User reviews

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.

Filmmaker William Castle has great fun with one of his silliest stories, based on a novel by Walter Karig. The ever-likeable Tom Poston plays Jonathan Jones, a professor of ancient languages who comes into possession of a mystical coin. It gives him highly amusing powers: by pointing at a living thing or object, and uttering the word "ZOTZ!", he can cause A) sudden pain, B) VERY slow movement, and......C) silent death. He's not above using said powers for self-gain, but must do some quick thinking when enemy agents "Josh Bates" (Carl Don) and Igor (notable tough-guy actor Mike Mazurki) want to get their hands on this valuable object.

"Zotz!" is good, light-hearted, and slapstick-heavy entertainment, a purely comedic change of pace for a director who'd made his name with gimmicky horror movies and thrillers. While "Zotz" does seem like a pure nonsense word, apparently it IS an actual surname used in foreign locations. There are some real laughs to be had here; the good thing is that for a movie that recycles the same gags over and over, they're a hoot every time. When "sudden pain" is dealt out, people bend over and clutch themselves. And when "slow movement" occurs, the actors involved do a priceless job of acting in slow motion. One of the highlights happens when Jones finds a way of embarrassing his professional rival, Horatio Kellgore (the always great Jim Backus).

Poston, who reteamed with Castle the following year for the Hammer film "The Old Dark House", is as endearing and funny as he's ever been. He's very well supported by Backus, Cecil Kellaway as the amiable dean at the college, Fred Clark as a military general who doesn't take Jones seriously, the lovely Julia Meade as the colleges' new languages professor (and requisite love interest), the enchanting Zeme North as Jones' nubile niece, old Marx Brothers foil Margaret Dumont as Kellaways' wife, James Millhollin as a disbelieving psychiatrist, a hilarious Jimmy Hawkins as Kellgores' jargon-spewing son, and Louis Nye as a man peddling a homemade weapon to the Pentagon. Don and Mazurki are classic comedy villains.

"Zotz!" really hits the spot if one is looking for good, goofy comedy. This viewer had a fine time with it.

Seven out of 10.

I own an original copy of this movie on VHS and a copy of Walter Karig's book of the same title. They are both little treasures and should be enjoyed when they are available to you.

Karig's book is a satirical little allegory and ends in a manner quite unlike the movie. I don't want to give away the ending of either, but I can assure you that you will enjoy reading the book even if you have already seen the movie (and vice-versa.) I will warn you, though, that the ending in the book is NOT necessarily a happy one.

As for the movie, it is indeed a departure from the norm for William Castle, but he dabbled in comedy in several other movies, so it is not THAT out of character. After all, the movie deals with what are essentially supernatural forces.

Contrary to what some other reviewers have written, I would argue that this move is much closer in tone to Disney's "Absent-Minded Professor" movies. There are the usual bumbling academics, the sexy-but-safe women, the well-meaning but suspicious Federal agents, the vaguely- threatening-but-incompetent foreign agents, and the likable and innocent hero. When the day is done, the hero defeats the villains, the self-righteous get their comeuppance, the girl gets the guy, and the "secret" is lost again...maybe.

The FX are about average for B-movies of that period. As a kid, I was astonished, but they definitely show their age when I watch it now.

I really think that kids today would enjoy seeing this movie. Give it a chance, if you get one. This is one rare movie to find on tape.

A professor of ancient Asian languages (Tom Poston) comes across a coin sent to his niece from a former student. After translating the coin's inscription, he finds that the bearer has godlike power: he can slow time, or even kill living things simply by pointing his finger and saying "zotz".

This is one of the lesser known William Castle films, not even released on DVD until October 20, 2009 (which you should pick up in the magnificent Castle Collection available now). It is less horror, more science fiction and a healthy dose of comedy. We have the absent-minded professor, some goofy Russians, and some cheesy special effects. Critics have complained that the film cheapens the book for the sake of focusing on special effects: I don't agree. The effects are amusing, but not a focal point of the film for me.

As for the book, which I confess I haven't read, it seems that Castle did not stray too far from the source. Written as an allegory about the danger of nuclear weapons during World War II, only one major change was made: moving the setting to the Cold War. The nuclear weapon analogy is there, and we have the hint of an arms race, which I think is a far more poignant issue than World War II's nuclear concerns.

I enjoyed this film greatly. As I said, you must pick up the William Castle Collection. He's truly a master of the genre, and even forgotten films like this illustrate that. I hope this film's release generates a resurgence of interest in Castle's films, or at the very least additional showings of them at screenings and on networks such as AMC.

Every now and then you come across a film that you wish was better than it actually turned out to be: this is such a film. After years endlessly rehashing scenes from other successes William Castle came up with a film that was so startlingly original he was obviously completely at a loss how to exploit the idea adequately. But it leaves you glad you saw it. There's even a little mild satire in that the coin's potential is completely ignored by the Pentagon, the only person paying attention being a Russian spy working as a window cleaner.

Eccentrically cast as a brilliant authority in the field of Ancient Eastern Languages, TV comedian Tom Poston was at the time a complete unknown abroad (he's now best remembered as the landlord in "Mork and Mindy'), but proves quite an attractive personality who rises to the challenge of carrying a film. One also wishes female lead Julia Meade had made more films too.

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.

William Castle was well known for horror films with gimmicks. Zotz was a foray into comedy. It did remind me of those silly Disney comedies of the time.

Professor Jonathan Jones (Tom Poston) is a professor of ancient languages at a university and bit of a goofball. When his niece receives an ancient mystical medallion, he is excited by the inscription in an ancient language. Jones discovers that the medallion has special powers. It can cause a sharp stabbing pain or slow people down and even kill.

Unsure what to do with the power of the medallion. Jones goes to the military in Washington DC but they think he is a crank without even seeing his demonstration. His colleagues at the university think he is behaving oddly. Then at a party he is whisked away by some Russians.

The film starts promisingly enough. Jones is an health food obsessed eccentric who enjoys his job. It has the feel of The Absent Minded Professor and then it descends into mediocrity.

As the film was released just as the Vietnam war started, I could overlook Jones thinking the US military would use the medallion for ethical purposes.

However the film fails as a silly knockabout comedy. It even wastes the romantic angle with the new female professor of the university.

When Jones is chased by the Russian bad guys, he fails to use the powers at his disposal. He slows them down and instead of running away, he stands and watches them move in slow motion. He does this repeatedly.

Charles Miller's excellent review pretty much says it all. One can only hope Mr. Karig got a goodly sum for the movie rights. (Yeah. Sure.)

If you have fond memories of this film -- and especially if you don't -- the novel is worth looking up, if only to see (as if you had to be told) how Hollywood hacks like William Castle can ruin an interesting story by assuming the audience is just too stupid to understand anything that might provoke thought. (One might also locate "The Circus of Dr. Lao", to see how George Pal butchered/eviscerated/raped a magnificent novel.)

"Zotz!" the novel is unusual in that it has illustrations -- more like cartoons, actually. The only one I remember is that of a young woman coming to visit Dr. Jones who has her clothes blown off by a lightning strike.

Regardless, your time would be much better spent with the novel than the film. Which is almost always the case.

PS: Since writing this review, I got a copy of the novel and reread it. It's even better than I remembered, but it's not a story that lends itself to a straightforward film adaptation. That, however, does not justify William Castle appropriating the cheaply appealing part of the story, and ignoring everything else. Had he done it "properly", he would have anticipated "Indiana Jones" by 20 years.

My two older brothers and my younger sister and I saw this at the historic Paramount in Abilene. I was 7, so this is a review written through my seven-year-old's memory. I loved it, and thought Tom Poston was incredibly funny. As a promotional item, we all got a bronze-looking metal Zotz! coin upon leaving the theatre. I had mine for years until my mother, in a hissy fit, "cleaned" my room and closet and threw away the cigar box housing it and a neat little collection of valuable Cracker Jack prizes. They were made of metal in those days, with wonderful craftsmanship and detail. I'm still sore about that. Anyway, we all loved the movie. I'd like to see it again.

I have always a vague memory of a movie I saw one afternoon back in the early 1970's when I was a little kid. I've been wondering for years what the name of it was and I finally found out what it was.

The movie was about this guy who had this magic coin that would make everything stop or move very slowly. I recalled a scene with him sitting in a bathtub and a scene where someone is falling off the roof of a building, but falls very slowly because of the magic coin. I also had a vague memory of someone firing a gun, but the bullet being stopped in mid-air by the coin.

Somehow I came across some info on IMDb for a William Castle film called Zotz! and realized that I had found it at last. I got a copy of it and watched it again after about 30 years. One thing that I had forgotten about completely was the scene where he is riding the bike with that bracket on the handlebars for reading a book. Strange how a long closed section of your memory banks can be reopened again years later.

Zotz! wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I can see how a little kid might think it was fun, but it didn't really hold up that well for an adult. Castle's movie called "13 Ghosts" on the other hand is one that can be enjoyed by kids and adults as well.

Zotz! (1962)

** (out of 4)

Off beat production from William Castle about Professor Jonathan Jones (Tom Poston) who discovers the mysterious powers of an ancient coin. It turns out that if you hold the coin and use your finger to point at something then you can make it blow up, slow down or do various other tricks. Jones plans to do the patriotic thing and turn it over to the government but sure enough things don't go as planned. I've been fairly critical of Castle and some of the films he made during this period of his career and while this movie isn't nearly as bad as some I still couldn't help but scratch my head and wonder who this thing was meant for. I'm going to guess that this thing was meant to be a rip-off of THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR but no matter what it was trying to do in the end it fails. I think the biggest problem is that the screenplay is pretty lame and director Castle clearly has proved that he wasn't the best when it came to comedy. The screenplay pretty much has Poston doing on silly thing after another as soon as he discovers the powers of this coin. We get one scene after another where he either accidentally destroys something with the coin or he tries to prove the coins powers to people and they simply don't see it. Take a look at one scene where the Professor turns loose a lot of mice at a party with plans of "zapping" them but it turns out he left the coin at home. This is a scene that could have worked but it just comes across very empty in terms of laughs and extremely uneven. Another problem happens at the end once Poston has all these people trying to track him down. It's simply not funny. Poston is fairly good in his role as you certainly believe he's absent minded but the screenplay doesn't give him much to work with. Julia Meade, Fred Clark and Jim Backus have supporting roles that are fairly lifeless due to the screenplay. ZOTZ! moves along at a decent pace but when you watch a comedy you expect laughs and this one here just doesn't have enough to make it worth viewing.

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's

I 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.

ZOTZ! unfortunately proves the producer/director's lack of ability with Comedic storytelling. He was a horror flick master but WiIlliam Castle must have thought anything and everything was funny. Perhaps that's why he always seems to have a grin on his face. I can just imagine him rolling in the aisle at the premiere while everyone else is scratching his head. And poor Tom Poston! I remember him (in various TV appearances) as being a funny comic who had a subtle and dry delivery. But in ZOTZ! there aren't really any jokes. I hate to say it but laugh tracks would actually have helped this film.

I won't bother to mention the plot, as the other reviews do that well.

I don't know if there was any particular William Castle gimmick associated with ZOTZ! but worth note is the opening moment where Castle yells ZOTZ! at the Columbia Pictures Logo, and the lady herself has an actual line or two. It's probably the only claim to fame this film will ever have, except for being a famous turkey.

William Castle's production of Zotz! is an engaging juvenile comedy featuring likeable Tom Poston as a fellow who comes across a coin that has magical powers, which in due time becomes a matter of interest to Soviet agents. The movie was heavily hyped for kids when first released, and pleased audiences at the time. Now it plays like a Disney version of an Ealing comedy, such as The Man In the White Suit, which it vaguely resembles, with Poston in the Alec Guinness role. This was an odd project for Castle, better known as a producer of horror movies, though it's pleasant enough if one is in an undemanding mood.

Although William Castle hit the jackpot when he almost exclusively dedicated himself to Horror from 1958 onwards, he still made the occasional detour to other genres, mostly Comedy. His first such excursion was this Fantasy spoof about a nerdy Ancient Languages professor who comes in possession of an old amulet that has the trifold powers of instilling bouts of acute pain at persons being pointed at, make people act in slow motion when the magic titular word is spoken and, when both actions are combined, make the subject in question instantly combust! Tom Poston – who a year later reunited with the director in the ill-conceived Hammer Films remake of James Whale's sublime THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) – stars as the healthy-lifestyle-freak hero who, apart from tending to his youthful niece, is contending the soon-to-be vacant position of the college Dean (currently held by Cecil Kellaway) with pompous European Languages professor Jim Backus.

To further confound the impending promotion issue, the undecided Kellaway hires a female professor (Julia Meade) that fits both faculties; as it turns out, Poston had already met the latter just as he discovered the supernatural potential of the amulet…although, bafflingly enough, this initial evidence manifests itself through the outbreak of a massive thunderstorm which robs Meade of all her attire when she is struck by lightning! The highlights of such displays of the amulet's power occur during Kellaway's farewell party – where Poston makes Backus warble his way protractedly through his tribute speech – and in the aftermath of an earlier party at Kellaway's house where Poston follows his niece (who is wearing the amulet and is unaware of its powers) around town as she is mowing down pained pedestrians when indicating the directions to her driver beau (who also happens to be Backus' son)!

The thing is that the Zotz amulet only works when in possession of the person speaking the word or pointing and, in fact, Poston makes a veritable fool of himself at Kellaway's house when, wishing to impress his outgoing superior and perhaps secure his promotion, he unleashes a bunch of mice during the above-mentioned party among the guests with the express intention of neutralizing them within seconds…which, of course, does not happen and leads to much panicking by the frazzled guests (including Kellaway's wife, played by former Groucho Marx foil Margaret Dumont). When Kellaway sends Poston to a psychiatric re-evaluation and a stretch of forced leave, the latter goes to Washington with the intention of selling his "invention" to top Army brass like Fred Clark (who completely misses a near-plane crash caused by Zotz!) as his attention is focused on his indoor golf playing. The same cannot be said of his Russian counterparts who kidnap the women in Poston's life – held captive by muscleman Mike Mazurki – while Poston is flied to Moscow! Thankfully, the young professor is too clever for his own captor, convinces them to turn back the plane and resolves matters (with a little help from Zotz, of course) in a rooftop chase with the three baddies.

Although the tricks of the amulet get to be repetitive after a while, the frothy concoction still pleases on the whole and the ironic conclusion – with the exotic coin finding itself at the bottom of the city sewers and Clark's assurance to the collected press that efforts are underway to retrieve it – is complemented by the amusing animated credits: in the opening ones, Castle "zotzes" Columbia's Torch Lady and, at the close, the studio logo is made to cheekily utter, "Zot's all, folks!"

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.