William Castle mortgaged his house and formed William Castle Productions in 1958. For his fifth movie after Macabre, House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler and 13 Ghosts, Castle had another of his gimmick ideas: the Fright Break.

Before the end of the movie, a 45-second timer would tell audience members that they could get a free refund if they left now. The first night Castle tried this, they all did. Some even came back for a free second show, so he had numbered and color coded tickets. This cut down on the people seeing his movie for free, but there were still some people who wanted a cheap night out.

Castle wouldn’t allow them.

He created the Coward’s Corner, where a voice over would laugh at the people leaving, forcing them into a yellow corner. He even wanted to paint their backs yellow, but this was too much for theaters.

I learned about this from John Waters, who said this in his book Crackpot: “He came up with “Coward’s Corner,” a yellow cardboard booth, manned by a bewildered theater employee in the lobby. When the Fright Break was announced, and you found that you couldn’t take it any more, you had to leave your seat and, in front of the entire audience, follow yellow footsteps up the aisle, bathed in a yellow light. Before you reached Coward’s Corner, you crossed yellow lines with the stencilled message: “Cowards Keep Walking.” You passed a nurse (in a yellow uniform? … I wonder), who would offer a blood-pressure test. All the while a recording was blaring, “Watch the chicken! Watch him shiver in Coward’s Corner!” As the audience howled, you had to go through one final indignity – at Coward’s Corner you were forced to sign a yellow card stating, “I am a bona fide coward.” Very, very few were masochistic enough to endure this. The one percent refund dribbled away to a zero percent, and I’m sure that in many cities a plant had to be paid to go through this torture. No wonder theater owners balked at booking a William Castle film. It was all just too complicated.”

Emily (Joan Marshall using the name Jean Arless) convinces the bellboy at a hotel to marry her and she pays $2,000 to him. Late in the evening, they drive to the justice of the peace and start the ceremony, only to kill the official and run, laughing about it to the mute old woman, Helga (Eugenie Leontovich) that she cares for.

Then we meet Miriam Webster (Patricia Breslin), who has just come back to America with her brother Warren (spoiler if I tell you). Warren is the sole heir of the family, as their abusive father has just died, and if he marries, he will get the money. Miriam is going to marry Karl (Glenn Corbett), who catches Emily destroying his fiance’s flower shop. It turns out that Emily and Warren are married. They’re never seen together.

Well, after Helga goes up the stairs on a stair lift and her head falls off, Emily is revealed. This has a lot of Psycho in it, yet it still feels like a unique film. It’s certainly a major reveal and I’d rather you watch the movie. I’d like if you’d watch several William Castle movies.

Here’s a drink.

Killer Kool-Aid

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. Southern Comfort
• 2 oz. Midori
• 1 oz. amaretto
• 6 oz. grape Kool-Aid

1. Shake everything up with ice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Pour in a glass filled with crushed ice and drink.