Riders of the Whistling Skull

Riders of the Whistling Skull is a 1937 "Three Mesquiteers" Western B-movie of the weird western genre starring Bob Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, and ventriloquist Max Terhune with his dummy Elmer. It was directed by Mack V. Wright, produced by Nat Levine and released by Republic Pictures. The film is based on the 1934 novel by William Colt MacDonald.

Riders of the Whistling Skull
Directed by	Mack V. Wright Louis Germonprez (assistant)
Written by	Oliver Drake Bernard McConville John Rathmell William Colt MacDonald (novel)
Produced by	Nat Levine Sol C. Siegel (associate)
Starring	Bob Livingston Ray "Crash" Corrigan Max Terhune
Cinematography	Jack A. Marta
Edited by	Murray Seldeen (supervising) Tony Martinelli
Music by	Harry Grey (supervisor)
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date	January 4, 1937 (1937-01-04)
Running time	58 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

After Professor Marsh disappears while searching for the lost city of Lukachukai, a party of anthropologists including Marsh's daughter Betty arrive in a Western town to prepare an expedition to look for him. Meanwhile, the Three Mesquiteers have discovered a delirious man wandering the desert and bring him to town where Betty recognizes him as a member of her missing father's expedition. As the man slowly gets his memory back the party wishes to know the location of Professor Marsh and Lukachukai that contains an ancient legendary treasure. The man is murdered with a knife bearing an Indian inscription. The Mesquiteers recognize that the murderer is one of the party in the room. Keen on his detective magazine that he constantly carries with him, Stony and the Mesquiteers lead an expedition to find Professor Marsh, the lost city and its treasure and the murderer. Well-armed devil worshiping Indians and animate mummies enliven the proceedings.

Cast

• Bob Livingston as Stony Brooke, Mesquiteer
• Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Tucson Smith, Mesquiteer
• Max Terhune as Lullaby Joslin, Mesquiteer
• Mary Russell as Betty Marsh, daughter of the missing archeologist, Prof. Marsh
• Roger Williams as Rutledge, another member of the expedition to find Prof. Marsh
• Fern Emmett as Henrietta McCoy
• C. Montague Shaw as Prof. Flaxon
• Yakima Canutt as Otah, an Indian guide travelling with the Mesquiteers
• John Ward as Prof. Brewster
• George Godfrey as Prof. Fronc
• Earle Ross as Prof. Cleary
• Frank Ellis as Coggins, the cook
• Chief Thundercloud as High Priest
• John Van Pelt as Prof. Marsh, an archeologist searching for a lost city in the American west

External links

• The Riders of the Whistling Skull at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Riders of the Whistling Skull at IMDb
• Riders of the Whistling Skull is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
• The Livingston-Corrigan-Terhune period of Three Mesquiteers films at B-Westerns