Now in Smell-o-rama!

Mr. Sardonicus (1961): adapted by Ray Russell from his novella; directed by William Castle: Enjoyable though somewhat low-budget adaptation of one of Ray Russell's terrific nods to the Gothic. Some time just after the invention of the medical hypodermic needle in 1853 (seriously, this is a plot point that allows one to date the narrative), a British expert in the field of curing muscle paralysis is summoned to a Gothicky manor in Eastern Europe by the woman he loved who was forced to marry for money... marry Baron Sardonicus!

Sardonicus wears a life-like mask for reasons he will soon explain to our recently knighted English doctor. The One Who Got Away doesn't love Sardonicus, nor does he love her. Sardonicus' creepy yet sympathetic majordomo, played by the under-rated Oscar Homolka, is found putting leeches all over the face of a maidservant. But it's all for a good cause...

Peasant tales of grave-robbing, corpse-eating ghouls will follow, as will a money-grubbing first wife for Sardonicus, a fantastic lottery win, and the origin of his self-selected baronial name (Sardonicus is descriptive, not inherited). 

The cinematography and staging often tend towards the bland and too-bright but the acting is more than adequate and the make-up and prosthetic work come across nicely, though they will have been shown too much by the end. Oscar Homolka steals the show here. Castle added a hilarious Coda to the film in which the audience voted to choose the ending. There was only one ending to the film, though -- Castle was a great showman, but two-way movies were still a long way in the future. Recommended.