Jonathan Jones, a professor of ancient languages, comes into possession of an ancient coin. He translates its inscription, which gives him three powers: to inflict pain, slow down time or kill. Soon, he's pursued by enemy spies who have learned about the magic coin.
Practical Effects
Castle's gimmick: audience got plastic 'Zotz!' coins. Pure showman.
Acting
Tom Poston's nervous professor energy is accidentally perfect.
Direction
Castle directs like he's running from something. Glorious.
Director
William Castle
Tom Poston
Jonathan Jones
Julia Meade
Virginia Fenster
Jim Backus
Horatio Kellgore
Fred Clark
General Bullivar
Cecil Kellaway
Joshua Updike
Zeme North
Cynthia Jones
Margaret Dumont
Persephone Updike
James Millhollin
R.A. Kroner
Mike Mazurki
Igor
Louis Nye
Hugh Fundy (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Party Guest (uncredited)
Leoda Richards
Party Guest (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Castle's 'Zotz!' coin gimmick flopped—audiences didn't understand what to do with them, unlike his famous 'Percepto' electric buzzers for The Tingler.
This was Castle's attempt to recapture the magic of his horror hits, but the Cold War spy parody landed awkwardly between eras—too late for '50s Red Scare sincerity, too early for '60s satire.
US
