Mr. Sardonicus

Baron Sardonicus digs up his father's grave to retrieve a lottery ticket from the pocket, and that night his face freezes into a horrifying grin. Years later he summons a London doctor, Sir Robert Cargrave, who once loved the woman Sardonicus married, to his castle: fix the face, or it is unclear what happens to her. William Castle directs and produces. Guy Rolfe plays Sardonicus, Oscar Homolka his servant Krull, Ronald Lewis the doctor. Castle was a showman and every picture came with a device. Here it is the Punishment Poll. Before the ending Castle appears on screen, reminds the audience of the glow in the dark thumb cards handed out at the door, and puts the baron's fate to a vote. The truth of the gimmick is that the merciful ending was never shot. Nothing was counted and only one ending existed. Castle spent years saying audiences always chose punishment. Technically there was nothing else to choose. The frozen face is based on a real clinical presentation, risus sardonicus, which is where the title comes from. Who it is for: viewers interested in gothic horror and in Castle's carnival apparatus. Who it is not for: anyone expecting actual dread. This is a piece of showmanship, and the horror is light.