Mr Sardonicus *** (1961, Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe, Oscar Homolka, Vladimir Sokoloff) – Classic Movie Review 10,389

Showman producer-director William Castle’s 1961 horror mystery thriller Mr Sardonicus stars Ronald Lewis, Guy Rolfe, Audrey Dalton and Oscar Homolka, and is an effective and entertaining chiller in which a doctor gets a mysterious invitation from his ex-lover to go to a creepy old castle.

He finds her married to a half-mad hermit nobleman, the mysterious and cruel Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe), whose face is fixed in a horrific smile that the doctor must cure.

William Castle appears as himself. Castle was famously, or infamously, fond of gimmicks, and this time the audience could vote by the Punishment Poll cards for the penalty Sardonicus must pay for his misdeeds. An alternate version was supplied for drive-in theatres: instead of the Punishment Poll cards, the audience could flash their headlights to vote on the ending.

Ray Russell’s screenplay is based on the book Sardonicus by Ray Russell.

Also in the cast are Vladimir Sokoloff, Erika Peters, Lorna Hanson, James Forrest, Ilse Burkett, Constance Cavendish, Albert D’Arno, David Janti, Annalena Lund, Mavis Neal Palmer, Charles R Radilac, Frank Roehn and Tina Woodward.

Burnett Guffey shoots in black and white.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,389

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