William Castle
William Castle was known as the director of B-movies that were produced under budget and was known for his yet over-the-top gimmicks in both production and promotion.
Castle was famous(or infamous) for his gimmick laden films that were often loaded with over-hyped effects to shock theatre audiences.
In a sense Castle emulated the great Alfred Hitchcock. Castle included the practice(which is these days is widely common)of appearing in the theatrical trailers of some of his films and even making cameo appearances in some of them. He went so far as to create a trademark silhouette that showed him a director's chair and in profile with a cigar.
Castle also restarted the career of Joan Crawford as well whose starring appearance in the 1964 psychological thriller "Strait-Jacket" became a huge hit. In 1968,Castle purchased the film's rights to Ira Levin's novel "Rosemary's Baby",but Paramount Pictures,would give him the green light for the project only if he didn't direct,since the studio feared that his reputation as a director of low-budget gimmick horror films and thrillers would jeopardize the project. However,Castle became the producer of "Rosemary's Baby" while Roman Polanski was hired as the director. Castle,would make a significiant cameo appearance in the film,and due to the studio's decision to change directors for the project,"Rosemary's Baby" became one of the top-ten highest grossing films of 1968.
Castle's last producing picture was the 1975 horror film "Bug" starring Bradford Dillman. Castle died on May 31,1977.
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The Lady from Shanghai (1948, Unrated)
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| 2 |
Mr. Sardonicus (1961, Unrated)
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| 3 |
Macabre (1958, Unrated)
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| 4 |
House On Haunted Hill (1959, Unrated)
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The Tingler (1959, Unrated)
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Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story (2007, Unrated)
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| 7 |
Homicidal (1961, Unrated)
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| 8 |
Zotz! (1962, Unrated)
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| 9 |
13 Frightened Girls (The Candy Web) (1963, Unrated)
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| 10 |
13 Ghosts (1960, Unrated)
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| 11 |
The Old Dark House (1963, Unrated)
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| 12 |
William Castle's The Night Walker (1964, Unrated)
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| 13 |
I Saw What You Did (1965, Unrated)
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| 14 |
Let's Kill Uncle (Let's Kill Uncle, Before Uncle Kills Us) (1966, Unrated)
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| 15 |
Strait-Jacket (1964, Unrated)
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The Busy Body (1967, Unrated)
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The Spirit Is Willing (1967, Unrated)
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Rosemary's Baby (1968, R)
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Shanks (1974, PG)
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Bug (1975, PG)
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Riot (1969, R)
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