Zotz! (1962)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

William Castle

Writers:

Walter Karig (novel)
Ray Russell (writer)

Release Date:

July 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Fantasy

Tagline:

Zay It, Zee It and Zoon!

Plot:

Tom Posten finds the ZOTZ! coin, and discovers its awesome powers. He attempts to make the secret available to the US government...

Plot Keywords:

Coin | Pentagon | Slow Motion | Magical Power | Spy

Cast

Tom Poston	...	Prof. Jonathan Jones
Julia Meade	...	Prof. Virginia Fenster
Jim Backus	...	Prof. Horatio Kellgore
Fred Clark	...	Gen. Bullivar
Cecil Kellaway	...	Dean Joshua Updike
Zeme North	...	Cynthia Jones
Margaret Dumont	...	Persephone Updike
James Millhollin	...	Dr. R.A. Kroner
Carl Don	...	Josh Bates
Mike Mazurki	...	Igor

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The movie being shown at the drive-in theater is "Homicidal", another of William Castle's productions.

Movie Connections:

Features Homicidal (1961)

creative

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.