Zotz!

A brilliant but peculiar professor of Ancient Eastern languages, Jonathan Jones, finds that an amulet sent to his niece Cynthia by a boyfriend from an archeological dig has magical powers.

Whoever has the amulet in their possession can 1) cause great pain by pointing at another living creature, 2) cause time to go into slow motion by saying the word "Zotz!", or 3) cause instant death by simultaneously pointing and saying "Zotz!". Both government and Communist agents immediately develop an interest in the amulet's possible military use. (This is a metaphor for the age of nuclear weapons, as the novel was written two years after atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

In the meantime, Jones and rival professor Kellgore are both in line for a promotion to take over from retiring Dean Updike as head of this California university's language department. A new colleague and possible romantic interest, Professor Fenster, is startled by Jones' behavior, particularly at a party thrown by Updike's wife that turns into chaos.

• Tom Poston as Professor Jonathan Jones
• Julia Meade as Professor Virginia Fenster
• Jim Backus as Professor Kellgore
• Cecil Kellaway as Dean Updike
• Margaret Dumont as Persephone Updike
• Fred Clark as General Bullivar

During the initial theatrical run, theater patrons received a full-size plastic replica of the amulet as a promotional item. In color, size and design, the replicas were essentially identical to the film amulet, with the additional feature of a small hole drilled at the top, for a key chain.

On October 20, 2009, Zotz! was released on DVD by Sony Pictures as part of The William Castle Collection box set.[1]

• List of American films of 1962

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Zotz!

• Zotz! at IMDb
• Zotz! at the TCM Movie Database
• Zotz! title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database