It is, predictably, hollow.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

The 4th Film in the Three Mesquiteers Series by Republic Pictures

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 20 March 2024]

This film essentially begins with a young woman by the name of "Betty Marsh" (Mary Russell) coming out West in search of her father who has gone missing while searching for an ancient city rumored to have vast sums of gold. As luck would have it, while riding in that area, the Three Mesquiteers come upon an elderly man who was with Betty's father and just happens to have a book which contains directions to the lost city. Unfortunately, not long after regaining consciousness, the man is murdered and, as a result, the Three Mesquiteers, along with Betty and her companions, set off to find the lost city and rescue Betty's father. To get there, however, they not only have to travel through an extremely hostile territory, but they also have to contend with a murderer within their group who is willing to do whatever is necessary to have the gold all for himself. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that, not counting three other films from other various studios, this was the 4th film in the Three Mesquiteers series produced by Republic Pictures. In that regard, like all of its predecessors, this movie has a rather short running time (approximately 58 minutes) as well. Admittedly, the acting is rather basic but, even so, the supernatural element adds a bit of suspense not normally found in any of the others (except possibly, "Ghost Town Gold") and, for that reason, I have rated the film accordingly. Average.

Republic's Best Of The Best

[FightingWesterner · 9/10 · 10 September 2009]

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.

Very good Mesquiteers western

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 5 February 2022]

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.

The Mesquiteers Bump Into The Twilight Zone

[dougdoepke · 7 November 2022]

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.