Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

A search for a winning lottery ticket in his dead father's grave causes Sardonicus' face to freeze in a horrible grimace, until he forces a doctor to treat his affliction--with even more ... See full summary »

Director:

William Castle

Writers:

Ray Russell (screenplay), Ray Russell (novel)

Stars:

Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe

Cast

Cast overview:
Ronald Lewis	...	Sir Robert Cargrave
Audrey Dalton	...	Baroness Maude Sardonicus
Guy Rolfe	...	Baron Sardonicus / Marek Toleslawski
Oskar Homolka	...	Krull (as Oscar Homolka)
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Henryk Toleslawski
Erika Peters	...	Elenka Toleslawski
Lorna Hanson	...	Anna

Storyline

A search for a winning lottery ticket in his dead father's grave causes Sardonicus' face to freeze in a horrible grimace, until he forces a doctor to treat his affliction--with even more grotesque results! The audience gets an opportunity to vote--via the "Punishment Poll"--for the penalty Sardonicus must pay for his deeds...

---

Plot Keywords:

face | baron | mask | lottery ticket | doctor | 

---

Taglines:

During the running of the film,the "Punishment Poll" lets YOU decide the fate of Mr. Sardonicus!

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1962 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Der unheimliche Mr. Sardonicus

Company Credits

Production Co:

William Castle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Castle:  [gimmick]  During its initial theatrical release, attendees were given small white cards with luminous thumbs with which to vote thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

---

Goofs

In the opening scene Sir Robert and his assistant Wainright are working on a paralyzed girl's legs. The story is set in 1880 yet the young girl clearly shows evidence of a recently-removed band-aid from the side of her right ankle. Adhesive bandages were invented in 1920.

---

Quotes

[last lines]
Krull: Master, I'm very sorry, but I missed him. The train had already left.

---

Connections

Featured in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

---

Soundtracks

"Foggy, Foggy Dew"
(English folk song)
Sung by Ronald Lewis

User Reviews

I'm surprised there aren't ...

more comments on this film.

I recall this film from my early youth on WGN's Creature Features. Sardonicus' father reminded me of my own grandfather (a German immigrant) and his evilness was unique. When I got older, I saw this again and got some of the more subtle character interactions.

This was, of course, the product of William Castle, the Gimmick King. His gimmick this time was that he allegedly shot two endings, and gave audiences the option of voting on which ending they wanted by holding up a glow-in-the-dark ballot. (The Creature Features version skipped the polling part.) Most movie sources say that there was only one ending ever shot, but modern versions have the "polling" scene anyway.

Personally, I think the film works better without the gimmick. Of course, Sardonicus is evil, ungrateful and cruel and he deserves the betrayal at the end of the film he gets.

In some ways, it was getting around the Hayes code, since the wife wants to cheat on her husband her loveless marriage. Overall, it's quite the Gothic horror film and is highly underrated.