William Castle
I’m Gonna Scare the Pants off America
(Contains Spoilers)
William Castle was born in New York. After losing both parents at the age of nine, he lived in an orphanage till the age of eleven, when he moved in with his sister. At the age of 15, Castle attended a stage production of Dracula and met Bela Lugosi. Lugosi saw something in Castle and offered him a position as an assistant stage manager. Castle immediately dropped out of school to work in the theater.
House on Haunted Hill
Released in 1959, House on Haunted Hill is probably Castle’s biggest hit, and is still widely regarded as his best work. The film stars the spectacular Vincent Price and the stunning Carol Ohmart as a couple who throw a party in a supposedly haunted house, promising $10,000 to anyone who can last through an entire night there.
To get audiences into theaters, Castle came up with the idea of using a variety of gimmicks. One such gimmick, used to promote his film, Macabre, was to offer a certificate of insurance for $1,000 from Lloyds of London to any moviegoer who died of fright while watching the film. For House on Haunted Hill, the gimmick was promoted as “Emergo,” and involved the use of a plastic skeleton, which was rigged to fly over the heads of theater audiences during a certain scene in the film.
The film has a solid story and doesn’t feel like it was written around the gimmick. In the rather abrupt and fairly implausible ending, Loren (Vincent Price) explains that his wife and her lover were scheming to kill him by scaring another guest into shooting him. He turns the tables on his wife, scaring her with a plastic skeleton and causing her to fall in a conveniently-placed vat of acid. (Presumably this is the moment in the film when Castle’s “emergo” gimmick was utilized.)
The film is beautifully shot and makes an entertaining film for viewing during the Halloween season. (You can have it playing in the background at your party.)
The Tingler
Vincent Price’s second film for Castle is The Tingler (1959), in which he stars as Dr. Warren Chapin, a pathologist studying fear. In the course of his research, Chapin discovers that all humans have a parasite-like creature that appears and grows on the spine when its host is frightened. The creature feeds on fear and dissipates only when the host screams.
Castle’s promotional gimmick for The Tingler was called “Percepto!” and involved the installation in theater seats of military surplus vibrators (normally used to de-ice plane wings.) that Castle had acquired. The vibrators were turned on at certain moments in the film, i.e. when the tingler escapes into a crowded theater.
The Tingler’s main plot is outrageous and delightfully nonsensical. The film also has an entertaining but superfluous subplot involving the wife of Price’s character attempting to kill him. (She fails, after which she abruptly disappears from the film.)
As was the case with House on Haunted Hill, the film is elevated by Vincent Price’s stylish but realistic portrayal of his character. The chemistry between Patricia Cutts and Price is another plus for the film.
Seeing these films at home, without the benefit of Castle’s Percepto and Emergo gimmicks, may mean that we’re missing the full viewing experience Castle intended. But don’t let that stop you from seeking these films out. They’re still great fun. For more on William Castle and his films, don’t forget to listen to our special Castle episode of A Podcast From Beneath!