Mr. Sardonicus on Svengoolie. Another William Castle gimmick-fest, this one featuring The Punishment Poll™, in which patrons were given cards with a glow-in-the-dark image of a hand with its thumb raised. Just before the ending, the audience was asked to hold up their cards and vote whether the titular Sardonicus is spared or punished, and the appropriate ending is shown. Castle maintained in publicity and in his autobiography there were two endings filmed but studio records and cast members have countered only one was ever completed. In typical Castle fare (this is the fourth of his I've seen, the first three 13 Ghosts, Strait-Jacket [Joan Crawford's follow-up after What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?], and I Saw What You Did, billed as another Joan Crawford starring vehicle but was more of a glorified cameo, Crawford being on screen for less than 15 minutes total, if that long), there were some decent ideas presented rather haphazardly, somewhat stiff acting and repetitive dialogue that repeated itself and became repetitive nearly killing the movies. Still, they're entertaining in their own rights, good for a late-show viewing.
