Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

Mr. Sardonicus (1961) Is a horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It tells the story of Sardonicus, a man whose face becomes frozen in a horrifying grin while robbing his father's grave to obtain a winning lottery ticket. Castle cited the film in his memoir as one of his favorites to produce. The film was based on a short story called "Sardonicus" that was originally published in . Castle purchased the rights and hired its author, Ray Russell, to write the screenplay. To achieve Sardonicus's terrible grin, Guy Rolfe was subjected to five separate facial appliance fittings. He could not physically stand to wear the piece for more than an hour at a time. As a result, the full makeup is only shown in a few scenes, with Rolfe instead wearing a mask over his face for most of the running time. Castle, with his reputation as the "king of gimmicks" to market his films, built the marketing for the film around the idea of the two possible endings. Near the end of the film, audiences were given the opportunity to participate in the "Punishment Poll". Each movie patron was given a glow-in-the-dark card featuring a hand with the thumb out. At the appropriate time, they voted by holding up the card with either the thumb up or down as to whether Sardonicus would live or die. . . . . . #shudder #filmcollector #horrorvhs #terrormovies #williamcastle #nothorror #cultclassics #cinefile #cultcinema #horrorcollectibles #60shorror #horrorculture #ighorror #horrorfreak #screamfactory