« HALO | Main | Hoo Dat? »

January 30, 2015

Warning! These 1950s Movie Gimmicks Will Shock You

tingler_poster_edited.jpg
Perhaps the crowning achievement of Castle’s gag-filled oeuvre was his 1959 film “The Tingler.”
Posters for the film included a guarantee that the monster would break loose during your screening, but that you’d be given instructions on “how to guard yourself against attack.” Castle encouraged audiences to react by creating a climax that takes place in a darkened theater and using a single sequence of blood-curdling color for maximum effect.
On top of all this, Castle also rigged certain theater seats with electric buzzers. “I don’t know how he talked these independent theaters into letting him shock the audience’s butts,” says Terry. “It was a fairly simple device, but he had to work hard to get the studio’s marketing department to buy off on it, and also to persuade the exhibitors to do the gimmick. I can’t imagine that working today.”
| Collectors Weekly

Posted by gerardvanderleun at January 30, 2015 12:30 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

Reminds me of the film Matinee with the nurse having people sign medical disclaimers out front for "Mant."

Posted by: Christopher Taylor [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 30, 2015 9:35 AM

Probably had to hand out free coupons for one use at the laundromat.

Posted by: Vermont Woodchuck [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 30, 2015 9:53 AM

The doc (Vincent Price) finds a deaf mute woman who has a blood phobia- terrified at the sight of blood. He doses her with with LSD, and proceeds to scare her to death so he can extract the Tingler monster from her spine. Pretty wild for a cheap 60's (pre-hippie) film. The-scare-the-chick-to-death scene is actually damn good.

JWM

Posted by: John M [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 30, 2015 11:38 AM

Matinee (with John Goodman) was a homage to William Castle.
I saw The Tingler at age nine at the Capital Theater in Arlington. Unfortunately I did not get one of the seats with the buzzer. Rats!

Posted by: Onthenorthriver [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 31, 2015 8:35 AM

Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)