WHAT ARE YOU GRINNING AT??? Another great film from the master of schlock horror, William Castle. This is a morality play on the dangers of the love of money. A farmer buys a lottery ticket, but unfortunately dies in his sleep. Guess what...his numbers come up! The only snag is that he is buried with the winning ticket still in his pocket. His son decides to retrieve the ticket, egged on by his greedy wife to 'prove his love' for her....nothing to do with the cash of course! So, at dead of night, the young man creeps along to the cemetery and opens the grave......I first saw this brilliantly scary movie when I was 8 years old, late one night on tv. IT FRIGHTENED THE CRAP OUT OF ME! Starring Guy Rolfe as Baron Sardonicus, Audrey Dalton as his (second) wife and Ronald Lewis as the great surgeon who is coerced into operating on the crazed nobleman. Also appearing as Krull, the Baron's manservant, is Oskar Homolka, a frequent 'heavy' in many films of the 50's and 60's. Here, he does the Baron's dirty work with relish, especially when he gets the chance to torture the maid with LEECHES! The 'Castle Gimmick' for this movie was the so-called 'PUNISHMENT POLL' where the audience had to vote 'thumbs up or down!' using specially printed cards, whether Sardonicus gets further punishment or not, the film having two different endings. Allegedly, the 'thumbs up' ending was never shown in any theatre, the audiences always voting for Sardonicus to suffer!( in truth, the 'thumbs up' sequence was never made, so anyone who tells you they have seen it is a LIAR!) The scene where the Baron's frozen grin is first revealed is so scary, I DARE YOU TO WATCH THIS WITH THE LIGHTS OUT! More mystery and madness from Sneaky Elephant's hope chest of horror to come!
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