Mr. Sardonicus

Mr. Sardonicus (1961) is a horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It tells the story of Sardonicus, a man whose face becomes frozen in a horrifying grin while robbing his father's grave to obtain a winning lottery ticket. Castle cited the film in his memoir as one of his favorites to produce. In 1880 in the fictional central European country of Gorslava, prominent London physician Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis) has come to the mysterious Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) at the urgent request of his one-time love, Maude (Audrey Dalton), now the Baron's wife. Sir Robert becomes apprehensive when his enquiries about Sardonicus are met with fear. When Sir Robert arrives at Castle Sardonicus, his fears are quickly justified: one of his first sights is that of Sardonicus' servant Krull (Oskar Homolka, credited as "Oscar Homolka") torturing one of the Baron's servants by placing leeches on her face. Maude herself is fearful of what will happen if Sir Robert is not willing to do...