Old Dark Remake

THE OLD DARK HOUSE-1963-Tom, an American car salesman in England (Tom Poston also in the director's ZOTZ) gets involved ]with the Femm family. He goes to their ancestral  hall on the urging of his roommate Casper Femm (Peter Bull)). He arrives (by trapdoor) and finds his friend Casper dead from a fall. He meets Cicely Femm, Casper's cousin (Janette Scott; DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS) who says he was murdered. Cicely warns Tom to leave before uncle Roderick (Robert Morley) comes back but too late! Roderick arrives and insists Tom stay the night. At dinner Tom meets the rest of the family:  father Jasper (also Bull), mother Agatha (Joyce Grenfell), sister Morgana (Fenella Fielding) and cousin Potafer (Mervyn Johns)) who's building an ark. The eccentric family seems to think that Tom could be related to them. Jasper also has a twin (same actor) who says Roderick want to kill them all. Agatha is stabbed with her knitting needles. Jasper is strangled with tongs. Roderick is shot. Who done it? Despite all the murders there's slapstick comedy and one liners but it's really not funny.

It's a remake of the 1932 James Whale production starring Boris Karloff. Director William Castle collaborated with Hammer Pictures on this macabre horror comedy misfire made between 13 FRIGHTENED GIRLS! and STRAITJACKET.

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Zotz!

ZOTZ!-1962-This is fun black & white comedy from “gimmick director” William Castle (he made MR. SARDONICUS the year before).

A mild mannered professor (Tom Poston) comes in possession of an ancient coin that gives him special powers. When he says the word “zotz” things go in slow motion. When he points his finger at a person they feel intense pain. When he combines them they cause death! He makes most of his friends think he’s crazy and fails to make a US general (Fred Clark) believe him. He’s eventually captured by communists (a henchman is played by Mike Mazurki) but battles his way out and becomes a hero.

Jim Backus plays another professor and rival for the affections a female prof. (Julia Meade). The dean of the college where they teach is played by Cecil Kellaway and his wife is Margaret Dumont! (in her second to last film) 50’s-60’s TV comedian Louis Nye has a cameo. Poston was later in another Castle film, a remake of THE OLD DARK HOUSE.

When I was little kids used to go around pointing their index finger and saying “zotz” a lot. You were of course suppose to slow down when they did that but since I didn’t see this film till years later I was never really in on the joke! It’s based on a novel by a guy who wrote scripts for TV’s VICTORY AT SEA!

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