William Castle and ROSEMARY’S BABY
by Andre Soares
David Parkinson’s "The Horror Icon Who Spooked Himself: William Castle and Rosemary’s Baby" at Films in Focus:
"After 15 years toiling in such B-movie series as The Whistler and The Crime Doctor, William Castle sold his soul to horror. In 1958 he hit upon the notion of insuring the lives of those brave enough to see his new chiller, Macabre, and recouped around $5 million on a $90,000 outlay. The same year’s House on Haunted Hill confirmed Castle as the "King of the Gimmicks," thanks to Emergo, a pioneering process that involved a 12-foot plastic skeleton whizzing across the auditorium on a wire.
…
"But Castle had tired of novelty by the time audiences were invited to brandish cardboard axes during Strait-Jacket (1964) and be strapped into the Shock Section for I Saw What You Did (1965). For all his commercial success, Castle had always craved respect; and he hoped that Rosemary’s Baby would finally win over the critics. But the showman who had peddled cheap thrills to millions ended up terrified of his own movie."
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Woody Allen Interview in the LA WEEKLY
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