Movie Review: Mr. Sardonicus

(1961)
Directed by William Castle
Starring Guy Rolfe, Ronald Lewis, Oscar Homolka, Audrey Dalton, Vladimir Sokoloff, Erika Peters.

The groundbreaking doctor Sir Robert, specializing in muscle maladies, receives a strange message from an old love, asking him to come to her home in a distant land for some dire help. Once he arrives there, he meets the husband of his long-lost love, the Baron Sardonicus. Sardonicus had acquired his wife after paying off the gambling debt of her father. But the strange part of Sardonicus is that his face is hidden behind a mask. He tells his story of how he acquired his wealth, and the terrible secret he is hiding behind the mask. He blackmails Sir Robert into curing his affliction or his wife will come to great harm.

Director William Castle was a great showman, sometimes making the gimmick of his movies more outrageous than the actual title. But no matter what his schtick was, it was always a good time. Known for titles like Macabre (1958) that came with a life insurance policy in case you died of fright during the screening, or House on Haunted Hill (1959) that had a skeleton emerging from the screening during a specific scene, or The Tingler (1959) that had selected seats in the theater rigged to give off a “shock” at the right time. No matter what it was, Castle had a way to make the film going experience even more fun.

For Mr. Sardonicus, there is the usual Castle gimmick, which I’ll get to in a moment. But I feel the story is a little different than his past titles because it seems to take itself much more seriously. It is a perfect traditional gothic horror story and has always remained my favorite of Castle’s work. Since this one took a very long time before it ever hit VHS, I can still remember when it was going to air on TV, on TNT (Turner Network Television), excited to see if they were going to play it with the infamous Punishment Poll sequence, which it did. And it was one of those early film experiences that resonated with me then, as much as it still does today.

The Punishment Poll gimmick was that near at the end of the film, the audience was going to be able to determine the fate of the title character, on whether he should be shown mercy or left to suffer. A little card was handed out to audience members as they bought their ticket that showed a Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down, so at the end of the picture, Castle would come on screen and look as if he was taking the “poll” from the audience holding up what fate they felt Sardonicus should get. Now, there were always those rumors of a second ending, but Castle knew that everyone was going to vote the same way so only filmed one!

Guy Rolfe plays our title character and does it so well, with such style and presence, that even though you don’t see his face throughout most of the film, only seeing this expressionless mask, his evil still seeps out of his character. Adding to this is his voice, which is just perfect for the role. He doesn’t play it over the top or cartoonish, but very subdue and very effective. Another great performance is from Oscar Homolka, who plays Sardonicus faithful manservant, Krull. When he is questioned by Sir Robert about him being a doctor, Krull’s reply is “I’m a man of all work, Sir. When my master says ‘Krull, do this thing,’ I do the thing. Whatever it may be.” The last time he questioned his master’s wishes, he lost an eye. A great character, played by a great actor, with a long career, but known for playing heavies, such as in his role in Hitchcock’s 1936 thriller Sabotage.

Ronald Lewis plays Sir Robert, playing it about as straight-forward as you can get. He is the ultimate doctor, wanting to help those in need. Even while being blackmailed by Sardonicus, he does want to help reverse his devilish fate. Lewis appeared in a couple of Hammer films right before this one, Stop Me Before I Kill! (1960) and Scream of Fear (1961), where he showed he could play a real nasty villain, but also to be able to turn that around here and play a hero for Castle. Audrey Dalton plays the unfortunate wife of Sardonicus, who becomes his bride after he paid off her father’s debt, meaning he pretty much bought her. Her, having honor towards her father, accepts her fate. Dalton only appeared in one other genre film, The Monster That Challenged the World (1957), which is one of the best giant monster flicks of the ‘50s, and a personal favorite of mine.

It’s hard for me to review any of Castle’s films with an open mind because he was such a great showman and really cared for his audiences, giving them more than just a movie, spending a lot of time reaching out and connecting with his fans. He wanted them to have fun. Sure, most of them might be geared more towards younger audiences, but maybe because I saw them when I was a bit younger, I still love them today as much as I did then. He told audiences that it was okay to have fun while watching them. And that is exactly how I feel about them today. No matter what Castle film I might be watching, I know it’s going to be a fun time.