William Castle

Directing

William Castle

Born 1914-04-25 · New York City, New York, USA

William Castle  (April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) 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. Castle began directing films in the early 1940s, and later television, before moving on to the "gimmick films". Description above from the Wikipedia article William Castle, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Acting credits

Rosemary's Baby poster
7.8

A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.

Rosemary's Baby

1968

Shampoo poster
6.0

On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie.

Shampoo

1975

13 Ghosts poster
5.8

The reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his sprawling mansion to his nephew Cyrus and his family. They will need to search the house to find the doctor's fortune, but along with the property itself, they have also inherited the occultist's collection of thirteen ghosts.

13 Ghosts

1960

The Day of the Locust poster
6.4

Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life that Homer Simpson, a lone accountant, can offer her.

The Day of the Locust

1975

The Tingler poster
6.4

A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.

The Tingler

1959

Homicidal poster
6.4

A woman named Emily checks into a hotel and offers the bellboy $2000 to temporarily marry her. We soon find out Emily is the caretaker of a wheelchair-bound mute named Helga, who was the childhood guardian of a pair of siblings: Miriam Webster and her half-brother, Warren, who is about to inherit the estate of their late father. Who is the mysterious Emily and what are her intentions?

Homicidal

1961

Mr. Sardonicus poster
6.3

In 1880, Sir Robert Cargrave, a London physician known for his experimental work in paralysis treatment, is summoned to Gorslava by the mysterious Baron Sardonicus—who is now married to Cargrave's former wife, Maude—to treat his disfigurement. When Cargrave arrives, he finds the masked baron is a cruel sadist who has threatened to harm Maude if he is not successfully cured.

Mr. Sardonicus

1961

The Lady in Question poster
6.7

When a jury member takes in the defendant he couldn't convict, she has a bad influence on his son.

The Lady in Question

1940

Shanks poster
5.2

Malcolm Shanks is a sad and lonely man, deaf, mute and living with his cruel sister and her husband, who delight in making him miserable. His only pleasure, it seems, is in making and controlling puppets. Thanks to his skill, he is offered a job as a lab assistant to Dr. Walker, who is working on ways to re-animate dead bodies by inserting electrodes at key nerve points and manipulating the bodies as if they were on strings. When the professor suddenly dies one night, Shanks gets the idea to apply their experimental results to a human body, and then to start exacting some revenge.

Shanks

1974

Zotz! poster
5.6

Jonathan Jones, a professor of ancient languages, comes into possession of an ancient coin. He translates its inscription, which gives him three powers: to inflict pain, slow down time or kill. Soon, he's pursued by enemy spies who have learned about the magic coin.

Zotz!

1962

Hollywood Story poster
6.7

An independent producer unwisely opens a can of worms after he decides to make a movie about the unsolved murder of a famous silent film director.

Hollywood Story

1951

The Spirit Is Willing poster
5.5

When Ben and Kate Powell rent a haunted New England house by the sea, their son Steve gets blamed for the destruction caused by three unruly ghosts.

The Spirit Is Willing

1967

The Sex Symbol poster
4.0

A thinly-disguised version of the life of Marilyn Monroe, detailing her ups and downs in life and how her erratic behavior contributed to her deteriorating career.

The Sex Symbol

1974

When Strangers Marry poster
6.2

A naive small-town girl comes to New York City to meet her husband, and discovers that he may be a murderer.

When Strangers Marry

1944

He Stayed for Breakfast poster
8.0

Set in Paris, this romantic comedy revolves around the beautiful estranged wife of a wealthy banker who hides a handsome and fiery Communist fugitive in her apartment.

He Stayed for Breakfast

1940

13 Ghosts: The Magic of Illusion-O poster
NR

Produced for the "13 Ghosts" Special Edition DVD.

13 Ghosts: The Magic of Illusion-O

Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story poster
7.8

Chronicles the last great American showman, filmmaker William Castle, a master of ballyhoo who became a brand name in movie horror with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks.

Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story

2007

Let's Kill Uncle poster
5.5

A 12-year-old orphan who has just inherited a fortune is trapped on an island with his uncle, a former British intelligence commander who intends to kill him. A young girl is the boy's only ally against the sarcastic uncle, who uses hypnotism, a pool of sharks, fire, and poisonous mushrooms as weapons.

Let's Kill Uncle

1966

Hollywood Rated 'R' poster
5.3

A roller-coaster ride through the history of American exploitation films, ranging from Roger Corman's sci-fi and horror monster movies, 1960s beach movies, H.G. Lewis' gore-fests, William Castle's schlocky theatrical gimmicks, to 1970s blaxploitation, pre-"Deep Throat" sex tease films, Russ Meyer's bosom-heavy masterpieces, etc, etc. Over 25 interviews of the greatest purveyors of weird films of all kind from 1940 to 1975. Illustrated with dozens of films clips, trailers, extra footage, etc. This documentary as a shorter companion piece focusing on exploitation king David F. Friedman.

Hollywood Rated 'R'

1997

Battle-Axe: the Making of 'Strait-Jacket' poster
8.0

A look back at the classic 1964 film of horror and suspense starring Joan Crawford as an axe-murderer just released from the mental hospital. Includes footage of the filming and interviews with several of those involved, as well as a look at the movies it was influenced by and those that were in turn influenced by it.

Battle-Axe: the Making of 'Strait-Jacket'

2002

Larger Than Life: The Making of "Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story" poster
NR

Featurette about the production of Jeffrey Schwarz’s 2007 AFIFest Audience Award winning documentary.

Larger Than Life: The Making of "Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story"

2011

It's a Small World poster
5.8

Harry Musk is one in a million. That means that he's the one out of a million children who is perfectly proportioned but will never grow larger than a typical six-year-old. Adult, pint-sized Harry longs to be part of the big world.

It's a Small World

1950

Taking the Punishment Poll poster
NR

Produced for the "Mr. Sardonicus" Special Edition DVD.

Taking the Punishment Poll

2002

Psychette: William Castle and "Homicidal" poster
NR

Produced for the "Homicidal" Special Edition DVD.

Psychette: William Castle and "Homicidal"

2002

Behind the camera

Rosemary's Baby poster
7.8

A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.

Rosemary's Baby

1968

House on Haunted Hill poster
6.8

Frederick Loren invites five strangers to the party of a lifetime and offers each of them $10,000 if they can stay the night in the reportedly haunted house. Armed with a gun for protection, each guest arrives in a hearse and will either leave in it much richer…Or dead.

House on Haunted Hill

1959

House on Haunted Hill poster
6.8

Frederick Loren invites five strangers to the party of a lifetime and offers each of them $10,000 if they can stay the night in the reportedly haunted house. Armed with a gun for protection, each guest arrives in a hearse and will either leave in it much richer…Or dead.

House on Haunted Hill

1959

Riot poster
5.3

A riot in a state prison is staged to cover up an escape attempt, during which many inmates and guards are killed. Shot on location at Arizona State Prison.

Riot

1969

Strait-Jacket poster
6.6

After a twenty-year stay at an asylum for a double murder, a mother returns to her estranged daughter where suspicions arise about her behavior.

Strait-Jacket

1964

Strait-Jacket poster
6.6

After a twenty-year stay at an asylum for a double murder, a mother returns to her estranged daughter where suspicions arise about her behavior.

Strait-Jacket

1964

13 Ghosts poster
5.8

The reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his sprawling mansion to his nephew Cyrus and his family. They will need to search the house to find the doctor's fortune, but along with the property itself, they have also inherited the occultist's collection of thirteen ghosts.

13 Ghosts

1960

13 Ghosts poster
5.8

The reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his sprawling mansion to his nephew Cyrus and his family. They will need to search the house to find the doctor's fortune, but along with the property itself, they have also inherited the occultist's collection of thirteen ghosts.

13 Ghosts

1960

The Tingler poster
6.4

A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.

The Tingler

1959

The Tingler poster
6.4

A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.

The Tingler

1959

Battle of Rogue River poster
6.0

In 1850 Oregon is trying to gain statehood, but a truce is needed with the Indians before it can be accomplished. A new Army commander, Major Archer, is dispatched to bring order and peace to the territory.

Battle of Rogue River

1954

Conquest of Cochise poster
5.3

A cavalry officer tries to keep a lid on a volatile situation when Indian leader Cochise is being prodded into starting a war.

Conquest of Cochise

1953

Homicidal poster
6.4

A woman named Emily checks into a hotel and offers the bellboy $2000 to temporarily marry her. We soon find out Emily is the caretaker of a wheelchair-bound mute named Helga, who was the childhood guardian of a pair of siblings: Miriam Webster and her half-brother, Warren, who is about to inherit the estate of their late father. Who is the mysterious Emily and what are her intentions?

Homicidal

1961

Homicidal poster
6.4

A woman named Emily checks into a hotel and offers the bellboy $2000 to temporarily marry her. We soon find out Emily is the caretaker of a wheelchair-bound mute named Helga, who was the childhood guardian of a pair of siblings: Miriam Webster and her half-brother, Warren, who is about to inherit the estate of their late father. Who is the mysterious Emily and what are her intentions?

Homicidal

1961

The Crime Doctor's Gamble poster
6.0

While visiting France, a criminal psychologist tries to clear a disturbed young man of his father's murder.

The Crime Doctor's Gamble

1947

The Night Walker poster
6.4

A woman is haunted by recurring nightmares, which seem to be instigated by her late husband who supposedly was killed in a fire.

The Night Walker

1964

The Night Walker poster
6.4

A woman is haunted by recurring nightmares, which seem to be instigated by her late husband who supposedly was killed in a fire.

The Night Walker

1964

Macabre poster
6.0

After his wife and her blind sister have died under his care, a doctor's young daughter is kidnapped and reported as buried alive, leaving him with mere hours to find and rescue her.

Macabre

1958

Macabre poster
6.0

After his wife and her blind sister have died under his care, a doctor's young daughter is kidnapped and reported as buried alive, leaving him with mere hours to find and rescue her.

Macabre

1958

Fort Ti poster
7.0

Set in the 18th century, the film recounts the exploits of Rogers' Rangers, a band of adventurers devoted to seeking out a "northwest passage" through Canada. At this juncture, however, Major Rogers is more concerned with helping the British forces at Fort Ticonderoga during a series of French and Indian raids. Fort Ti was filmed in 3D, and in typical William Castle fashion the stereoscopic gimmick is exploited to the hilt.

Fort Ti

1953

The Saracen Blade poster
5.4

Based on the book of the same name by Frank Yerby. Pietro is an orphan who is raised by a family friend in 15th century Italy. When the friend is killed by the same nasty baron who murdered Pietro's father as he led the peasants in revolt against the baron's tyranny, Pietro vows vengeance against the entire family. This will prove difficult, since he's been in love with the daughter of the nasty baron since he was a child and wants to marry her.

The Saracen Blade

1954

I Saw What You Did poster
6.2

Teenage friends Kit and Libby make prank phone calls for fun but then find themselves involved in a brutal double murder committed by one of their targets.

I Saw What You Did

1965

I Saw What You Did poster
6.2

Teenage friends Kit and Libby make prank phone calls for fun but then find themselves involved in a brutal double murder committed by one of their targets.

I Saw What You Did

1965

Bug poster
5.3

An earthquake releases a strain of mutant cockroaches with the ability to start fires, which proceed to cause destructive chaos in a small town. The studies carried out by scientist James Parmiter, however, reveal an intent with much more far-reaching consequences.

Bug

1975