InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
utgard14
Lame comedy from William Castle about a professor (Tom Poston) who gains magical powers from an ancient coin. The premise had potential but this just stinks. I didn't laugh once during the whole thing. Poston running around pointing his finger and yelling "Zotz!" gets real old real fast. Despite his character supposedly being a brilliant professor he acts like a complete moron most of the time. A good supporting cast including Jim Backus, Cecil Kellaway, and the great Margaret Dumont doesn't help much. The version I saw on TCM had these weird breaks where scenes went to black before starting another scene, almost like it was made with spots for television commercials in mind. If you're a Castle completist you'll want to see this but everybody else should just avoid it. It's corny and not funny in the least.
Leemo1952
I enjoyed this very much as a kid! No special effects to speak of back then -- just plain great acting!! Tom Poston MADE this role, as being so believable when he comes across hidden "powers." If this were ever to be remade someday, the special effects would probably outweigh the performances.
NativeTexan
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.
telegonus
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.