Famed movie producer William Castle had originally come to the attention of Columbia Pictures in the 1930's because of his talent for exciting promotions. Despite being one of the rare people that Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn actually liked, he was never trusted with actually producing a picture. Not one to accept rejection, Mr. Castle left Columbia in the late 1950's to strike out on his own.
Castle decided to concentrate on gimmicky B films that could be promoted with bizarre gimmicks. His first film was the chilling Macabre which he promoted as being so scary a life insurance policy was necessary for frightened audiences. This gimmick was hugely successful and he became a B Movie mogul overnight. His low cost and high profit films captured the attention of Hollywood and Columbia Pictures wanted to take advantage of his historic ties to the studio to bring him in house again. Castle agreed and he began producing his cheap films for Columbia, securing a huge percentage of the profits for himself.
Enter Zotz, a bargain basement film featuring Tom Poston who would later gain fame on Mork and Mindy. In this film, he stumbles upon a coin that gives him special powers when he says the word 'Zotz'. It was a slight premise and the film was instantly forgettable. The gimmick for this film was that every paying customer would receive an exact plastic replica of the coin from the film. The film also is notable for its inventive Torch Lady beginning.
Mr. Castle is depicted sitting in a director's chair. He abruptly jumps out of the chair to shout the film's title. We then hear the Torch Lady speak for the first time ever- "Zotz? What is Zotz?" She speaks again after the film- "Zotz All, Folks!"
