From: 4224_5201@uwovax.uwo.ca (Dark Lord of the Sith)
Subject: MR SARDONICUS AND THE FILMS OF WILLIAM CASTLE
Organization: University of Western Ont, London
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 00:11:42 GMT

    For those interested in the films of William Castle, I quote from THe Film
Encyclopedia by Ephraim Katz:

    "Director, producer. b. Apr. 24, 1914, New York City. d. 1977. He broke
into show business at the age of 15, getting a small part in a Broadway show
by falsely representing himself as a nephew of Samuel Goldwyn. He went
through a variety of acting, producing and writing jobs before going to
Hollywood as an actor in 1937. After a transitional period as a dialogue
director, he began directing on his own in 1943. In the following three
decades he turned out numerous low budget films, showing some flair for
crime and action situations. In the late 50's he took on the additional
function of a producer and subsequently specialized in chillers and horror
films, most of which were panned by critics for "poor taste" but fared
handsomely at the box office. A shrewd promoter, Castle would draw attention
to his films by such gimmicks as insuring audiences with Lloyds of London
should any of them die of frightduring the exhibition of Macabre (1958). For
The Tingler (1959) some theatre seats were wired to produce mild electric
shocks. "I've modeled my career on P.T. Barnum," he once said. His most
ambitious and best known film as producer was Rosemary's Baby (1968), which
he did not direct. He also produced a number of T.V. shows, including the
hour long series Circle of Fear (1972). He portrayed a producer in Hal
Ashby's Shampoo and a director in John Schlesinger's Day of the Locust (both
1975). At the time of his death of a heart attack he was producing the film
200 Lakeview Drive for MGM. Autobiography: Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare the
Pants off America.

"FILMS: As Director- The Chance of a Lifetime, Klondike Kate (1943); The
Whistler, She's a Soldier Too, The Mark of the Whistler, When Stranger's
Marry (1944); Voice of the Whistler (also co sc.), The Crime Doctor's Warning,
(1945); Just Berore Dawn, The Mysterious Intruder, The Return of Rusty, The
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946); The Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947); Texas
Brooklyn and Heaven, The Gentleman From Nowhere (1948);  Johnny Stool Pigeon,
Undertow (1949); It's a Small World (also co sc.) (1950); The Fat Man, Holly-
Wood Story, Cave of the Outlaws (1951); Serpent of the Nile, Fort Ti, The
Conquest of Cochise, Slaves of Babylon (1953); Drums of Tahiti, Charge of the
Lancers, Battle of Rogue River, Jesse James vs. the Daltons, The Iron Glove,
The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954); Masterson of Kansas, The Americano, New
Orleans Uncensored, The Gun that Won the West, Duel on the Mississippi (1955);
The Houston Story, Uranium Boom (1956); As Producer-Director__Macabre (1958);
The House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler (1959); 13 Ghosts (1960); Homicidal
(also narrator), Mr. Sardonicus (1961); Zotz! (1962); 13 Frightened Girls, The
Old Dark House (1963); Strait-Jacket (1964); The Night Walker, I Saw What You
Did (1965); Let's Kill Uncle (1966); The Busy Body, The Spirit is Willing
(1967); Project X, Rosemary's Baby (prod. only) (1968); Riot (prod. only)
(1969); Shanks (dir. only) (1974), Bug (prod., co sc. only) (1975)"

     To the question on Mr. Sardonicus, only one ending was filmed because
Castle knew that the audience would want him to die. This was yet another of
his gimmicks. His autobiography has also recently been reprinted.

    As to if Mr. Sardonicus is on home video, I'd try Sinister Cinema. They
usually have an ad in Starlog. I do know that one of their videos, Classic
Horror Trailers ( I think vol IV) has the theatrical promos for a number of
his classics.

    Castle also had a bit part in Rosemary's Baby. In the last half hour, Mia
Farrow is phoning the other doctor and guess who is waiting outside of the
booth to make a call? The one and only William Castle.

     Finally, recently I talked to Robert Bloch, who did some work for Castle.
Castle told him that he did not rip off Psycho for the film Homicidal but had
the story years before. He was lying however. Castle was one of the great low
budget showmen.
-- 

John P. LaRocque
J.LaRocque@uwo.ca

"Farm chores sure could be dull, and Luke Skywaker was bored beyond belief. He
yearned for adventures out among the stars - adventures that would take him
beyond the furthest galaxies to distant and alien worlds.

"But Luke got more than he bargained for..."
                            from Star Wars the paperback (1976, first edition)