Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

Like Castle's 13 Ghosts, this movie really looked terrible on TV. Since the audience certainly can't vote or wear special glasses, I can see why it is rarely if ever shown on TV or released widely on video. The small TV picture also seemed to make the frozen grin of Sardonicus look very cartoonish and funny so I laughed in all the wrong places. Of course I am too young to have ever seen either film in theaters, but I'm sure laughs from the audience there would be rare. The reaction his wives had to his deformity was very frightening and effective. If only his makeup could look more natural and convincing. More low key approaches to revealing how ugly he looked would have worked better, I think.

Marek Toleslawski went searching for a lottery ticket in his dead father's grave. From shock, Marek's face became frozen with a permanent evil grin - he became Mr. Sardonicus. Sardonicus bought a mask and the title Baron. He also bought a large home with the winning lottery money. He took a beautiful wife and a few servants. He ends up finding a doctor who tries to help him with his affliction but it did not help... Sardonicus ends up trying to force the doctor into fixing his face.My ballot vote: Thumbs down - no mercy on Mr. Sardonicus.This is a pretty good classic horror film. Good for late night watching.8/10

Guy Rolfe in the title role and Oscar Homolka as his Igor like assistant highlight the film Mr. Sardonicus. A search for a lottery ticket in the grave of his father turned out to be a frightening experience causing Rolfe's face to freeze in a smiling grimace. As he was already one nasty dude as the local nobility this causes the people of his fiefdom to have as little to do with the castle as possible.Ronald Lewis is a visiting British physician conducting experiments with various exotic plants that are poisonous. Some of them might have healing properties. Will they work for the man now known as Mr. Sardonicus. Even Rolfe's wife Audrey Dalton won't kanoodle with him as he's that repulsive.Guy Rolfe played many a cruel villain, some well known examples are in Ivanhoe as Prince John and King Of The Khyber Rifles. In this one however the man truly has had nature affix his loathsomeness on his face. As for Oscar Homolka that deep voice and the bushiest eyebrows on cinema with the possible rival of Donald Wolfit for that title gave him a lock on all kinds of ethnic European types. Good thing Mr. Sardonicus came late in his career or he might have been typecast in horror films and not as good as Mr. Sardonicus.William Castle who always liked gimmicks in his film, the better for people tear themselves away from the little screen in their homes had the audience allegedly 'vote' for Rolfe's fate. I like it fine the way it was, we're not sure just how much good doctor Lewis played in him winding up the way he was and that's as it should be.

Gothic horror in the style of the old Universal thrillers, with a cruel baron who "experiments" on unsuspecting young girls to find a cure for his frozen grin. An obvious inspiration is THE MAN WHO LAUGHS, although the make-up here is far more grisly. Also grisly are the torture scenes, not horrifyingly so (in fact, it's almost a playful approach to sadism), but definitely creepy. The performances are generally not that bad, with a memorable turn by Oskar Homolka (the villain from Hitchcock's SABOTAGE) as Sardonicus' mysteriously disfigured Igor-esque lackey. Guy Rolfe is appropriately menacing in the title role, and Ronald Lewis and Audrey Dalton hold their own as the heroes. The plot is a tad slow and full of holes, but in general the film is enjoyable. It also culminates in another delightful Castle gimmick: glow-in-the-dark "Punishment Poll" cards the audience would hold up to decide whether or not to show Sardonicus any mercy. There's only one ending, of course (who's gonna let the bad guy off the hook?) but Castle's obvious glee in the pretense is a joy.