William Castle did a publicity stunt with this one that can make you forget that there is gothic horror wrapped up in the plot. Was there really another ending? If I were running a fim writing class, I'd ask students to write one.The acting is at times a bit over the top but then the parallels to the 1930's monster film Frankenstein are a bit in show here. The difference here is that there are fewer dead bodys used and plenty of leeches to go around.There is some sort of introverted sexuality in a few scenes but that is to be expected when the conversion of a novel by a writer for Playboy Magazine is involved. It is obvious when the Baron's face is finally revealed that the make up department leaves something to be desired but a William Castle fim is more about fun, and less about big film budgets. All of that is here, with a eye to the fun. This film inspired John Goodman's Matinee years later.

In the Nineteenth Century, in London, the prominent medical doctor Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis) receives a letter from his former sweetheart Baroness Maude Sardonicus (Audrey Dalton) with the invitation to visit her husband Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) and her at his castle in Gorslava. Soon Sir Robert learns that the notorious Baron is an appalling man that frightens the local population. On the arrival in the castle Sir Roberts sees Sardonicus's servant Krull (Oscar Homolka) torturing a maid with leeches in a weird experiment. He meets Maude and her husband that wears a mask covering his face. Sir Robert has a private conversation with Sardonicus and he learns that the Baron was the peasant Marek Toleslawski that lived in a poor house with his wife Elenka Toleslawski (Erika Peters) and his father Henryk Toleslawski (Vladimir Sokoloff), who gives a lottery ticket as a gift to Elenka and dies. Months later, Marek and Elenka learn that they have won the lottery; however the ticket was buried with Henryk. Marek decides to retrieve the ticket in his father's grave and when he sees the face of Henryk, he freezes his face with a horrible grimace. Sardonicus wants Robert to recover his face; otherwise he will destroy Maude's face. Will Sir Robert succeed?"Mr. Sardonicus" is a creepy horror film directed by William Castle. The story is a sort of combination of the story lines of "Nosferatu" (or "Dracula"), "The Man Who Laughs" and "Les Yeux Sans Visage" among others. William Castle plays with the audiences asking for the fate of Sardonicus. The make-up of Sardonicus is impressive. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Máscara do Horror" ("The Mask of the Horror")

Ronald Lewis stars as Sir Robert Cargrave, a highly esteemed doctor / surgeon sought out by the Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe). The Baron had, once upon a time, given in to greed and robbed a grave, and he therefore met a nasty fate: his face froze into a hideous, toothy grin. Usually keeping his visage hidden under a mask, The Baron indulges in some cruel practices that upset the good doctor. He's prepared to follow through on various threats that he makes, should Cargrave refuse to come to his aid or not succeed in the attempt.The legendary schlockmeister William Castle was a man who truly understood the value of showmanship. Here he once again utilizes a gimmick, albeit one that he saves for the final few minutes of the picture. This one is called the "punishment poll", wherein audience members could vote on whether our villain had received enough payback for his misdeeds. As one can see, the gimmick is nothing more than a joke.Another good thing that could be said about Castle was his penchant for giving his fright flicks a respectable fun factor. "Mr. Sardonicus" is heavy on story (and back story) for a while, but it kicks into another gear whenever The Baron is at his cruelest and most sadistic. One unfortunate servant girl must endure leeches on her face for no good reason.Rolfe is delicious in the title role, and is a good sport considering that he must wear the mask most of the time. (The reveal of his affliction is a memorable one indeed.) Lewis is passable as our protagonist, as is the beautiful Audrey Dalton as Maude, the woman Cargrave loves who had married The Baron to appease her father. Oscar Homolka is great as the one eyed henchman Krull, who tries to be loyal to The Baron but is taken aback at one point by what he's being asked to do.Lovers of more contemporary horror may scoff at the makeup, but the effects do have an irresistible old fashioned, low budget charm to them.Seven out of 10.

It's 1880 London. The movie starts with director William Castle introducing this story of a ghoul or evil being who robs graves and feeds on corpses. Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis) is a teacher doctor at the Queens College Hospital. He's in love with Maude (Audrey Dalton) but she was forbidden to marry such a lowly man. She married Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) and Krull (Oskar Homolka) is the baron's man servant. He receives a pleading letter from the baroness, and immediately goes to Gorslava in central Europe. There he finds the mysterious creepy baron with a face mask experimenting on the maid Anna with leeches. There's a locked room which the servants call 'The Chamber of Horrors'.This is a black and white B-horror. For what it is, this is quite watchable. The section where Baron Sardonicus recounts his story as Marek goes relatively slowly. The face is cheesy but I kind of like it. The mask is weirdly compelling. This old fashion horror isn't scary in the modern sense but it does have a good creepy factor. The story is interesting and compelling all the way til the end. The gimmick of the audience voting is just that, a gimmick. It's really only an afterthought in a pretty good old fashion horror.