Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

AaronCapenBanner William Castle directed this fantasy comedy that stars Tom Poston(later costar on the "Newhart" TV series) as college professor Jonathan Jones, a teacher of ancient languages that comes into possession of a magic(!) coin that has three powers: to inflict pain, to slow down, or to kill, depending how you use the coin and pronounce "Zotz!". Problems arise when Soviet spies get wind of it, and plot to steal the coin, no matter the cost...awful film is both unfunny and stupid. Tom Poston makes a most unlikely heroic lead, and actors like Jim Backus and Cecil Kellaway are wasted. A profound disappointment from Castle, and an instantly forgettable film.

Wizard-8 Director William Castle, upon seeing the end results of this movie of his, seemed to have realized that this movie wasn't up to his previous movies. For one thing, the gimmick that he came up for this movie was to give patrons a copy of the coin seen in the movie. (Whoopie!) *I* certainly thought that this was one of his weakest efforts.The premise of the movie, while not really original (even when the movie was made), still did have some promise. But there are two main problems that shoot down the movie. The first is that the characters act pretty stupid for most of the movie. Our hero is a college professor, yet the coin-related actions he does suggest he has put little thought into what he has discovered and what he should do with it.The second problem is related to that first problem, in that most of the movie is devoted to him *not* using the coin to his advantage (which is what most people would do), or being responsible with the coin. You will keep wondering just when some conflict will come into the movie, and he will be forced to struggle, to bring some ACTION into the movie. Eventually (after more than an hour of the running time has passed), our hero is challenged, but he acts (again) so stupidly when someone with even average intelligence would figure out how to use the coin to end the conflict in just a few minutes.Not even worth two cents.

Ephraim Gadsby William Castle, director of low-budget horror flicks including the original "Thirteen Ghosts", takes on an adaptation of Walter Karig's novel with mixed results.The best thing about the movie are the changes made to the original novel. While it's rare when a movie improves on its literary source material, Walter Karig's book starts out with the promise of being like a Thorne Smith fantasy romp. There's the professor who accidentally acquires a magic power (in the book, to stun or kill by pointing his finger, but instead of yelling "bang" he yells "Zotz"). There's the beautiful femme fatale who may be a nemesis sent from the gods, and who first appeared nude on his couch in a thunderstorm.The novel then dissipates into a tedious cautionary tale about bureaucracy: the professor has a power that will ultimately lead to a bloodless victory in World War II, but even in a desperate war when the nation's self-defense is at stake he can't seem to he can't climb the chain of command in any military or civilian organization in Washington (in that way, the novel is more than relevant in the early twenty-first century). Part of his problem, too, is his own intransigence. He is so obsessed with the cult of personality, so swept away by his own powers, he refuses to outline or demonstrate his powers to anyone less than the president himself.The movie does a good thing by sweeping away all the bureaucratic detritus that made the book so ultimately tiresome. The movie changes the professor's powers (I won't relate that change but it's more family-friendly). The movie gives us a story that might well have been adapted from Thorne Smith in the early 1960s, in a Disney sort of way.Then there are the missteps. Tom Poston is a funny guy, graduating from the Steve Allen show with the likes of Don Knotts and Louis Nye. His movie persona, while likable, is less than dynamic. And the special effects have unfortunately dated. Still, it's a pleasant diversion. And more than "Thirteen Ghosts" it deserves a remake -- not from the book, but reworking this script.

regrunion Ya gotta admit it's a great title and Tom Poston is rather watchable for the nine-year-olds who are the target audience. It's just a silly chase over a coin with silly magical powers, and if one can overlook the Cold War propaganda was a fun fantasy for playacting with my little friends afterwards.Watching it again as an adult I found it rather charmless but not a total bore.