Homicidal

Last updated
Homicidal
Homicidal.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by William Castle
Written by Robb White
Produced byWilliam Castle
Starring
Cinematography Burnett Guffey
Edited byEdwin H. Bryant
Music by Hugo Friedhofer
Color process Black and white
Production
company
William Castle Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • June 28, 1961 (1961-06-28)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.6 million [1]

Homicidal is a 1961 American horror-thriller film produced and directed by William Castle, and starring Glenn Corbett, Patricia Breslin, Eugenie Leontovich, Alan Bunce and Jean Arless. The film follows a murderous woman in a small California town whose presence unearths secrets concerning a prominent local family.

Contents

As with many of Castle's films, the film was released with a promotional gimmick—in this case, a "fright break," that allowed patrons to receive a refund if they were too scared to stay for the climax of the film.

Plot

A mysterious woman named Emily convinces the bellboy at a local hotel in Ventura, California to meet her later that day at a local justice of the peace to get married, offering him two thousand dollars in compensation. Baffled by the request, he agrees. The two arrive at the justice of the peace's home late in the night, and pay him to marry them. Emily then savagely murders the justice of the peace during the ceremony, and flees. She later gloats to a mute, invalid elderly woman named Helga (for whom Emily is a nurse and works for a wealthy family) of her deed.

Advertisement from 1961 Baseline Drive-in, Ritz Theatre Ad - 1 July 1961, CA.jpg
Advertisement from 1961

The police investigate the crime and learn that the nurse was given the name of a local flower shop owner Miriam Webster, who has an alibi of the night of the murder. It is revealed that Miriam and her brother Warren, who has recently returned from Denmark after the death of his last surviving parent, are heirs to Warren's father's estate. The two talk about how Warren's father was abusive to Warren growing up and the details of the will. Miriam stands to inherit the estate if Warren dies before marrying, as Warren's father was a misogynist who went out of his way to make Warren his sole heir so that only a male child of his could inherit. Miriam also confesses to Warren good news of her own, that she is engaged to be married to her boyfriend.

That evening, Emily breaks into Miriam's flower shop and wrecks the store. She is interrupted by Miriam's boyfriend, who comes to the store because he did not know that Miriam had left early that evening. Miriam and her boyfriend arrive at Warren's house the next day to visit Helga and confront Emily. Helga frantically tries to communicate with Miriam, who later finds out from Warren that Emily is actually his wife; he had hired her to take care of Helga and ultimately married her. Miriam later overhears Warren and Emily talking in the next room but does not see them together.

Miriam's boyfriend learns of the murdered justice of the peace and that Emily resembles the suspect. Miriam ultimately goes to visit Warren and Emily, having realized that Emily is a murderer. She enters the house, and sees Helga descending the staircase on the stairlift. As she nears the bottom of the stairs, Miriam witnesses Helga's severed head fall off her body. She is then attacked by Emily; the two fight, and Emily removes her wig and prosthetic teeth, revealing herself to be Warren. Warren then tries to kill Miriam, but is distracted when a police officer enters. While Warren tries to kill the officer, Miriam shoots Warren dead.

Afterward, the police talk to Miriam as the truth about Warren is revealed: Warren was really a girl. The secret of the child's gender was known only to the child's mother, Helga the housekeeper, and the county clerk (who later became a justice of the peace), who had been bribed to enter the birth of a boy. This was done mainly to avoid the murderous wrath of Warren's father, who wanted a boy and would have harmed the child. "Emily" was an alternate identity Warren had created overseas to be able to live as a woman away from those who knew him. When Warren's father died and he learned of the clause in the will that would have denied him his inheritance if it was known he was a female, he resumed the alter ego of Emily in order to kill and silence those who would know the truth about him.

Cast

Production

Conception

After fifteen years directing a string of B movies for Columbia, Universal, and Monogram, William Castle mortgaged his house and formed William Castle Productions in 1958. His first release, Macabre , was a modest thriller. To draw attention to the film, he offered every audience member a $1,000 life insurance policy from Lloyd's of London against death by fright during the film. [2] Castle promoted the film with TV commercials and previews that focused more on the life insurance policy than the film. The public bought it and the film was a financial, if not critical, success. William Castle added a gimmick to most of his films over the next ten years.

Casting

Actress Joan Marshall was cast in the dual role of Emily/Warren, credited under the stage name Jean Arless. [3] [4] This led some publications to erroneously assume the part was her first credit. [5] Originally, Castle had intended to cast two different actors for the roles of Emily and Warren. [6] After auditioning for the role of Emily, Marshall returned to visit Castle at his office dressed as a man to audition for the part of Warren: "My secretary, not recognizing her, asked the man his name," Castle recalled. "The transformation was indeed astonishing." [6] Marshall's effective auditions for both parts convinced Castle to cast her in the dual role. [6]

Filming

Principal photography for Homicidal began on November 1, 1960, in Ventura and Solvang, California. [4] For her scenes playing Warren, star Marshall had her hair cut like a man's and dyed brown, wore brown contact lenses and had prosthetic appliances made to alter the shape of her nose, mouth and hands. [7]

Release

Homicidal was released theatrically in the United States on June 28, 1961. [4] It after received a theatrical run in New York City beginning on July 26, 1962. [4]

The "Fright Break"

Based on the success of Castle's previous films, Columbia Pictures agreed to implement his concept for a "Fright Break." [6] This entails a 45-second timer which overlays the film's climax as the heroine approached the house harboring a sadistic killer. A voice-over advised the audience of the time remaining in which they could leave the theater and receive a full refund if they were too frightened to see the remainder of the film. To ensure the more wily patrons did not simply stay for a second showing and leave during the finale, Castle had both numbered [4] and different colored tickets printed for each show. [8] About 1% of patrons still demanded refunds, and in response Castle decided to spotlight the people who chose to leave by creating a "Coward's Corner." [9] Print ads promoting the film emphasized this "Fright Break" gimmick. [10]

Fright Certificate Homicidal5.jpg
Fright Certificate

The "Coward's Corner" was a table with a nurse holding a blood pressure cuff. [9] John Waters described it in his book Crackpot.

He came up with "Coward's Corner," a yellow cardboard booth, manned by a bewildered theater employee in the lobby. When the Fright Break was announced, and you found that you couldn't take it any more, you had to leave your seat and, in front of the entire audience, follow yellow footsteps up the aisle, bathed in a yellow light. Before you reached Coward's Corner, you crossed yellow lines with the stencilled message: "Cowards Keep Walking." You passed a nurse (in a yellow uniform? ... I wonder), who would offer a blood-pressure test. All the while a recording was blaring, "Watch the chicken! Watch him shiver in Coward's Corner!" As the audience howled, you had to go through one final indignity – at Coward's Corner you were forced to sign a yellow card stating, "I am a bona fide coward." Very, very few were masochistic enough to endure this. The one percent refund dribbled away to a zero percent, and I'm sure that in many cities a plant had to be paid to go through this torture. No wonder theater owners balked at booking a William Castle film. It was all just too complicated. [8]

According to Castle, the gimmick worked "great," and that theaters earned an average of $20,000 weekly in box office sales, with only $100 in refunds. [4]

Critical response

Contemporaneous

Multiple critics drew comparisons between Homicidal and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , released the year prior. [6] Time magazine said: "Made in imitation of Hitchcock's Psycho, it surpasses its model in structure, suspense and sheer nervous drive." [11] and placed it on its list of top ten films of the year for 1962. Other critics were not so kind. The New York Times said "Near the end of Homicidal, yesterday's horror entry at neighborhood theaters, the disembodied voice of William Castle, the producer-director, announces a 'fright break', during which the economy-minded viewers may return their tickets for a refund ... If the reprieve had come before the opening of this dismal imitation of Psycho and Mickey Spillane, it would have been a better idea." [12] New York Herald Tribune wrote that "Castle's shock effects are not so much of the weird or 'horror' as of the gruesome or blood-on-the-cummerbund variety." [12]

Retrospective

Though many critics were dismissive of Homicidal upon its release, the film has since garnered a cult following, [6] and is regarded as one of Castle's best films. [6] In The Psychotronic Video Guide (1996), Michael Weldon referred to the film as an "incredible experience," and it has also been championed by filmmaker John Waters. [6] Film scholar David Hogan wrote: "In a psychosexual sense, Homicidal was perhaps the most distressing Hollywood film until William Friedkin's numbing and misunderstood Cruising (1980)." [13] Hogan also cited it as Castle's best film despite being his "most derivative." [14] Douglas Brode echoed similar sentiments, remarking the film's "marvelous" pacing and sustainment of suspense. [15] However, Glenn Erickson from DVD Savant wrote that the film was "a perfectly wretched movie, bad enough to make Castle's other hits seem like flukes". [16]

Home media

Homicidal was released on DVD in North America by Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment in 2002. [16] It was made available again on DVD pressed on-demand by Sony Choice Collection on September 3, 2013. [17] On July 19, 2016, Mill Creek Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray as a double feature alongside Castle's Mr. Sardonicus . [18] In 2021 Powerhouse/Indicator Films released a high definition remaster Blu-ray, accompanied by special features.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>House on Haunted Hill</i> 1959 American film

House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American supernatural horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig and Elisha Cook Jr. Price plays an eccentric millionaire, Frederick Loren, who, along with his wife Annabelle, has invited five people to the house for a "haunted house" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000. As the night progresses, the guests are trapped within the house with an assortment of terrors. This film is perhaps best known for its promotional gimmick Emergo.

<i>House on Haunted Hill</i> (1999 film) 1999 American supernatural horror film

House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American supernatural horror film directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Bridgette Wilson, Peter Gallagher, and Chris Kattan. The plot follows a group of strangers who are invited to a party at an abandoned insane asylum, where they are offered $1 million each by an amusement park mogul if they are able to survive the night. Produced by Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver, it is a remake of the 1959 film of the same title directed by William Castle, and features special effects by famed make-up artists Gregory Nicotero and Dick Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Castle</span> American film director, producer, screenwriter (1914–1977)

William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.

<i>Polyester</i> (film) 1981 film by John Waters

Polyester is a 1981 American comedy film directed, produced, and written by John Waters, and starring Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, and Mink Stole. It satirizes the melodramatic genre of women's pictures, particularly those directed by Douglas Sirk, whose work directly influenced this film. The film is also a satire of suburban life in the early 1980s, involving topics like divorce, abortion, adultery, alcoholism, racial stereotypes, foot fetishism, and the religious right.

<i>Psycho IV: The Beginning</i> 1990 American horror film by Mick Garris

Psycho IV: The Beginning is a 1990 American made-for-television slasher film directed by Mick Garris, and starring Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, Warren Frost, Donna Mitchell, and CCH Pounder. It serves as both the third sequel and a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, focusing on the early life of Norman Bates. It includes both events after Psycho III while focusing on flashbacks of events that took place prior to the original film. It is the fourth and final film in the original Psycho franchise, and Perkins' final appearance in the series before his death in 1992.

<i>Psycho II</i> (film) 1983 film by Richard Franklin

Psycho II is a 1983 American psychological slasher film directed by Richard Franklin, written by Tom Holland, and starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Robert Loggia, and Meg Tilly. It is the first sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho and the second film in the Psycho franchise. Set 22 years after the first film, it follows Norman Bates after he is released from the mental institution and returns to the house and Bates Motel to continue a normal life. However, his troubled past continues to haunt him as someone begins to murder the people around him. The film is unrelated to the 1982 novel Psycho II by Robert Bloch, which he wrote as a sequel to his original 1959 novel Psycho.

<i>Fright Night Part 2</i> 1988 American horror film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace

Fright Night Part 2 is a 1988 American supernatural horror comedy film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, the sequel to the 1985 film Fright Night. Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale reprise their roles as Charley Brewster and Peter Vincent, alongside new cast members Traci Lind, Julie Carmen and Jon Gries. Composer Brad Fiedel also returned with another distinct synthesizer score.

<i>The Tingler</i> 1959 horror film

The Tingler is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It is the third of five collaborations between Castle and writer Robb White, and starring Vincent Price.

<i>Dementia 13</i> 1963 film by Francis Ford Coppola

Dementia 13 is a 1963 horror-thriller film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Roger Corman. It was Coppola's feature film directorial debut. The film stars William Campbell and Luana Anders with Bart Patton, Mary Mitchell, and Patrick Magee. It was a co-production of the United States and Ireland.

<i>Strait-Jacket</i> 1964 film by William Castle

Strait-Jacket is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by William Castle, written by Robert Bloch and starring Joan Crawford. Its plot follows a woman who, having murdered her husband and his lover decades prior, is suspected of a series of axe murders following her release from a psychiatric hospital.

<i>I Saw What You Did</i> 1965 film by William Castle

I Saw What You Did is a 1965 American thriller-horror released by Universal Pictures and starring Joan Crawford and John Ireland. The plot follows two teenage girls who find themselves in serious danger after making a prank phone call to a man who just murdered his wife. The screenplay by William P. McGivern was based upon the 1964 novel Out of the Dark by Ursula Curtiss. The film was produced and directed by William Castle.

<i>The Horror of Party Beach</i> 1964 film by Del Tenney

The Horror of Party Beach is a 1964 American horror film in the beach party genre, directed and co-produced by Del Tenney. The film, described as "a take-off on beach parties and musicals".

<i>The Screaming Skull</i> 1958 American film by Alex Nicol

The Screaming Skull is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white horror film, produced by John Kneubuhl and directed by Alex Nicol, starring John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Russ Conway, Tony Johnson, and Nicol. The Screaming Skull marked Nicol's directorial debut; he decided to try it because he felt that he was not acting in the roles which he wanted. The film was distributed by American International Pictures as a double feature in different markets with either Earth vs. the Spider or Terror from the Year 5000.

<i>Matinee</i> (1993 film) 1993 film by Joe Dante

Matinee is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Joe Dante. It is about a William Castle-type independent filmmaker, with the American home front during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop. The film stars John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, Robert Picardo, Kellie Martin, and Jesse White. It was written by Jerico Stone and Charles S. Haas, the latter portraying Mr. Elroy, a schoolteacher. Despite critical acclaim, the film was a box office failure.

<i>Terror in the Haunted House</i> 1958 American film

Terror in the Haunted House is a 1958 American horror film produced by William S. Edwards and directed by Harold Daniels. The movie stars Gerald Mohr, Cathy O'Donnell, William Ching, and John Qualen. Its plot follows newlywed Sheila, who moves with her husband Philp into a rural Florida mansion which she is horrified to discover was the subject of a recurring nightmare for which she sought psychiatric care in Switzerland. The house is the key to events that have haunted her husband's family for a generation, and Philip's intent is to use her mind to unlock the mystery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B movies (exploitation boom)</span> 1960s–1970s era of genre filmmaking

The 1960s and 1970s marked the rise of exploitation-style independent B movies; films which were mostly made without the support of Hollywood's major film studios. As censorship pressures lifted in the early 1960s, the low-budget end of the American motion picture industry increasingly incorporated the sort of sexual and violent elements long associated with so-called ‘exploitation’ films. The demise of the Motion Picture Production Code in 1968, coupled with the success of the exploitation film Easy Rider the following year fueled the trend throughout the subsequent decade. The success of the B-studio exploitation movement had a significant effect on the strategies of the major studios during the 1970s.

<i>Macabre</i> (1958 film) 1958 film by William Castle

Macabre is a 1958 American horror film directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring William Prince and Jim Backus. The film falls into both the horror and suspense genres.

<i>Fright</i> (film) 1971 British film by Peter Collinson

Fright is a 1971 British thriller film starring Susan George, Ian Bannen, Honor Blackman, and John Gregson. The film follows a babysitter who is terrorized one evening by her employer's deranged ex-husband. Its original working titles were The Baby Minder and Girl in the Dark before it was titled Fright. It is said by many horror fans and commentators to be one of or even the first film in which an isolated babysitter is stalked by an unrelenting and psychopathic antagonist, rendering it the forerunner of dozens of movies to use similar premises over the following decades.

<i>Mr. Sardonicus</i> 1961 film by William Castle

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. Castle cited the film in his memoir as one of his favorites to produce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Marshall</span> American actress (1931–1992)

Joan Marshall was an American film and television actress. She is best known for her appearances in The Twilight Zone's "Dead Man's Shoes", and Star Trek's "Court Martial".

References

  1. ↑ "1961 Rentals and Potential". Variety. 10 Jan 1961. p. 58.
  2. ↑ McCarty 1986, p. 92.
  3. ↑ McCarty 1986, p. 93.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Homicidal". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ "William Castle's Production "Homicidal" Shock-Thriller". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, Texas. September 3, 1961. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stafford, Jeff. "Homicidal". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ Castle, William (1992). Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America: Memoirs of a B-Movie Mogul. Putnam. ISBN   0-88687-657-5.
  8. 1 2 Waters 2003, pp. 18–19.
  9. 1 2 Law 2000, p. 93.
  10. ↑ "Movies". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. June 21, 1961. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  11. ↑ "Time Listings: CINEMA". Time . September 15, 1961. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  12. 1 2 Law 2000, p. 94.
  13. ↑ Hogan 1997, p. 78.
  14. ↑ Hogan 1997, p. 77.
  15. ↑ Brode 2003, p. 25.
  16. 1 2 Erickson, Glenn (March 28, 2002). "DVD Savant Review: Homicidal". DVD Talk. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  17. ↑ Homicidal (DVD). Sony Choice Collection. 2013 [1961]. ASIN   B00EDOS6AA.
  18. ↑ William Castle Double Feature: Homicidal and Mr. Sardonicus (Blu-ray). Mill Creek Entertainment. 2016. ASIN   B01EYY127C.

Works cited

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.