ReFocus: The Films of William Castle

Murray Leeder is Instructor in Film Studies at the University of Calgary.

• Introduction: The Many CastlesSection 1: The Early CastleHugh S. Manon, "When Strangers Marry: Film Noir as Mediated Gothic"Zachary Rearick, "Gender in William Castle’s Westerns"Section 2: The Gimmick CycleAnthony Thomas McKenna, "He Earned Our Forgiveness: William Castle and American Movie Showmanship"Murray Leeder, "Collective Screams: William Castle and the Gimmick Film"Beth Kattelman, "Dying to See It: Death by Fright and William Castle’s Macabre"Eliot Bessette, "How to View 13 Ghosts"Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, "The Face of Horror: Mr. Sardonicus and the Mask as Technological Interface"Section 3: Castle, Authorship and Genre Steffen Hantke, "A Sick Mind in Search of a Monstrous Body: William Castle and the Emergence of Psychological Horror in the 1960s"Michael Brodski and Caroline Langhorst, "‘What a Wicked Game to Play?’: Playfulness, Generic Hybridity, and Cult Appeal in Castle’s 1960s Films"Michael Petitti, “Where Did Our Love Go?” The Case of William Castle’s The Night WalkerSection 4: Castle’s LegacyPeter Marra, "Homo/cidal: William Castle’s 1960s Killer Queers"Kate J. Russell, "The Cinematic Pandemonium of William Castle and John Waters"

Murray Leeder’s collection is a truly perceptive study that examines the films from a variety of angles as well as including a commentary on the aspects of popular entertainment and audience appeal they represented. Unsurprisingly, given the provenance of the book – Edinburgh University Press — there is writing here of perception and ambition. Some will argue that Castle’s films do not merit such attention, but those of us who fell under the late director’s spell will find much to entertain and stimulate.