Riders of the Whistling Skull Reviews

One of the "Three Mesquiteers" series' best outings. Livingston, Corrigan, and Terhune are off in the Southwest guiding an archeological expedition to an ancient Indian city. The lost city is surrounded by an unusual rock formation that causes a strange whistling whenever the wind blows. Williams leads a gang of outlaws who've been raiding the city (known as Lukachakai) of its golden treasures. They're holding a professor captive, and his daughter (Russell) hires the Mesquiteers to rescue him. The use of unusual lighting achieved some interesting effects in this entry in a normally straightforward B western series. Indians are hidden carefully among the shadows and the action is nicely staged. There are some honestly exciting suspense sequences, and the eerie whistling is used with great effect. Terhune provides the comic relief for Livingston's and Corrigan's (relatively) straight performances. His use of a ventriloquist's dummy and his constant battles with man-hungry spinster Emmett provide the needed relief from the spooky goings-on. This unusual film proved to be enormously popular at the box office, a well-deserved honor.