A woman named Emily checks into a hotel and offers the bellboy $2000 to temporarily marry her. We soon find out Emily is the caretaker of a wheelchair-bound mute named Helga, who was the childhood guardian of a pair of siblings: Miriam Webster and her half-brother, Warren, who is about to inherit the estate of their late father. Who is the mysterious Emily and what are her intentions?
Direction
Castle's shameless showmanship elevates B-material.
Production
The 'Fright Break' timer gimmick is cinema history.
Writing
Twist structure that Hitchcock wished he'd invented.
Director
William Castle
Glenn Corbett
Karl Anderson
Patricia Breslin
Miriam Webster
Eugenie Leontovich
Helga Swenson
Alan Bunce
Dr. Jonas
Richard Rust
Jim Nesbitt
James Westerfield
Alfred S. Adrims
Gilbert Green
Lt. Miller
Joan Marshall
Emily
Hope Summers
Martha Adrims (Uncredited)
Harry 'Snub' Pollard
Eddie, Bellhop (Uncredited)
Wolfe Barzell
Olie (Uncredited)
William Castle
Self, Prologue Host (Uncredited)
Ralph Moody
First Hotel Clerk (Uncredited)
Joseph Forte
Second Hotel Clerk (Uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Castle offered life insurance policies against death by fright—literally no claims were filed.
US
