Today- May 27, 2011 marks the 100th birthday of that master of horror- Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Price had a father who was the President of the National Candy Company, and a grandfather that invented, "Dr. Price's Baking Powder"- the first cream of tartar baking powder, which secured the family's financial security. During the 1930's Vincent Price became interested in the theater, and started performing on stage in 1935.  Soon, in 1938, Price made his film debut in the film, " Service de Luxe ", but didn't start gaining recognition until 1944 when he starred in the Otto Preminger film, " Laura ". His first horror film was the Boris Karloff feature, " Tower of London " in 1939, which he followed up as the title character in " The Invisible Man Returns ".  he would reprise this role vocally at the end of 1948's " Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ". Price was often ...

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...

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...

I have a confession to make: I'm a fan of black and white horror movies.  Why would I, a man born in the heyday of horror films like "Halloween", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and others be a fan of primitive black and white ones? Simple, they're fun, and "House on Haunted Hill" is an example of that fun. This 1959 B-movie was produced and directed by William Castle- the master of movie gimmicks like "Percepto"... the joy buzzer seats used for his movie, "The Tingler".  "House on Haunted Hill" had "Emergo"- a plastic skeleton that would "fly" over the audience at the appropriate moment in the movie.  The flying skeleton was quite popular (and is even credited in the end credits), and helped the movie to become quite successful.  The movie was so successful in fact that, Alfred Hitchcok was spurred to make "Psycho"... which in turned inspired William Castle to produce "Homicidal"...