Mr. Sardonicus
Encyclopedia
Mr. Sardonicus is a 1961
horror film
produced and directed by William Castle
. It tells the story of Sardonicus, a man whose face becomes frozen in a horrifying grin while robbing his father's grave to obtain a winning lottery ticket. He tries to force a doctor to cure him, but eventually dies when he can no longer eat or drink. Castle cites the film in his memoir as one of his favorites to make.
physician Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis
) has come to the mysterious Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe
) at the urgent request of his one-time love, Maude (Audrey Dalton
), now the Baron's wife. Sir Robert becomes apprehensive when his enquiries about Sardonicus are met with fear. When Sir Robert arrives at Castle Sardonicus, his fears are quickly justified: one of his first sights is that of Sardonicus' servant Krull (Oskar Homolka, credited as "Oscar Homolka") torturing one of the Baron's servants by placing leeches on her face.
Maude herself is fearful of what will happen if Sir Robert is not willing to do as Sardonicus asks of him. Even Krull is not immune to the Baron's cruelty as he is missing an eye, thanks to Sardonicus' anger.
Sardonicus tells Sir Robert his story. Once he was Marek Toleslawski, a farmer like his father Henryk (Vladimir Sokoloff
). Marek and his wife Elenka (Erika Peters) live a humble life, but Elenka and Henryk want more: he buys a ticket for the national lottery
. Henryk dies in his sleep that night. Marek and Elenka learn that the ticket is a winner but can only claim the prize if they have the ticket, which was buried with Henryk. Elenka presses Marek to retrieve the ticket so he can, as she says, prove his love to her. Marek opens the grave and is horrified to see his father's skull seemingly grinning at him but, after screaming, running away, and coming back, retrieves the ticket. When he returns home, he and Elenka realize something is wrong: Marek cannot speak. Elenka lights a candle and sees Marek's face contorted into a fixed terrifying grin, similar to Henryk's skull. The prize money allows Marek to buy a title and castle; but Elenka commits suicide soon after seeing his face for the first time, so she cannot share the riches with him. Marek renames himself "Sardonicus" (after the medical term Risus sardonicus
, Latin
for "sardonic smile", used for tetanus
victims) and learns to speak all over again with the help of some of the greatest diction experts in the world. His own experiments on young women were to find a cure for his condition, but he has had no success. Since Maude had mentioned Sir Robert as a great doctor specializing in paralysis, he had hoped Sir Robert would help restore his face. (He had tried several other great doctors before, to no success). Sir Robert agrees to try.
Sir Robert's efforts at restoring Sardonicus's face have no effect. Sardonicus demands he try new and experimental treatments and, when Sir Robert refuses, threatens to mutilate Maude's face to match his own. Sir Robert sends for equipment and supplies, including a deadly South American plant which he uses to experiment on dogs. When Sardonicus then has Maude and Sir Robert see the open upright coffin of Henryk Toleslawski which he'd had brought to the castle, Sir Robert conceives an idea: he will inject Sardonicus with a diluted plant extract, then recreate the event that led to Sardonicus' condition. Though Sardonicus is skeptical, he agrees. The injection is made, the room darkened, and a light shined on the skull. Sardonicus screams in agony, imagining Henryk's flesh has been restored. Sir Robert comes into the room to find Sardonicus' face is back to normal, though Sir Robert advises him to not speak until his facial muscles have had time to adjust. The Baron writes a note to Maude granting her a divorce, and a request to Sir Robert, asking his price. Sir Robert tells Sardonicus, "You owe me nothing", and Sardonicus lets them both go.
At the train station for the trip back to London, Sir Robert and Maude are confronted by a frightened Krull, who tells them Sardonicus not only cannot speak, he cannot open his jaw or lips at all. They must return and help him. But Sir Robert tells Krull that the injection was only water, thst the plant extract would have been lethal even in a small dose. What happened was all psychological, and once Sardonicus realizes that, he will be all right.
(At this point, director Castle gives his "punishment poll", resulting in Sardonicus getting more punishment.)
The continuity resumes with Krull returning to the castle, and lying to the Baron that he just missed Sir Robert. This dooms Sardonicus to death by starvation, while Krull cruelly sits down to eat in front of the Baron.
The film is based on a short story called "Sardonicus" that was originally published in Playboy
. Castle purchased the rights and hired its author, Ray Russell
, to write the screenplay.
To achieve Sardonicus's terrible grin, actor Guy Rolfe was subjected to five separate facial appliance fittings. He could not physically stand to wear the piece for more than an hour at a time.
Castle claimed that, at the behest of Columbia Pictures
, he shot a second ending for the film in which Sardonicus is cured and survives (although co-star Audrey Dalton claims no such ending was ever shot). Castle, with his reputation as the "king of gimmicks" to market his films, built the marketing for the film around the idea of the two possible endings. Audiences were given the opportunity to participate in the "Punishment Poll". Each movie patron was given a glow-in-the-dark
card featuring a hand with the thumb out. At the appropriate time they voted by holding up the card with either the thumb up or down as to whether Sardonicus would live or die. Legend has it no audience ever offered mercy so the alternate ending–if in fact one existed–was never screened.
The "poll" scene, as presented in the film, is hosted by Castle himself, and he is shown pretending to address the audience, jovially egging them on to choose punishment, and "tallying" the poll results with no break in continuity as the "punishment" ending is pronounced the winner. The "punishment" ending occupies only three minutes of film after the "poll", and was the ending of the original Ray Russell short story. Given that Turner Classic Movies
was unable to locate any cut of the film which included the "merciful" ending, the suggestion of alternative endings itself appears to have been an elaborate conceit on the part of Castle in service of the "gimmick".
sharply disagreed. While praising Lewis's performance, the Times stated that Castle "is not Edgar Allan Poe. Anybody naive enough to attend...will find painful proof".
incorporated the film into a story arc about a rich factory owner in Washington State who was fixated on the film and had comparable emotional issues. He was cured by re-enacting the film's ending. Noted film critic Jeffrey Lyons
played himself explaining the film's psychological subtext to FBI agents on the case.
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
produced and directed by William Castle
William Castle
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Castle was known for directing films with many gimmicks which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies....
. It tells the story of Sardonicus, a man whose face becomes frozen in a horrifying grin while robbing his father's grave to obtain a winning lottery ticket. He tries to force a doctor to cure him, but eventually dies when he can no longer eat or drink. Castle cites the film in his memoir as one of his favorites to make.
Plot summary
In 1880 in the fictional central European country of Gorslava, prominent LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
physician Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis
Ronald Lewis
Ronald Lewis , was a Welsh actor, best known for his appearances in British films of the 1950s and 1960s.Lewis was born in Port Talbot and made his first screen appearance in 1953. From then on, he averaged one or two films a year until the mid-60s, including classics like The Wind Cannot Read ...
) has come to the mysterious Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...
) at the urgent request of his one-time love, Maude (Audrey Dalton
Audrey Dalton
Audrey Dalton is an Irish television and film actress.-Filmography:*Police Woman as Mrs. Hunter *Family Affair as Mrs. Thompson *Insight...
), now the Baron's wife. Sir Robert becomes apprehensive when his enquiries about Sardonicus are met with fear. When Sir Robert arrives at Castle Sardonicus, his fears are quickly justified: one of his first sights is that of Sardonicus' servant Krull (Oskar Homolka, credited as "Oscar Homolka") torturing one of the Baron's servants by placing leeches on her face.
Maude herself is fearful of what will happen if Sir Robert is not willing to do as Sardonicus asks of him. Even Krull is not immune to the Baron's cruelty as he is missing an eye, thanks to Sardonicus' anger.
Sardonicus tells Sir Robert his story. Once he was Marek Toleslawski, a farmer like his father Henryk (Vladimir Sokoloff
Vladimir Sokoloff
-Biography:Sokoloff was born in Moscow, Russia. He became an actor and assistant director with the Moscow Art Theatre, before emigrating to Berlin in 1923...
). Marek and his wife Elenka (Erika Peters) live a humble life, but Elenka and Henryk want more: he buys a ticket for the national lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
. Henryk dies in his sleep that night. Marek and Elenka learn that the ticket is a winner but can only claim the prize if they have the ticket, which was buried with Henryk. Elenka presses Marek to retrieve the ticket so he can, as she says, prove his love to her. Marek opens the grave and is horrified to see his father's skull seemingly grinning at him but, after screaming, running away, and coming back, retrieves the ticket. When he returns home, he and Elenka realize something is wrong: Marek cannot speak. Elenka lights a candle and sees Marek's face contorted into a fixed terrifying grin, similar to Henryk's skull. The prize money allows Marek to buy a title and castle; but Elenka commits suicide soon after seeing his face for the first time, so she cannot share the riches with him. Marek renames himself "Sardonicus" (after the medical term Risus sardonicus
Risus sardonicus
Risus sardonicus is a highly characteristic, abnormal, sustained spasm of the facial muscles that appears to produce grinning.The name of the condition derives from the appearance of raised eyebrows and an open "grin" - which can appear malevolent to the lay observer - displayed by those suffering...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "sardonic smile", used for tetanus
Tetanus
Tetanus is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani...
victims) and learns to speak all over again with the help of some of the greatest diction experts in the world. His own experiments on young women were to find a cure for his condition, but he has had no success. Since Maude had mentioned Sir Robert as a great doctor specializing in paralysis, he had hoped Sir Robert would help restore his face. (He had tried several other great doctors before, to no success). Sir Robert agrees to try.
Sir Robert's efforts at restoring Sardonicus's face have no effect. Sardonicus demands he try new and experimental treatments and, when Sir Robert refuses, threatens to mutilate Maude's face to match his own. Sir Robert sends for equipment and supplies, including a deadly South American plant which he uses to experiment on dogs. When Sardonicus then has Maude and Sir Robert see the open upright coffin of Henryk Toleslawski which he'd had brought to the castle, Sir Robert conceives an idea: he will inject Sardonicus with a diluted plant extract, then recreate the event that led to Sardonicus' condition. Though Sardonicus is skeptical, he agrees. The injection is made, the room darkened, and a light shined on the skull. Sardonicus screams in agony, imagining Henryk's flesh has been restored. Sir Robert comes into the room to find Sardonicus' face is back to normal, though Sir Robert advises him to not speak until his facial muscles have had time to adjust. The Baron writes a note to Maude granting her a divorce, and a request to Sir Robert, asking his price. Sir Robert tells Sardonicus, "You owe me nothing", and Sardonicus lets them both go.
At the train station for the trip back to London, Sir Robert and Maude are confronted by a frightened Krull, who tells them Sardonicus not only cannot speak, he cannot open his jaw or lips at all. They must return and help him. But Sir Robert tells Krull that the injection was only water, thst the plant extract would have been lethal even in a small dose. What happened was all psychological, and once Sardonicus realizes that, he will be all right.
(At this point, director Castle gives his "punishment poll", resulting in Sardonicus getting more punishment.)
The continuity resumes with Krull returning to the castle, and lying to the Baron that he just missed Sir Robert. This dooms Sardonicus to death by starvation, while Krull cruelly sits down to eat in front of the Baron.
Production
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. Castle purchased the rights and hired its author, Ray Russell
Ray Russell
Ray Russell was an American writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. In 1991 he received the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement....
, to write the screenplay.
To achieve Sardonicus's terrible grin, actor Guy Rolfe was subjected to five separate facial appliance fittings. He could not physically stand to wear the piece for more than an hour at a time.
Castle claimed that, at the behest of Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, he shot a second ending for the film in which Sardonicus is cured and survives (although co-star Audrey Dalton claims no such ending was ever shot). Castle, with his reputation as the "king of gimmicks" to market his films, built the marketing for the film around the idea of the two possible endings. Audiences were given the opportunity to participate in the "Punishment Poll". Each movie patron was given a glow-in-the-dark
Glow-in-the-dark
Glow-in-the-dark may refer to:*Bioluminescence, the production and emission of light by a living organism*Chemiluminescence, is the emission of light without emission of heat...
card featuring a hand with the thumb out. At the appropriate time they voted by holding up the card with either the thumb up or down as to whether Sardonicus would live or die. Legend has it no audience ever offered mercy so the alternate ending–if in fact one existed–was never screened.
The "poll" scene, as presented in the film, is hosted by Castle himself, and he is shown pretending to address the audience, jovially egging them on to choose punishment, and "tallying" the poll results with no break in continuity as the "punishment" ending is pronounced the winner. The "punishment" ending occupies only three minutes of film after the "poll", and was the ending of the original Ray Russell short story. Given that Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
was unable to locate any cut of the film which included the "merciful" ending, the suggestion of alternative endings itself appears to have been an elaborate conceit on the part of Castle in service of the "gimmick".
Cast
- Oskar Homolka as Krull
- Ronald LewisRonald LewisRonald Lewis , was a Welsh actor, best known for his appearances in British films of the 1950s and 1960s.Lewis was born in Port Talbot and made his first screen appearance in 1953. From then on, he averaged one or two films a year until the mid-60s, including classics like The Wind Cannot Read ...
as Sir Robert Cargrave - Audrey DaltonAudrey DaltonAudrey Dalton is an Irish television and film actress.-Filmography:*Police Woman as Mrs. Hunter *Family Affair as Mrs. Thompson *Insight...
as Maude Sardonicus - Guy RolfeGuy RolfeGuy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...
as Baron Sardonicus - Vladimir SokoloffVladimir Sokoloff-Biography:Sokoloff was born in Moscow, Russia. He became an actor and assistant director with the Moscow Art Theatre, before emigrating to Berlin in 1923...
as Henryk Toleslawski - Erika Peters as Elenka
- Lorna Hanson as Anna
Critical response
The PTA Magazine described Mr. Sardonicus as an "elaborately produced [film]... that evokes disgust as well as macabre thrills". The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
sharply disagreed. While praising Lewis's performance, the Times stated that Castle "is not Edgar Allan Poe. Anybody naive enough to attend...will find painful proof".
Cultural impact
The US television series WiseguyWiseguy
Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...
incorporated the film into a story arc about a rich factory owner in Washington State who was fixated on the film and had comparable emotional issues. He was cured by re-enacting the film's ending. Noted film critic Jeffrey Lyons
Jeffrey Lyons (television critic)
Jeffrey Lyons is an American television and film critic.-Life and career:Lyons was born in New York City, one of the four sons of Sylvia and Leonard Lyons...
played himself explaining the film's psychological subtext to FBI agents on the case.
External links
- Mr. Sardonicus on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...