Any William Castle fans?
I've been enjoying old horror flicks (ala Chiller Theatre) on FearNet On Demand, and I've recently seen 3 of William Castle's pictures: Mr. Sardonicus, The Tingler and Homicidal. Really good movies. William Castle was a strange man, but he knew how to grab his audience and even make them a part of the movie, in the beginning, and towards the end of the movie.
Any William Castle film memories?
Last edited by HardyGirl; Jun 26, '07 at 8:10 AM.
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Hmmmm....
He's one of my faves! He did something that I wish more folks did these days; he never worried about making a GOOD film, he made ENTERTAINING films. Even his cheapies were weird and unique. I sorta wish I'd been around for some of his gimmicks though.
Say; wasn't the guy in "Matine" modeled after him?
Don C.
Yeah, Goodman's character in Matinee was based loosely on Castle. I bet Castle had wished he'd thought of the gimmick in "MANT".
My friend is a huge fan of Castle and had seen many of his films in theatre with the gimmick. I think I'd appreciate it more if I had, I don't dislike his work but sometimes it feels like I'm watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show at home......
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Love Castle's stuff. What exactly made him a "strange man" ?
Besides the ones already mentioned, be sure to check out 13 Ghosts. The DVD has the "illusion-O" gimmick intact and even comes with a replica Ghost Viewer. Really fun movie.
But avoid the gory re-make like the plague. Terrible, terrible movie.
Last edited by Werewolf; Jun 29, '07 at 10:49 PM. Reason: typos
You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...
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My fave has to be Straight Jacket. Joan Crawford as a axe wielding maniac. Talk about type casting. And one of her first victims is Lee Majors.
Loved William Castle, wish we had an equivelent today.
13 Ghosts stands as a prime example of the horror films that were aimed at younger viewers. It was scary but somehow innocent.
Oddyly enough, Castle's biggest hit was not a usual "William Castle movie", it was Rosemary's Baby
B-4 his time... I heard when The Tingler was in theatres, he set up a device under some ot the seats that gave a lil zap after someone yelled the Tingler was loose in the theatre. It would be great to enjoy movie experiences like that today but I guess we're too lawsuit happy. Those were the days I'm told.
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