William Castle

[neverending]

One of the great horror directors of the 50s-60s is William Castle. Often dismissed as a "gimmicky showman" he really could direct effectively. True, he did have the soul of a showman, and often times thought up outrageous gimmicks to help sell his films, such as "Percepto" - seats that were wired with buzzers and "Emergo" - hidden skeletons that flew over the audience's heads, but his best films contained really spooky sequences.

Some of Castle's films:

Shanks (1974)
Project X (1968)
The Spirit Is Willing (1967)
The Busy Body (1967)
Let's Kill Uncle (1966)
I Saw What You Did (1965)
The Night Walker (1964)
Strait-Jacket (1964)
The Old Dark House (1963)
13 Frightened Girls! (1963)
Zotz! (1962)
Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
Homicidal (1961)
13 Ghosts (1960)
The Tingler (1959)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Macabre (1958)

My favorite will always be The Tingler- not only because it features the great Vincent Price on an acid trip, but also some really spooky images, particularly in the extended set piece toward the end. I recently learned that Price and the female lead in the Tingler- Judith Evelyn- had appeared together on Broadway as the leads in the original stage production of Gaslight!

Castle's films may not have been the scariest films to come out of Hollywood- but they were always enjoyable. You had FUN watching them! William Castle knew how to entertain!

What are your favorite Castle films, and what do you like about them?

[The_Return]

Not nearly as familiar with him as I'd like to be (strongly considering picking up the new boxset of his work), but based on what I've seen my favourite has to be the original House on Haunted Hill, followed closely by The Tingler.

You hit the nail on the head as far as why I enjoy them so much...his films might not always be scary, but he had such a great sense of fun and adventure that translated perfectly onto the screen. You can tell in every frame that he was genuinely passionate about his art and that he lived to entertain.

One of the genre's finest directors, based on my experience. Pure, unadulterated entertainment.

[_____V_____]

Definitely House on Haunted Hill. THE perfect spookfest. Also enjoy 13 Ghosts and The Tingler. I think Mr Sardonicus, The Old Dark House and I Saw What You Did are some of his more overlooked gems which should be checked out.

If you haven't seen any of Castle's works yet, this set is just for you...

WILLIAM CASTLE COLLECTION: Sony

http://z2-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0024FAG3U.01._SX303_SCLZZZZZZZ_V232057894_.jpg

Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll always be remembered for his horror films from the late 50s to the mid-60s. And now Sony presents all eight of his Columbia features - three making their DVD debut, the rest newly-remastered - in one "spook-tac-ular" collection. And as a bonus, it includes the award-winning feature-length documentary, Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30706&page=51

Buy it this Halloween, and complete your horror collection.

[Ferox13]

I love loads of them but House on Haunted Hill is the quintessential haunted house film. The way Price and his wife play of each other is great..

I was luckly enough to catch Sardonicus on the big screen - i liked his twist on the 'Man who laughed'.

[scouse mac]

House on Haunted Hill is prob my favourite, closely followed by The Tingler and 13 Ghosts.

Castle entertained people and also had a good eye for some truly atmospheric sequences. I need to see if I can get my hands on the boxset!

[rockyx]

Honestly I've only seen 1.5 of his movies but I loved every bit of that 1.5. :] Mr. Sardonicus and half of Strait-Jacket.

Mr. Sardonicus was awesome, I loved the back story and the no mercy ending. I want to see the mercy ending as well but that will come later I hope. I also thought it was really badass how the butler-ish guy, I think his name was Krull, not sure, finished the movie. Sardonicus got his. ;]

I want to see more Castle films in the future definitely, because they really do entertain. :]

[roshiq]

The man surely was a genius of his time. May be all his dedicated efforts or "gimmicks" criticized at that time but honestly I found them very creative and fantastic tool as an added entertainment for the audience in theater. After watching The Tingler, I wish I could go back on time & had its rare theatrical experience. He did have the soul of a showman for sure which proves his great devotion towards his audience and true love for the celluloid in those period of times when there was no 3D...no IMAX extravaganza.

Anyway, this has been a great year for me so far as I finally able to get lucky enough to see some great classic horror films for the first time. Among them there were 5 films of Castle and personally I admire all of them. But like NE, The Tingler is the most favorite of mine too. This lovely film has a very original concept. The idea of Tingler really fascinated me. Nonetheless, that chilling color blood bathtub scene was unforgettable...I think it should regard as one of the most/best memorable sequences in the history of Horror cinema.

After Tingler, the other Castle films I have seen are as follows (in order of my likeness):

2. House on Haunted Hill
3. Strait-Jacket
4. I saw what you did
5. Homicidal

And hopefully soon going to watch 13 GHOSTS for the first time.:o

Btw, soon or later I'll definitely have that Castle Collection in my shelf for sure.