Homicidal even ends with a close up of the father's whip, which he used to beat in strength to his child. In both films, this strength is considered part of a normative male personality, something to which real people cannot live up. This attempt to coerce living humans into arbitrary concepts of masculinity is a root cause of the trouble. Especially in Homicidal , we see that this is part of a whole cultural complex in society, not just a personal aberration of the father. Both films also express great anxiety over marriage.
Marriage is a strongly socially sanctioned institution.
But it has many disturbing aspects. Watching a women run amok in Homicidal , and attack first a real marriage, then bridal figures in a florist shop, suggests some of the deep anxieties people have about this institution. Conquest of Cochise Most of Castle's work was in black and white. This is especially true of the crime thrillers on which he spent most of his career. Castle's 1950's Westerns give us a chance to see him working in color.