ferbs54 Today, the name "Tom Poston" might not resonate with anyone who happens to be younger than those in the baby boom generation. Boomers and their parents will surely remember Poston, however, from his numerous appearances on '60s game shows such as "To Tell the Truth" and "What's My Line?," not to mention any number of sitcoms, including "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Newhart." His film appearances, however, were scarce and infrequent, making his comedic turn in producer/director William Castle's 1962 offering, "Zotz!," one to especially cherish. Castle, at this point, was on a genuine roll, having released, over the four previous years, no less than five wonderful, gimmicky horror films that are still much beloved five decades later: "House on Haunted Hill," "The Tingler," "13 Ghosts," "Mr. Sardonicus" and "Homicidal." "Zotz!" was something of a departure, a lighthearted fantasy played for laughs, and one that, as it turns out, is a wonderful entertainment for any age group, thanks in large part to Poston's hugely ingratiating performance.In the film, Poston plays the part of Prof. Jonathan Jones, an expert on ancient Eastern languages at a college in the fictitious town of Saracen Valley, CA. Jones is something of the absentminded type (he has a book stand on his bicycle's handlebars so that he can read while pedaling!) as well as a health food fanatic (his everyday breakfast is a glass of sauerkraut juice with a big bowl of dry wheat germ; thus, how bizarre it is when he is later shown sprinkling monosodium glutamate on his "fillet of eggplant"!). Jones' life is turned upside down one day when he translates the inscription on his niece Cynthia's (Zeme North) coin amulet, which she'd received from her archaeologist boyfriend. The coin confers upon Jones three wonderful powers from the ancient god Zotz: the power to inflict pain with the pointing of a finger; the power to induce slow motion by uttering the word "Zotz"; and the power to kill by pointing and saying "Zotz" simultaneously. Unfortunately, these newfound abilities only cause Jones a world of problems, making his colleagues believe him to be nuts, and later resulting in his abduction by Russian agents who are desirous of his awesome powers....Working from a script by Ray Russell and Walter Karig (Karig was the author of the 1947 "Zotz!" novel, which has been read by how many people, I wonder), Castle does a fine job of crafting still another fun piece of escapism. He is abetted by a great cast of supporting actors; old pros who play their parts straight and thus turn in marvelous comedic performances. The cast includes Cecil Kellaway (still going strong here at age 71) as the dean at Jones' school; Jim Backus (former Mr. Magoo and future "Gilligan's Island" castaway) as Jones' rival for the position of department head; former Groucho foil Margaret Dumont (here in her penultimate role) as the dean's wife; Fred Clark as a Pentagon general; Mike Mazurki, here in a nonspeaking role, as the thuggish Russian agent Igor; and an uncredited cameo by Louis Nye, who had often appeared with Poston on the old "Steve Allen Show," as a wacky "death ray" inventor. Still, this is Poston's show all the way, and he runs with it. Surprisingly, his bumbling prof is later shown to be fairly suave when charming the newly arrived language professor Virginia Fenster (Julia Meade), and even pretty cool and resourceful when opposing those Communist baddies. Castle must have appreciated Poston's contribution here, or at least enjoyed working with him, as the actor also appeared in Castle's following film, "The Old Dark House" (a 1963 retooling of the 1932 classic). "Zotz!" also features several sequences that are quite amusing, such as the party scene, in which Jones releases a slew of white mice to demonstrate his newfound powers; the sight of the Backus character being compelled to give a dinner toast in slow motion; the discovery that the copilot of the plane that is whisking Jones to Mother Russia is a dead ringer for Nikita Khrushchev; and the fact that Cynthia and her date go to a drive-in movie to watch..."Homicidal"! (A good choice, says I!) Unlike Castle's previous horror classics, "Zotz!" was essentially gimmick-free, with the exception of the complimentary, plastic Zotz coins that were given to all theater patrons. (Hmmm, I wonder if I might be able to purchase one of these on eBay....) The film should appeal to fans of such pictures as "The Absent Minded Professor" (1961) and its sequel, 1963's "Son of Flubber." The target demographic of "Zotz!" is probably 12-year-olds, but somehow, I found it charming and enjoyed it immensely. Score another one for the great William Castle!

bbickley13-921-58664 I'm still a little clueless as to why William Castle is a horror icon. It's most likely because my view of horror is way different than what was done in the 60'sI saw the the old Dark House which I thought was amusing more than scary, and this movie seem to becoming from that perspective. Like The old Dark House it stars Tom Poston, who would seem like a weird leading man if this was not a William Castle film. Tom plays a language expert who reads the dead language on a coin and it gives him the ability to kill anyone he points his finger at. despite the dark story with Poston at the helm as the lead actor, it as a very Nutty professor feel to it.The chemistry between Tom and the lead actress playing his love interest is also a high part of the entertainment value of the movie.like the old Dark house this William Castle flick is worth seeing to be entertained by Tom Poston.

jonm11100 I was 5 years old when this movie hit the theater but i remember seeing in in the mid to late 60s. Kids back then treated this movie as if it were a major Disney production. Even as young as we were, we still recognized it as being a well-made movie. Not a cheap B movie with hokey effects, although now it seems more campy. The real star of the show was the ZOTZ coin. All us kids wanted one. When this movie initially was released, free replica ZOTZ coins were given to the first few hundred people that saw the movie. I was lucky enough to come across one on Ebay once. I have it hanging on my wall with all my other movie replica stuff. Anyway, ZOTZ finally made it to DVD. It was released October 20, 2009 as a part of a 5-disc William Castle set. If you have Netflix you can order each individual disc. The set includes: 13 Frightened Girls / 13 Ghosts / Homicidal / Strait-Jacket / The Old Dark House / Mr. Sardonicus / The Tingler / Zotz!). You can get it on Amazon.com or Ebay...just about anywhere.

Lee Eisenberg Here's something that you don't see every day. In "Zotz!", a college professor (Tom Poston) discovers an ancient coin which has three uses for whomever holds it: if you point to someone, the person feels a sharp pain; if you say "zotz" to someone, the person goes into slow motion; if you point to someone and say "zotz", it kills the person. Not only does he start using it throughout town - with some unintended consequences - but the Soviet Union gets wind of the story (so you know what that means).Overall, the movie was pretty (seeing him make Jim Backus move in slow motion was something), but the part about the Russian agents trying to steal the coin was sort of silly.