After MACABRE (1958), THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1958), THE TINGLER (1959), and 13 GHOSTS (1961), William Castle had comfortably found his niche, and established himself as the King of Cinematic Gimmicks. For his 1961 film, MR. SARDONICUS, Castle came up with his most ingenious gimmick yet. Audience members would decide the fate of the evil lead character, Mr. Sardonicus. At the end of the movie, William Castle himself appeared on screen and asked the audience to vote thumbs up or thumbs down for a fitting punishment for this hated character. MR. SARDONICUS stands on it’s own however, and really doesn’t need any tricks—it has great gothic atmosphere and superb acting. Guy Rolfe was a character actor whose big breakthrough role came with MR. SARDONICUS. He also starred in AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS (1973), THE BRIDE (1985), and Stuart Gordon’s THE DOLLS (1986). Perhaps Rolfe is best known to genre fans as the mad puppeteer from THE PUPPETMASTER series. The film also features British star Ronald (TASTE OF FEAR) Lewis, starlet Audrey (THE BOUNTY KILLER) Dalton, and German character actor Oskar (THE TAMARIND SEED) Homolka. Columbia Tristar presents MR. SARDONICUS uncut which is a real treat as previous video and TV prints excised the footage of William Castle talking to the audience.

Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) blackmails a prominent man into letting him marry his daughter, Maude (Audrey Dalton). She reluctantly agrees to marry the masked madman for her father’s sake, but her heart really lies with Sir Robert (Ronald Lewis), a distinguished physician who practices in London. Baron Sardonicus forces his reluctant bride to lure Sir Robert across Europe to his medieval castle. It seems the masked madman who likes to torture his servants wants Sir Robert to attempt a special restoration of his ugly features. Sir Robert tries to use normal medical techniques to restore the Baron to his older good looks, but the treatments fail. Baron Sardonicus then demands that Sir Robert try again using more radical techniques. He refuses on the grounds that the methods are scientifically untested and could do more harm than good. This causes Baron Sardonicus to go into a rage and threaten the well being of his wife to get Sir Robert to comply. Sir Robert is forced into playing a game of cat and mouse with the psychotic Baron Sardonicus, if he is to save his life and the life of the one he loves.

Though often dismissed as an Alfred Hitchcock wannabe, William Castle’s skills as a genre filmmaker were at their peak, and it shows in every moment of MR. SARDONICUS. Castle successfully deploys a sense of atmosphere and dread which were missing from earlier productions. The spook house ambiance of 13 GHOSTS is jettisoned and replaced with mood and visuals more akin to a Universal horror classic. The story and pacing are tight and don’t suffer from the meandering plot of THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. Castle weaves his tale of terror through the eyes of protagonist Ronald Lewis, and the suspense comes from him learning about the inhumanity of his host, Baron Sardonicus. Guy Rolfe does a magnificent job as the Baron, with superb make-up that must have been truly shocking for the time. Despite the ruthlessness of his character, Rolfe does a good job of bringing sympathy and vulnerability to Mr. Sardonicus. The script contains some good dialog and characterization between the characters of Sir Robert and Mr. Sardonicus, and both actors take advantage of the acting opportunities. Castle lays on the brutality and suspense by mixing in things like torture, gravedigging, and psychological horror.

Columbia Tristar presents MR. SARDONICUS uncut in the original widescreen ratio of 1.85.1, with 16x9 enhancement. This transfer is a hi-def remastering which adds better tones and detail when compared to earlier home video versions. Grain is a problem of course, but wear and blemishes are minimal. The deeply calibrated blacks make for a solid B & W picture. No digital compression errors are in evidence. The transfer reproduces all the gothic flavor of William Castle’s cinematography. The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 which is excellent. MR. SARDONICUS contains some truly great exposition with superb diction, and the center speaker capably brings the dialog to life and without distortion. Castle regular Von Dexter contributes another guitar heavy score that exhibits strong mono fidelity. From the Special Features menu, you can access the documentary on the gimmickry for the film called Taking the Punishment Poll. This feature runs 7:27 and contains interviews with genre icons Fred Olen Rey, Bob Burns, and Don Glut. They also discuss the career of Guy Rolfe. There are also trailers for MR, SARDONICUS (3:36), 13 GHOSTS (2:28), and STRAIGHTJACKET (:23). Nobody does trailers quite like William Castle (except maybe Alfred Hitchcock).

Columbia Tristar just released three William Castle Classics on DVD: MR, SARDONICUS, STRAIGHTJACKET, and HOMICIDAL. Though all three are competent thrillers, I believe MR. SARDONICUS gets the edge due to the atmosphere, built-in gimmick, and interesting dialog. Sir Robert could not restore the face or Mr. Sardonicus, but Columbia Tristar has done a magnificent job of restoring this 40 year old classic. Here’s hoping that they will continue to open up their film vault for future DVD releases.

MR. SARDONICUS is available at DVDEmpire

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