Homicidal (1961) on Netflix
A woman calling herself Miriam Webster pays a bellhop two thousand dollars to marry her. The real Miriam Webster, a flower shop owner, meets the stranger, who goes by Emily.
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- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.8/104,366 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes73%
Trailer
Plot summary
A woman checks into a hotel in Ventura, California, and offers the bellhop two thousand dollars to become her husband that night. She says her name is Miriam Webster. A justice of the peace, Alfred Adrims, marries them at his home. The bride goes back to the house where Helga lives, a mute older woman in a wheelchair whom she looks after. The next morning the real Miriam Webster, who runs a flower shop, arrives, and the woman there introduces herself as Emily. Emily explains that she and Helga traveled from Denmark with Warren, Miriam's half-brother, and that Helga cared for Warren there until she had a stroke. Warren is due to inherit ten million dollars as his father's only heir. Miriam's boyfriend Karl runs a drugstore.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Homicidal (1961)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- William Castle planned to cast two different actors as Emily and Warren in Homicidal. Joan Marshall, who had auditioned for Emily, returned to his office dressed as a man and read for Warren; Castle said his secretary did not recognize her.
- Homicidal's "Fright Break" put a 45-second timer over the film's climax while a voice-over offered a full refund to anyone too frightened to stay. To stop patrons staying for a second showing and leaving at the finale, William Castle had numbered and differently colored tickets printed for each show.
- To play Warren, Joan Marshall had her hair cut short and dyed brown, wore brown contact lenses, and used prosthetic appliances that changed the shape of her nose, mouth and hands.
- Only about 1% of patrons still demanded refunds, so William Castle decided to spotlight those who chose to leave by creating a "Coward's Corner."
