The Thing That Couldn’t Die

Jessica Burns (Carolyn Kearney) is a young woman with psychic abilities who lives on a California ranch with her aunt Flavia (Peggy Converse). When she uses a divining rod to search for water, she instead discovers a buried, sealed chest. On the chest is a warning, but not all of it is readable. Flavia wants to break the chest open because she is sure it is full of gold, but a summer guest on the ranch, Gordon Hawthorne (William Reynolds) convinces her to wait as the chest itself may be more valuable than its contents. Godon will travel into town and bring back the tools needed to decipher the rest of the warning and get an archeologist friend to come back and inspect the box. But a greedy ranch hand and a slow-witted handyman break into the box which contains the living, but severed, head of 16th-century Satanist Gideon Drew (Robin Hughes). Despite being dead for centuries, Drew’s head remains conscious and malevolent, using telepathy to control and possess those around him. As he manipulates the ranch’s guests and workers to find his missing body, Jessica becomes increasingly threatened by the head’s sinister influence, leading to a tense battle to end his evil once and for all.

The film was released by Universal-International Pictures in June 1958, directed by Will Cowan, and often paired in theaters with Horror of Dracula for a double feature. Contemporary critics generally dismissed it, calling the story implausible and the production modest, even by 1950s B-movie standards. While it didn’t earn significant praise on release, it later found a niche cult following for its strange premise, eerie tone, and unintentionally campy moments. Originally, The Thing That Couldn’t Die was conceived as a made-for-TV project, which explains its relatively short runtime of 69 minutes, limited sets, and contained story. Universal decided mid-production to release it theatrically, partly to bolster its horror lineup for drive-in double bills. The screenplay, written by David Duncan (known for The Time Machine 1960), was reportedly altered during shooting to accommodate the low budget, resulting in a more confined setting and a focus on dialogue over any elaborate special effects. The “living head” prop was famously low-tech, with Hughes often lying under the table or inside boxes to give the illusion of a disembodied head.

As a fan of the 1950s horror sub-genre, I really enjoyed this film. Is it low budget? Yes! Is it campy? Yes! Is it fun? Yes! At least it was for me. It is obvious that Robin Hughes is often stuffed in boxes or under tables or behind a tree, but the production technicians did the best it could with the budget it had and actually succeeded, in my opinion, in creating a sinister atmosphere. When the head utters instructions to his victims, we only see his lips move and no sound comes out, this was a good move as it added a necessary creep factor. Carolyn Kearney is a bit over done with the innocent maiden. James Anderson who plays the rotten ranch hand, Boyd, does a good job of being a creep himself, becoming a “peeping tom” watching Jessica undress, rather risqué for the 1950s. The rest of the supporting cast all play parts well and add a bit of flavor to the story, as Gideon’s control ruins relationships and causes tension between the cast. The short run time was good as it didn’t try to stretch out a plot just for the sake of being longer. Overall, it was a fun watch for a fan of 50’s horror.