The Night of the Skulls - Recap

A group of hunters and their hounds chase a fox through the woods. They eventually corner their prey and bring it back to their manor. Jim is there chatting with the hunters, including Jim and Artie. They argue over a woman and Jim accuses of Artie of dishonor. He punches his partner and a fight breaks out. Jim easily wins and Artie reaches for his pocket, and his partner draws a gun and shoots Artie dead. When he claims it was self-defense, one of the guests, Secret Service Head Colonel James Richmond, confirms that Artie was unarmed and merely reaching for a handkerchief. Richmond orders Jim under arrest and the agent dives out the window and flees.



Later, Richmond gives a statement at Artie’s funeral to the press. When the reporters ask about Jim, Richmond suggests that the agent suffered a nervous breakdown. They suggest that someone is protecting Jim and Senator Stephen Fenlow protests, defending Richmond’s integrity. Richmond brushes aside the question and assures the reporters that he has no idea where Jim is. He also comments that 19 other bloodthirsty killers have disappeared recently and nobody knows where they are.

At the funeral in Washington, the minister speaks over Artie’s coffin. The “minister” is actually Artie in disguise, and he goes on praising the dead man for some time. Meanwhile, agents patrol the grounds but are confident Jim wouldn’t show up. Once the service is over, Jim sneaks into the cemetery and approaches Artie, who is relieved to see him. The Secret Service agents spot Jim, who is telling Artie that the person responsible for the disappearance of the other killers hasn’t approached him. When the agents come over, Jim fights them over with a little covert help from Artie. He hides in a hearse as it departs the grounds, and then knocks on the window. The driver merely laughs and releases gas into the back, rendering Jim unconscious.



Jim wakes up in a cell. The only door is unlocked, much to Jim’s surprise. He steps into the hallway and notices hooded monks, and finally confronts one of them. The man has a skull mask and runs away. Jim follows him into a courtroom where other men in skull masks and hoods are passing sentence on a prisoner. The judge condemns the prisoner to death the next morning. He’s taken away and Jim speaks up, saying they have the wrong man. The judge assures him that he’s a murderer and will have his day in court, and calls a defense attorney forward: Lorelei. She assures Jim she’ll do everything to find him innocent, and Jim flirts with her. When the monks move forward to remove him, he knocks them out and jumps into the witness box. He moves for a dismissal and the judge nods to Lorelei. She pulls a lever and Jim plummets through a trapdoor back into his cell.



Richmond is working in his office when a disguised Artie enters via a secret passage. He informs his superior that Jim has vanished like the other missing killers. However, Artie warns Richmond that the organization responsible has proven untraceable. He informs Richmond that Jim was taken away in a freelance hearse and plans to track it down. As a Senate committee arrives, Artie promises to find Jim but worries that by the time he does, it may be too late.

In his cell, Jim tries to get the ceiling hatch open without success. He calls to the monk seated outside but gets no response. The agent then removes the support chain from his bunk and whips it against the cell door. The hatch opens and one of the monks taunts him. When he closes the hatch, Jim fastens the chain to the hatch and the cell door, and the closing hatch rips open the cell door. Jim punches the seated guard only to discover that “he” is a dummy. He dons a robe but is quickly spotted. As Jim runs, Lorelei finds him and tells him to follow her. She leads him to a secret passageway and asks him to come back and rescue her once he successfully escapes.



Jim follows the passageway only to find himself back in the courtroom with Lorelei and the Skulls waiting for him. They ask how he chooses to plead and Jim responds by challenging the jury. The judge and Chief Skull says that they are all vile murderers and he himself has killed three prisoners. Lorelei steps forward and begins the case… as the prosecuting attorney.

Artie investigates the livery stables, disguised as a bum, and finds the hearse buried in hay.

Lorelei presents her case, accusing Jim of murdering his best friend Artie in cold blood.

Tigo, the hunchback driver at the stable, captures Artie, who demands to know where he took Jim. Artie disarms him and they fight. The hunchback picks up a pitchfork and stabs at Artie.




The jury returns and gives Jim a verdict of not guilty. Jim tries to escape but is easily subdued. The Chief Skull tells him that he is now freed and an honored member of the company of murderers. Everyone congratulates him and Lorelei bestows a kiss on him. She explains that if Jim had been found innocent, he would have been hung. Jim thanks her and Lorelei tells him that they’ll discuss his fee after the victory dinner.

Tigo wakes up and discovers that Artie has escaped.

At the victory dinner, Lorelei offers a toast to Jim, their guest of honor. They ask for a speech and Jim offers a toast to their benefactor, the Chief Skull. The Chief Skull enters and thanks Jim for his toast, and then informs them that three of them will be chosen for a mighty undertaken. He leaves it to them to determine which three will remain. One of the killers, the Axe Lady, falls over dead with a knife in her back from another murderer, the Beard.



Later that night, Jim is going to his quarters when he hears someone behind him. He ambushes his follower only to discover that it’s Artie, disguised as Tigo the hunchback. Artie explains that he let the horses follow their usual path and bring him to the Skull headquarters. One of the monks arrives and tells Artie to ring the curfew. Once Artie leaves, the monk tells Jim that Lorelei is waiting for him and leads him to the courtroom. Another killer, the Samurai, throws a sword at him and misses. The murderer grabs another sword and comes at Jim. The agent kicks him out a window to his death, and the Chief Skull and Lorelei enter the chamber and congratulate him.

Once they’re alone, Jim asks Lorelei what his next assignment is. She takes him to a private chamber and explains that he’s been chosen to kill the Vice President of the U.S. The fourth killer, Iron Hook, will go after the President. She kisses Jim and explains that the Chief Skull is a brilliant man who plans to save the U.S. from enemies within and without. Lorelei starts to say the Chief Skull’s real name but then says that it’s not allowed and kisses Him again to collect his legal fee.



The alarm bells go off and Jim realizes that something is wrong. He goes to the bell tower and finds Artie, forced to ring the bells. The Chief Skull and the real Tigo are there. Artie’s disguise is quickly revealed and the Chief Skull knows that it’s Artie. Artie claims that he’s his twin brother, Adolphus, there to seek revenge on Jim. However, the Chief Skull knows that Artie is an only child. He asks Jim to explain how Artie can be dead. Jim claims that he has no idea how Artie can be alive, and the Chief Skull gives him a revolver and tells him to finish Artie off. Jim does so and misses, and then aims at the Chief Skull. The Chief Skull assures him that he only put one gun in the bullet and has his men capture both agents.

Once they’re alone in a cell, Jim explains the Chief Skull’s plan to kill the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State. There’s a bucket hanging above the trapdoor in the roof, and the agents throw a rock into it so that it will lower, providing them with a rope to climb out.



The Chief Skull addresses the three surviving murderers and tells them that they will soon have supreme power. He then tells Tigo to prepare the hearse and goes to the private chamber. He unmasks, revealing that he'’ Senator Fenlow. Lorelei pours him a drink and asks if she'll be First Lady when he becomes President. Fenlow tells her that her behavior has been disgusting, but Lorelei claims that she behaved to make him jealous. The senator concedes the point but refuses to kill Jim and Artie until he’s in power.

Jim finally scores a “bucket,” lowering it and the rope. However, the rope is rotten and breaks. Artie gets another idea and places a small explosive charge beneath the bucket. Jim stands on the bucket, they set off the charge, and the concentrated blast sends him flying up the shaft. After knocking out a Skull, Jim lowers a rope ladder to his partner. Artie heads for Washington to warn the President while Jim goes after the Skulls.

The three murderers prepare to leave with Tigo. Jim knocks them out and leaves.

Fenlow is at home preparing his acceptance speech when there’s a knock on the door. Artie, disguised as the Assistant to the Secretary of State, informs him that his superior has been killed. Fenlow eagerly take command, but Jim comes in and informs him that he’ll face a trial for treason. Artie removes his disguise and complains that Jim upstaged him. The agents leave as the demented Fenlow is arrested, insisting he’s no longer Fenlow but the President.



Later at the Wanderer, Artie prepares dinner for Lorelei, who claims she was a prisoner the entire time. Jim arrives with the police. He’s arranged for the arrest of the Skull murderers and there’s an office with a warrant for Lorelei. He then explains to Artie that Lorelei is also the Peoria Poisoner, and Artie looks suspiciously at his glass of champagne.

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