"A man of evil . . . with a face that could stop a heart!"
-Tagline for Mr. Sardonicus
Wearing a mask like Chaney in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and a grin to rival Conrad Veidt in THE MAN WHO LAUGHS,William Castle's MR. SARDONICUS is a gothic tale with scientific and medical elements that had been previously explored in films such as EYES WITHOUT A FACE and other early surgical and body horror films.
Released on October 18, 1961 by Columbia Pictures, the screenplay was written by Ray Russell based on his novella, "Sardonicus" which first appeared in PLAYBOY'S January 1961 issue (read it HERE). Castle loved the story and bought the rights soon after it was published.
 |
| Mr. Sardonicus title card. |
This is the description of the film that accompanied the announcement prior to its recent showing at the Bing Theater, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles CA on December 23, 2025 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:
Castle took a rare venture into period horror for this 19th century-set chiller about a baron who inhabits a remote castle in far-off Gorslava, and whose eerie mask hides a ghoulish mystery. Veteran fantasy-horror writer Ray Russell (The Premature Burial and “X” – The Man with X-Ray Eyes) adapted his own short story for the screen, with Ronald Lewis playing an English surgeon with a penchant for massage who has the unenviable task of treating the sinister Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe). The supporting cast includes the great character actor Oskar Homolka (I Remember Mama, Funeral in Berlin) as Krull, the baron’s brutish servant with a fondness for leeches. For this Gothic, fog-drenched chiller, Castle created the “Punishment Poll,” which supposedly gave audiences the chance to choose between two different endings to decide the Baron’s ultimate fate, although only one ending was actually produced.
The cast (in order of screen credit):
 |
| Oscar Homolka as Krull. |
 | ||
| Ronald Lewis as Sir Robert Cargrave. |
 |
| Audrey Daulton as Baroness Maude Sardonicus. |
 |
| Guy Rolfe as Baron Sardonicus. |
Hamming it up like Hitchcock, William Castle introduces the film.
Marek Toleslawski (Guy Rolfe) digs up his father's grave in order to retrieve a winning lottery ticket that was interred with him that will make him a rich man.
When he uncovers his father's corpse, the site that meets his eyes causes him to suffer a spasm of pure horror that causes his facial muscles to contract into the medical condition known as Risus sardonicus or rictus grin.
Now living as "Baron Sardonicus" in his gloomy estate and having undergone the therapy to enable him to speak, he enlists the help of his wife's (Audrey Dalton) former love, physician Sir Robert Cargrave (Robert Lewis), who might have the means to cure him.
In the meantime, Sardonicus has become bitterly cruel, and between him and his sadistic servant Krull (Oscar Homolka), they have become feared and shunned by the townspeople.
The film has a number of atmospheric shots:
Mr. Sardonicus' makeup was designed by Ben Lane and required the application of five separate prosthetics. Extremely uncomfortable, Rolfe could only wear the makeup for short periods of time.
Oscar Homolka's creepy mangled eye was also created with a prosthetic. Lane was the makeup artist in about 250 films in a career spanning from 1948 until 1983. Among his other films were: VERTIGO, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE, 13 GHOSTS, VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS, BYE BYE BIRDIE, FUNNY GIRL, several MATT HELM films, the BEWITCHED and THE MONKEES TV series and many more.
The talented Von Dexter provided the atmospheric soundtrack. Dexter also composed music for the Castle films HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THE TINGLER and 13 GHOSTS. Dexter's promising career was tragically cut short when he developed a condition that prevented him from scoring music at the speed necessary for a film production. He was forced to quit the business and moved with his wife to Iowa where they ran a music publishing business.
While exact figures are not readily available, by all accounts the film was profitable despite negative reviews by critics.
 |
| Harrison's Reports, October 7, 1961. |
 |
| Independent Exhibitor's Film Bulletin, October 16, 1961. |
 |
| Motion Picture Exhibitor, October 11, 1961. |
And what would a William Castle film be without a gimmick? For this film, heavily publicized was the "Punishment Poll" which enabled participants just before the end of the movie to vote on which ending would be most suited as a punishment befitting the crime. Of course, there was only one ending shot for the film.
MR. SARDONICUS was widely promoted in various trade journals:
 |
| Boxoffice, October 16, 1961. |
 |
| Motion Picture Exhibitor, October 26, 1961. |
THEATRICAL POSTERS
 |
| British Quad. |
LOBBY CARDS
 |
| German lobby cards. |
PRODUCTION AND PROMOTIONAL STILLS
 |
| Art Director: Cary Odell - Set Designer: James Crowe. |
 |
| German program. |
 |
| Basil Gogos cover for Famous Monsters of Filmland #126. |
An impressive gallery! I saw this for the first time last year or maybe the year before and was underwhelmed. Castle's stuff is fun, but often it leaves me a bit cold. The Gogos painting is still a chiller though.
ReplyDeleteThere is rather a heavy flavour of the Carny ro Castle's work, which doesn't always work to its advantage.
DeleteMany of Castle's films were on the tepid side, I'd agree. House on Haunted Hill is probably my favorite. 13 Ghosts is kinda goofy, but I like that one, too. Then there's Rosemary's Baby, but was the producer and left the director's chair to Polanski. Warren was so lucky to have Gogos on the payroll!
ReplyDeleteCastle originally planned to direct Rosemary's Baby, but was forced to relinquish that role in order to get a major studio involved.
DeleteIt's possible Ronald Lewis' career might have prospered had he remained in Hollywood, although there was no immediate shortage of ex-pat Brits at the time. Instead, his life spiralled through alcohol-fuelled outbursts, drunk driving, spousal abuse and bankruptcy, eventually ending with 18 months of unemployment and a barbiturate overdose ruled as suicide.
ReplyDeleteThe comment above is mine, by the way; for some curious reason, this website forgot who I was *after* I'd already posted two replies.
DeleteSteve: Re Rosemary's Baby -- a smart move. Who knows what kind of gimmick he would have come up with if they'd given him the chance.
ReplyDeleteSatanic Emergo: a glow-in-the-dark newlyborn swings out over the audience in the climax.
DeleteSteve: Re Ronald Lewis -- I didn't do any digging on the actors' bios so his tragic tale escaped me. It only proves again that depression and alcohol don't mix.
ReplyDeleteLewis was a familiar face to British cinema and tv audiences in the 1950s and early 1960s, a reliable enough action hero in films such as Siege of the Saxons (which bizarrely welds the legend of King Arthur to stock footage from The Black Knight) and The Brigand of Kandahar (one of Hammer's historicals), and even had a brief sitcom career in the early 1970s. However, he never really progressed as he'd hoped, and that final slump seems to have overwhelmed him. Sadly, as you indicate, by no means a unique story.
DeleteThanks for the additional info on Lewis. Outwardly, he certainly didn't look like the type. But a few drinks, and anyone who is pleasant sober can become an uncontrollable idiot/beast (Jim Morrison, for example). I like the Emergo idea! A similar alternate would be a baby carriage (or in British parlance, pram) glowing red from inside the basket.
ReplyDelete"Dare you shake... The DEATH Rattle??"
Delete