I must have been 11 or 12 years-old when I watched THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE (1959) on our black and white TV console. Before that, I had been lucky enough to be allowed to watch pretty much anything that I wanted in the way of TV shows, so no problem there. By then, I was a hardcore fan of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and anything else devoted to monsters that I could get my claws on.
The thought of having your head shrunken to the size of a lemon made my skin crawl. I think I may have become vaguely aware of Tzantzas -- as they are called by the indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin -- by watching a travelogue on TV or something of the sort. Plus, my Dad had the book, AMAZON HEAD HUNTERS by American explorer, Lewis Cotlow, which was popular at the time, and I would sneak a look at the photos with a strange fascination.
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| Lewis Cotlow's infamous book. |
So, I began to watch Eddie Cahn's film and was immediately enthralled by the opening scene, complete with creepy music and disembodied skulls bobbing in the air. But that didn't prepare me in the least for what was to come.
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| Dr. Zurich cooks up his specialty -- Yikes! |
Rather explicit at the time, there was one long scene where the requisite mad doctor, Dr. Emil Zurich (Henry Daniell), is shown during the complete process of head shrinking. Not only that, but we had his Jivaro sidekick, Zutai (Paul Wexler), skulking around creating all sorts of eerie mischief. The final scene that reveals Zurich's secret (and I won't reveal it here just in case you haven't seen it yet -- and you should) is another shocker, and believe me, that was more than enough to scare the pants off of this young Monster Kid!
Dismemberment is chilling in almost all instances. Murder is often ruled by passions, but dismemberment is cold blooded and calculated. It requires surprising effort and tools. Jack the Ripper is infamous not because he murdered five women, but because he took the time to cut them up and make off at times with those parts.
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