William Castle
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- For the American geneticist see William E. Castle
Born in New York City to a Jewish family, he spent most of his teenage years working on Broadway in a number of jobs ranging from set building to acting. This put him in a good stead to become a director, and he left for Hollywood at the age of 23, going on to direct his first film 6 years later.
Castle was famous for directing films with many gimmicks, which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies. Recently, two of his films have been remade, House on Haunted Hill in 1999, and Thirteen Ghosts in 2001 (the latter retitled Thir13en Ghosts, apparently in imitation of the suspense film Se7en).
He also produced, and had a brief non-speaking role in, Roman Polanski's film Rosemary's Baby (1968). According to the documentary featured on the film's DVD release, Castle had wanted to direct the film as well, but the studio insisted on hiring another director due to the reputation Castle had gained through his previous work.
After a long career William Castle died in Los Angeles, California, after suffering a heart attack. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Gimmicks used by Castle
- "Percepto" for The Tingler. Electrified theatre seats shocked the audience during the movie. The film was made in black and white, but one brief sequence features red blood: this effect required that a piece of color film stock be hand-spliced into every print of the film released for cinema exhibition.
- "Illusion-O" for 13 Ghosts. Duo-colored viewing glasses (Similar to anaglyph 3-D glasses) reveal the ghosts.
- "Emergo" for House on Haunted Hill. Inflatable skeletons flew over the audience.
- "Fright Break" for Homicidal. Theatres gave out certificates that would allow refunds to frightened audience members if they left before the last five minutes. When people started using it to essentially see most of the movie for free, a "coward's walk" was added in order to redeem the refund, and the threat of public humiliation was responsible in greatly reducing the refunds given.
- "Fright Insurance Policy" for Macabre. Showings also had ushers dressed in surgical garb with ambulances outside theater.
- Seat belts for I Saw What You Did.
- "Punishment Poll" for Mr. Sardonicus. Audiences voted to kill or spare the villain. However, the voting devices in fact did nothing, and only one ending existed.
Films by Castle
- Shanks (1974)
- Rosemary's Baby (1968, producer only)
- Project X (1968)
- The Spirit Is Willing (1967)
- The Busy Body (1967)
- Let's Kill Uncle (1966)
- I Saw What You Did (1965)
- Night Walker (1964)
- Strait-Jacket (1964)
- The Old Dark House (1963)
- 13 Frightened Girls (1963)
- Zotz! (1962)
- Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
- Homicidal (1961)
- 13 Ghosts (1960)
- The Tingler (1963)
- House on Haunted Hill (1959)
- Macabre (1958)
- Uranium Boom (1956)
- The Houston Story (1956)
- Duel on the Mississippi (1955)
- The Gun That Won the West (1955)
- New Orleans Uncensored (1955)
- The Americano (1955)
- Masterson of Kansas (1954)
- The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954)
- The Saracen Blade (1954)
- The Iron Glove (1954)
- Drums of Tahiti (1954)
- Jesse James vs. the Daltons (1954)
- The Battle of Rogue River (1954)
- Charge of the Lancers (1954)
- Slaves of Babylon (1953)
- Conquest of Cochise (1953)
- Serpent of the Nile (1953)
- Fort Ti (1953)
- Cave of Outlaws (1951)
- Hollywood Story (1951)
- The Fat Man (1951)
- It's a Small World (1950)
- Undertow (1949)
- Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949)
- The Gentleman from Nowhere (1948)
- Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (1948)
- Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947)
- Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)
- The Return of Rusty (1946)
- Mysterious Intruder (1946)
- Just Before Dawn (1946)
- Voice of the Whistler (1945)
- Crime Doctor's Warning (1945)
- The Mark of the Whistler (1944)
- When Strangers Marry (1944)
- She's a Soldier Too (1944)
- The Whistler (1944)
- Klondike Kate (1943)
- The Chance of a Lifetime (1943)
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