Over the course of the past month, I paid tribute to a great man that was born to make my favorite movie genre more fun- William Castle.  Well, today, I'm paying tribute to another great guy... me! But, rather than tooting my own horn about how my friends from " Film Reviews From the Basement " use a rating system devised by myself years ago, when Jay and I did a small website called, "Critics @ Large"... or how I have a minimum of 250 horror movies in my collection (so far)... or how I actually have a figure of the "Cemetery Zombie" from George Romero's original "Night of the Living Dead"... or... no, rather than talking about those things, I'm going to do something simple and elegant. I'm going to simply list a bunch of horror movies released in 1972- when I was born.  Now these aren't just North American movies, but movies from around the world.  I'll be underlining the movies that I have seen myself.  Let me know

On May 31, 1977- after a career spanning 34 years, William Castle was laid to rest in Glendale, California's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.  He passed away at the age of 63 due to a heart attack. The end of an era had come... or did it? William Castle's influence still resonates today.  The character of Lawrence Woolsey, played by John Goodman in the movie, "Matinee" was inspired by William Castle and the ways that he promoted his movies- as seen by the use of "Atomo-Vision", and "Rumble-Rama". In 1999, a new movie production house was founded.  It's original intent was to remake most- if not all, of William Castle's movies.  This company is called, "Dark Castle Entertainment" and did produce two remakes before going onto their own original material.  The first film to be remade was "House on Haunted Hill", and was promoted with scratch and win tickets given to the audience.  Dark Castle Entertainment then re

The year 1914 saw two events that would change the world.  One was the First World War... the other was the birth of William Castle. World War One would change the face of the world from one of empires to one of republics and democracies.  William Castle would change the face of the movie world from one of watching a movie to one of experiencing the movie. Thus today, on April 24th, we're celebrating the 97th birthday of William Castle.  While some may argue that a war changes the way world leaders looked at the world was more important, I would have to disagree.  I feel that celebrating the life of a single man that touched and influenced the lives of millions to be much more important.  Yes, World War One brought may have brought countries freedom from Imperialism, but William Castle brought people freedom from apathy and stale thinking. After all, even if you're "chained" by the rule of an empire, you're still free in your mind and soul... but if you'

In my entry for the 19th of April , I discussed the many "gimmicks" that the great William Castle used to promote his films.  In that article- and the previous ones in the William Castle Tribute series, you probably noticed that I put quotes around the word, "gimmick".  The reason for this is that I really don't like that word as it applies to William Castle movies.  The word implies that the ways he promoted his films were silly, frivolous, and pointless. I would have to disagree. Personally, I think of his "gimmicks" more in the terms of "Audience Participatory Supplements."  This term is actually more accurate than the commonly used term "gimmick". "How?" you may ask?  Well, I'll tell you. Let's take Castle's movie, "The Tingler".  By rigging the seats with essentially giant joy buzzers, and having Vincent Price tell the audience that they need to scream for their lives, William Castle mad

In 1958, the world was introduced to William Castle's movie, "Macabre," and the first of many "gimmicks" that he would use to promote his movies. The "gimmick" for "Macabre" was pretty simple compared to some of the later ones.  To market his movie, a certificate for a $1,000.00 life insurance policy- issued by Lloyd's of London was handed out to movie goers.  These certificates would only be redeemed if the movie goer died of fright during the movie.  To add to the flavor of this promotion, hearses were parked outside the theaters showing the movie, and nurses were placed in the lobbies... just in case. William Castle followed up the life insurance certificate with the introduction of "Emergo"- a new technology that helped to bring the audience closer to the action on the screen.  It was in fact, more 3D than 3D!  During the climatic scene of "House on Haunted Hill", this technology was used to add to the intensi

At the beginning of March, I reviewed one of William Castle's famous movies- "House on Haunted Hill".  For my month long tribute to William Castle, I'm going to review another famous movie that was produced by him... "Rosemary's Baby". Rosemary and her husband, Guy move into a gothic 19th century apartment building in New York.  Despite it's beauty, the building also has a history of less than savory residents and events.  After meeting their neighbours, The couple decide to try and have a child... and succeed.  The only problem is that the bundle of joy they're expecting may not be altogether human... William Castle convinced Paramount Pictures to buy the film rights for the novel before the book had even been released.  Originally, Castle wanted to direct the movie, but Paramount Executives though that his "gimmicky" reputation may damage the box office receipts- allowing him to produce, but not direct.  Because of this, Paramount

In " William Castle Tribute II: Crime and Westerns ", I outlined a bit about William Castle's early films, which were mostly in the Crime Drama and Western genres.  I finished the article by stating that in 1958, he began to work his way into the hearts of horror fans. I said it because it's true. Up until that year, Crime Dramas and Westerns were popular- which was why many of Castle's early films were in those genres.  However, as the 1960's started to approach, the Horror and Suspense/Thriller genres were starting to gain in popularity... and the man that would become a staple of the Horror Industry went with that flow. William Castle's first foray into my favorite genre was with what most critics consider a Suspense/Thriller rather than a horror... even though I consider both to be closely connected.  In order to take this step, he mortgaged his own house into order to independently produce the movie.  The 15th of August, 1958 saw the first scen

William Castle is well known for his horror movies- especially "House on Haunted Hill", "The Tingler", and "Homicidal", but he didn't start out in my favorite genre. Castle actually got his start working on Broadway in various jobs from set construction to even acting.  All of this experience would help him in the future when, at the age of 23, he moved out west to Hollywood and got started in the movie industry.  Even before he directed his first film at the age of 29, he'd worked with such people as Orson Welles as his assistant.  He worked on his film, "The Lady From Shanghai"- doing most of the second unit location work. In 1943, William Castle directed his first film- "The Chance of a Lifetime", which was a crime drama feature the character of "Detective Boston Blackie".  Castle claimed that he had been "saddled with a hopeless project", and in order to make the film watchable, he had to re-arrange t

April 24, 1914 saw the birth of a horror movie icon to a Jewish family living in New York.  This icon's name was William Schloss.  This child would eventually translate his last name from German into English... becoming the person that would one day be known for creating some of the most beloved horror b-movies ever made.  He would become such an icon that he'd wind up inspiring a movie character, and having a production company named for him. This child would grow up to become the icon known as William Castle. I don't think there is a true horror fan alive who DOESN'T know who William Castle is- or haven't seen at LEAST one of his films.  He was known for his famous "gimmicks" that he used to advertize his films- often being the subject of jokes by movie people.  But underneath those jokes, I'd wager that the people making them harbor a good amount of admiration and respect for Mr. Castle.  He was bold, ingenious, and a showman that turned a simpl