William Castle is this great (matter of opinion) showman of 1950s and 60s horror films. His thing was gimmicks.
In his film 13 Ghosts, the audience was given a pair of glasses. The happy-go-luck cinema-goers at the time were only able to see the ghosts in the movie with the glasses on, just like the characters in the film! In a pivotal moment in the House on Haunted Hill (starring Vincent Price!), when a skeleton rises out of a vat of acid, a plastic skeleton flies from behind the screen and over the audiences heads. In Mr. Sardonicus, the audience was able to choose whether the monster lived or died, but Mr Castle knew his fans well. Thinking no one would choose a happy ending he only shot the gruesome ending, including the cruel death. Many people felt bamboozled, the moment that Mr. Castle popped up onto the screen, before the ending, and counted up the ballots.
His masterpiece, The Tingler, is about a slug-like creature that grows on peoples spines. When they are in a state of terror, it tingles, and the only way to conquer the creepy-crawly is to scream. It escapes during an autopsy and roams around the room, at a point in which selected chairs in the audience were set to buzz. The audience members only choice was to scream, like the movie told them to, thus causing pandemonium in the theater.
He was denied the chance to direct Rosemary's Baby, mainly because the writer of the book said "You're not good enough." He stumbled back to the producer role, as Roman Polanski stepped up to the plate.
He had fans, movies that people loved to see, and a great approach to film making and the art of gimmickry... but he always wanted to make something that would stand the test of time, like the films of Alfred Hitchcock. He compensated for his lack of confidence in his own films by jam packing them with gimmicks and things to get butts in seats.
Can you see the pain and insecurity hidden in his eyes, and behind that kind smile?
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