Zotz!

ZOTZ! William Castle's Unkept Promise of Fun
"The Magic Word for Fun...ZOTZ!" Thus reads Columbia Pictures' withering one-line ad campaign for William Castle's "Zotz!" (starring Tom Poston, Jim Backus, Margaret Dumont and Cecil Kellaway), an alleged comedy that debuted to no particular acclaim in 1962. Obviously the marketing department was slap out of lipstick for this pig.

What's regrettable is that "ZOTZ!" could have been a smart and even sexy flick if Castle had stuck to the premise of Admiral Walter Karig's novel of the same name.

For those scratching their heads, Karig's 1947 story was a fanciful metaphor for the dilemma of the Age of Nuclear Weapons... What do we do with a weapon capable of annihilating any thing, any enemy, any country, and with as little effort as pointing a finger?

What do we do? Well, for starters, we learn not to point fingers and threaten our neighbors, or we might very well destroy ourselves. A simplistic observation for those of us with nearly 60 years of Cold...

"ZOTZ? What's ZOTZ?"
Thanks to the marvelous WILLIAM CASTLE FILM COLLECTION, after nearly 50 years I have finally gotten a chance to see a movie that fascinated me as a child.

In ZOTZ! (1962), ancient language college professor Tom Poston translates the inscription on a 5,000-year-old coin, and learns how to use its magical powers.

This silver dollar-sized disc gives the possessor three different powers:
1.) Point at anyone or thing and it causes exquisite pain.
2.) Look at any living thing, say "Zotz!" and it goes into slow motion.
3.) Point and say "Zotz!" and the target instantly dies.

Poston's rival for the retiring Dean's position is Jim Backus, a real weasel who kowtows to his superior and openly lobbies for the promotion while tearing Poston down. The Dean is played by Cecil Kellaway, and his wife is the perfectly cast Maggie Dumont.

Louis Nye, Poston's associate on...

Lighthearted comedy
I first saw "Zotz!" on late-night TV sometime in the mid to late 1960s. For years I had wanted to see it again, and finally had the opportunity when it came out on DVD. It was much as I had remembered it.

There are parts that are hilarious, particularly when Professor Jones (Tom Poston) thinks he has his 5,000 year old magic coin with him (but doesn't) and releases a cage full of rats (or are they hamsters?) at a rather formal gathering, thinking he will kill them by pointing and uttering the word "Zotz!" Unfortunately, the coin is not in his possession at the moment and the rats run around the house, causing all sorts of consternation (and some laughs for the viewer). So, there's the slapstick element. And if one wants an hour or so of slapstick entertainment, Zotz! is a reasonably funny movie.

However, the movie continues, and almost becomes a whole different movie. It leaves the college campus (where, as a former college teacher I can say that there have...

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