60's William Castle Part One

HOMICIDAL
(1961)
Overall: MEH

Essentially if Psycho was pure, unapologetic camp instead of the benchmark thriller that it is, it would be Homicidal.   William Castle was five films deep into his stream of gimmick-laden horror movies with this one that added the forty-five second long "Fright Break" near the finale; a gimmick that would refund anyone in the audience who wanted to bail before the credits hit.  Before they did so though, the theater would shine a spotlight on them and make them stand in a "Cowards Corner".  As usual, the hilarious movie theater showmanship of Castle was as memorable if not more so than the film itself.  The twist in Homicidal is almost immediately apparent once we meet a certain character and it pretty much just becomes a waiting game to see how Castle and co are going to play their cards from that point out.  Joan Marshall, (cleverly billed under a false name as a newcomer Jean Arless), is appropriately hammy and delightful while everyone else plays it pretty dull and straight, also appropriately.  Since Castle is not setting out to make anything resembling high art here and is solely concerned with getting butts in the seats while throwing enough playful schlock at them to cheer at, Homicidal achieves its mission.

THE NIGHT WALKER
(1964)
Overall: GOOD

Ditching any on or off screen gimmicks for a change, William Castle's The Night Walker plays it comparatively more straightforward even if the convoluted plot is as nonsensical as ever.  Reuniting the one time married couple of Robert Taylor and Barbra Stanwyck, (in her final film role before permanently going into television), and snatching Robert Bloch who wrote Psycho, the film has some appealing personnel on board and the "nightmares vs reality", double-crossing, infidelity driven story is ideal for Castle and his schlocky tendencies.  The opening narration is filmed in an excellent, avant-garde fashion and one scene that takes place in a chapel probably stands as one of the most bizarre and creepy wedding ceremonies ever filmed.  Elsewhere, there is plenty of tension built up during some other nice set pieces and throughout all of it, you are just waiting for the ridiculous twist to arrive.  In that regard, the movie does not disappoint.  The ending while not the most absurd wrap-up for a Castle movie, (Macabre still owns that prestigious title), it is gleefully perplexing.  Going back over the entire movie's chain of events, it certainly does not hold up in any logical capacity whatsoever.  That said, it is all part of the standard, William Castle fun and gets a pass for how well done the bulk of it is.

I SAW WHAT YOU DID
(1965)
Overall: MEH

At this point into his unabashedly hokey career, William Castle seemed a bit confused as to where to draw the line as far as how to juggle the silly and suspenseful aspects of his films.  I Saw What You Did was his second feature to star Joan Crawford, (the first being the previous year's Strait-Jacket), and though the iconic actress has a much smaller role here, she still owns every scene she is in as a disturbingly infatuated neighbor.  Elsewhere though, there are major issues in the musical soundtrack which is nearly incessant.  It is also wildly inappropriate in most instances, with its jaunty, wacky theme played so much that any would-be tension is totally crippled.  We are left with a feeling that the entire movie was one big joke, even when a terrifying thing like a maniac terrorizing a teenager and her younger sister while they are home all alone is happening.  Tone complications were rarely an issue for Castle's films where he generally would keep the tongue firmly in cheek and have fun with his macabre subject matter.  Though I Saw What You Did comes in shy of being a total waste, to see it cross this far over the line is still disappointing.