William Castle

Quote:
A femme fatale named Elsa catches the eye of Irish sailor Michael O’Hara when he joins a bizarre yachting cruise with Elsa’s husband; but O’Hara soon finds himself implicated in a murder, despite his innocence.Read More »

Plot Synopsis
from allmovie
The popular radio detective series The Fat Man was brought to the screen in 1951, with the series’ original star J. Scott Smart retained in the title role. Smart plays porcine sleuth Brad Runyon, who tackles the mystery surrounding the murder of a Los Angeles dentist. With the assistance of general factotum Bill Norton (Clinton Sundberg), Runyon follows the trail of clues all the way to a three-ring circus. Famed Barnum & Bailey clown Emmett Kelly makes his screen debut as one of the suspects; others essential to the action are such up-and-comers as Rock Hudson, Julie London and Jayne Meadows. The film’s flashback-within-flashback structure helps to enliven its more verbose passages. For the most part, The Fat Man plays more like a radio show than a movie–at least until the exciting climax, inventively staged by director William Castle.Read More »

Hal Erickson wrote:
Hot on the heels of Warner Bros.’ New York Confidential came Columbia’s New Orleans Uncensored. Lensed in semi-documentary fashion by future horror maven William Castle, the film stars Arthur Franz as New Orleans dockworker Dan Corbett. Attempting to remain honest, Corbett runs afoul of crime kingpin Zero Saxon (Michael Ansara), who controls the dockworkers union and runs a smuggling operation on the side. When his best friend is killed by Saxon’s goons, Corbett agrees to cooperate with the authorities in bringing the racketeer to justice. As a means of “balancing” the picture, several real-life New Orleans civic leaders and union heads–all with purportedly clean records–appear as themselves.Read More »

Shanks is not so much a movie as an hallucinatory experience. World-renowned mime Marcel Marceau plays a dual role as a mute puppeteer and an eccentric inventor. The inventor dies, passing along his secrets for reviving corpses to the puppeteer. With the help of an enigmatic little girl, Marceau activates several dead bodies and goes on a robbery spree. Costarring with Marceau are fellow mime artists Tsilla Chelton and Phillipe Clay. Shanks had cult potential, but was released with a surprisingly lackluster ad campaign–all the more surprising in that the film was directed by that master huckster William Castle (whose last film this was).Read More »

Hal Erikson, AMG wrote:
Undertow stars Scott Brady as a gambler just out of wartime military service. No longer interested in wagers and speculations, Brady wants only to open up a mountain vacation lodge. Before this can take place, Brady is framed for murder, and forced to hide out in the home of Peggy Dow. With the help of Dow and a policeman friend, Brady searches for the real murderer. Watch carefully in Undertow and you’ll spot new Universal contractee “Roc” Hudson as a plainclothes detective.Read More »

PLOT: A private detective is hired to find a young heiress but finds himself accused of murder.Read More »

Reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his eerie mansion to his penniless nephew Cyrus Zorba and his family. Along with the house, the Zorba family has also inherited the occultist’s collection of 12 ghosts, who can only be seen through Zorba’s special goggles. The family members, their lives at risk upon the discovery that Dr. Zorba’s fortune lies hidden somewhere in the house, receive aid from unexpected quarters as the threat to their lives is revealed.Read More »

PLOT: A depressed man hires an assassin to kill him when he least expects it, but when his life takes an upward turn, he finds he now wishes to live.Read More »

PLOT: A drifter’s (Richard Dix) claim to a dead bank account interests a newswoman (Janis Carter), storekeeper (Porter Hall) and two brothers.Read More »