Difference between revisions of "Punishment Poll"

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[[File:Punishpoll.jpg|right]]
The '''Punishment Poll''' was a gimmick used for the theatrical screenings of [[Mr. Sardonicus]]. [[William Castle]] with his reputation as the "king of gimmicks" to market his films, built the marketing for the film around the idea of the two possible endings.[1] Near the end of the film, audiences were given the opportunity to participate in the poll. Each movie patron was given a glow-in-the-dark card featuring a hand with the thumb out. At the appropriate time, they voted by holding up the card with either the thumb up or down as to whether Sardonicus would live or die.
The '''Punishment Poll''' was a gimmick used for the theatrical screenings of [[Mr. Sardonicus]]. [[:Category: William Castle|William Castle]] with his reputation as the "king of gimmicks" to market his films, built the marketing for the film around the idea of the two possible endings.[1] Near the end of the film, audiences were given the opportunity to participate in the poll. Each movie patron was given a glow-in-the-dark card featuring a hand with the thumb out. At the appropriate time, they voted by holding up the card with either the thumb up or down as to whether Sardonicus would live or die.


The "poll" scene, as presented in the film, is hosted by Castle himself. He is shown pretending to address the audience, jovially egging them on to choose punishment, and "tallying" the poll results with no break in continuity as the "punishment" ending is pronounced the winner. Castle, in his autobiography Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America, claimed the idea for two different endings came from the Columbia Pictures' dissatisfaction with the downbeat ending of the original story and script, so "I would have two endings, Columbia's and mine, and let the audience decide for themselves the fate of Mr. Sardonicus."[2] The alternate "merciful" ending purportedly showed Sardonicus being cured and surviving (although co-star Dalton claims no such ending was ever shot).[3] Given that Turner Classic Movies was unable to locate any cut of the film which included the "merciful" ending, the suggestion of alternative endings itself appears to have been an elaborate conceit on the part of Castle in service of the "gimmick". Castle claimed in his book, "Invariably, the audience's verdict was thumbs down... Contrary to some opinions (just in case the audience voted for mercy) we had the other ending. But it was rarely, if ever, used." The consensus among film historians, however, appears to be that no other endings were ever filmed.[2]
The "poll" scene, as presented in the film, is hosted by Castle himself. He is shown pretending to address the audience, jovially egging them on to choose punishment, and "tallying" the poll results with no break in continuity as the "punishment" ending is pronounced the winner. Castle, in his autobiography Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America, claimed the idea for two different endings came from the Columbia Pictures' dissatisfaction with the downbeat ending of the original story and script, so "I would have two endings, Columbia's and mine, and let the audience decide for themselves the fate of Mr. Sardonicus."[2] The alternate "merciful" ending purportedly showed Sardonicus being cured and surviving (although co-star Dalton claims no such ending was ever shot).[3] Given that Turner Classic Movies was unable to locate any cut of the film which included the "merciful" ending, the suggestion of alternative endings itself appears to have been an elaborate conceit on the part of Castle in service of the "gimmick". Castle claimed in his book, "Invariably, the audience's verdict was thumbs down... Contrary to some opinions (just in case the audience voted for mercy) we had the other ending. But it was rarely, if ever, used." The consensus among film historians, however, appears to be that no other endings were ever filmed.[2]

Latest revision as of 04:14, 21 November 2019

Punishpoll.jpg

The Punishment Poll was a gimmick used for the theatrical screenings of Mr. Sardonicus. William Castle with his reputation as the "king of gimmicks" to market his films, built the marketing for the film around the idea of the two possible endings.[1] Near the end of the film, audiences were given the opportunity to participate in the poll. Each movie patron was given a glow-in-the-dark card featuring a hand with the thumb out. At the appropriate time, they voted by holding up the card with either the thumb up or down as to whether Sardonicus would live or die.

The "poll" scene, as presented in the film, is hosted by Castle himself. He is shown pretending to address the audience, jovially egging them on to choose punishment, and "tallying" the poll results with no break in continuity as the "punishment" ending is pronounced the winner. Castle, in his autobiography Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America, claimed the idea for two different endings came from the Columbia Pictures' dissatisfaction with the downbeat ending of the original story and script, so "I would have two endings, Columbia's and mine, and let the audience decide for themselves the fate of Mr. Sardonicus."[2] The alternate "merciful" ending purportedly showed Sardonicus being cured and surviving (although co-star Dalton claims no such ending was ever shot).[3] Given that Turner Classic Movies was unable to locate any cut of the film which included the "merciful" ending, the suggestion of alternative endings itself appears to have been an elaborate conceit on the part of Castle in service of the "gimmick". Castle claimed in his book, "Invariably, the audience's verdict was thumbs down... Contrary to some opinions (just in case the audience voted for mercy) we had the other ending. But it was rarely, if ever, used." The consensus among film historians, however, appears to be that no other endings were ever filmed.[2]

The "punishment" ending occupies only three minutes of film after the "poll", and was the ending of the original Russell short story.

There are reports that a separate version of the "poll" was produced for drive-ins, in which patrons were asked to flash their cars' headlights to vote.[4][5] A similar variation was filmed for the drive-in market for Castle's The Tingler,[6] but to date no evidence for any variation of Mr. Sardonicus has come to light.

In Videohound's Cult Flicks and Trash Pics, "Alternate Endings" came in at #4 on the "Film Gimmicks" list.


References

  1. Castle, William (September 3, 2010). STEP RIGHT UP!...I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America. William Castle Productions. p. 164. ISBN 978-0578066820.
  2. Mateas, Lisa. "Mr. Sardonicus". tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  3. Weaver, Tom (2002). Science Fiction Confidential: Interviews with 23 Monster Stars and Filmmakers. McFarland. p. 54. ISBN 0-7864-1175-9.
  4. Wegmuller, Joyce. "Mr. Sardonicus - 1961". kissmyreview.blogspot.com/. Retrieved April 27, 2017. Supposedly, there was another take of the Castle voting clip which was used for drive-in theaters so that patrons could flash their headlights to indicate their vote. That is conceivable perhaps. It would still involve only a second version of the request for the votes, not a second ending for the movie.
  5. Hays, Loron. "William Castle Double Feature: Homicidal & Mr. Sardonicus (1961) - Blu-ray Review". franksreelreviews.com/. Retrieved April 27, 2017. [Voting] became tricky when it came to the drive-in and audiences were encouraged to flash their headlights instead.
  6. "The Tingler". barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017. Also included is "William Castle's Drive-In Scream! Scene," which is an additional scene created for the drive-in market and features Castle's own voice replacing that of Vincent Price.
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