Wipe That Smile Off Your Face Tonight- Oops, Sorry- "Mr. Sardonicus"!

Tonight, we are happy to be bringing back a creepy Gothic tale- in a manner only the movie gimmick-master William Castle could do! This memorable film gave many a movie-goer nightmares, most of them provoked by the countenance of the title baron - the mysterious and shocking “Mr. Sardonicus”!

This 1961 horror story begins with the introduction of the noble Dr. Robert Cargrave, a medical practitioner using unique breakthrough treatments for paralysis (for that era) in 1800s London. Out of nowhere, he receives an unexpected -and troubling -letter from his long-lost love, who is now the Baroness Sardonicus, asking him to come immediately to her husband’s home in order to insure her well-being. The doctor is concerned by her sense of urgency and immediately heads to Gorslava, a central European country, to see what is plaguing Maude, his former beloved (for whom he obviously still has feelings).

Arriving in Gorslava, he is met by Sardonicus’ oddly-scarred manservant- and, when he arrives at the castle, he is shocked to find a this same disfigured man torturing one of the maids as part of a “therapeutic experiment”, supposedly prescribed by the mysterious Baron. Cargrave puts a stop to the so-called therapy, and then, is finally reunited with Maude, a fragile beauty who is in full fright mode. She begs him, for the good of them both, to follow through on whatever Sardonicus might ask him to do.

Finally, the baron himself appears- wearing a full-face mask, his actual countenance always hidden from sight. Even when dinner is served to his wife and their visitor, he does not remove the mask and partake of the meal, stating that he has already eaten. Later, Sardonicus finally gets around to explaining the mask to the doctor, and recounts his life story – with his beginnings as a poor farmer, living with his pretty wife and his father. Sadly, his father passes away- and is buried in his final resting place. Then, there is some shocking news-one of the locals reveals the fact that the old man had won a rich lottery prize-but it dawns on his son and daughter-in-law that the winning ticket was buried with the old man! The beautiful but demanding wife goads the poor fellow into committing an unspeakable act- digging up his father’s grave to retrieve the ticket, in order to make them wealthy. He heads out to the graveyard to carry out the awful deed- but, while succeeding in doing so makes him a rich man, it also makes him pay a hideous price!

Sardonicus then reveals to the doctor the results of his vile act-and the true reason he must cover his face. This is why Cargrave was summoned- to use his expertise and experimental treatments to restore the baron’s face to its normal form. Should he fail, the Baron threatens to bring unspeakable horrors to both Maude and her former lover- with results awful enough to rival what has happened to the heartless Sardonicus!

Be prepared- this movie does have some truly shocking scenes. It also features one of Castle’s gimmicks- the “Punishment Poll”, by which the audience would supposedly determine the film’s outcome. We will tell you all about that, as well as providing facts about Castle and our cast. We will serenade you with a song a little later than usual in the program, bring you a new lottery with unusual basic face value, and, in a special two-part feature, show you some memories of one of the earliest comics conventions that we visited.

Please note: as always, since we inevitably have some viewers who have not experienced the film, we ask that our blog commenters please refrain from posting pictures from the film, or information that would include spoilers until the show concludes – IN ALL TIME ZONES. Any extra information that we didn’t cover is always welcome- but only AFTER the show has aired everywhere.

“Mr. Sardonicus” brings his grim visage to MeTV tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or, if you’re not sure of the time and channel in your area, go to your local listings or visit www.metv.com. MeTV invites our viewers to live-Tweet (or X) each week during the show on Twitter ( or X), using the hashtag #svengoolie - and join the many fans who keep us trending among the most-talked about Twitter topics nationally each week! Chicago area viewers can watch a rematch of the epic battle- “War of the Gargantuas” at 11 am on CW26.

There are some exciting new merchandise items in our store ( all together now: “I have a store?”) here on our website-with more to come soon. Drop into the MeTV Mall for some very special things for yourself or the Sven fans in your life! And- get ready for October to transform into “Svengoolie’s Halloween BOO-nanza” again this year!

Tonight- we invite you to come face to face with the face of fear on MeTV!