He learned the trade of filmmaking and became a director, acquiring a reputation for being able to churn out competent B-movies quickly and on budget.

He eventually struck out on his own, producing and directing thrillers, which, despite their low budgets, he effectively promoted using gimmicks, a trademark for which he is best known.

"[4]: 14  Lugosi recommended him for the position of assistant stage manager for the road company tour of the play.

He spent his teenage years working on Broadway in jobs ranging from set-building to acting, which proved good training for the future filmmaker.

When Nazi Germany sent Schwanneke an invitation to a Munich performance, Castle seized the opportunity for an outrageous publicity stunt.

[3] He released to the newspapers what he claimed was a telegram he had sent turning down the request, portraying his star as "the girl who said no to Hitler."

He learned the film business and graduated to directing inexpensive B-movies, the first being The Chance of a Lifetime, released in 1943.

He directed four movies in The Whistler series, and gained a reputation for making films quickly and under budget.

He came up with the idea to give every customer a certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy from Lloyd's of London in case they should die of fright during the film.

The William Castle Story, he mortgaged his home (again) and obtained the movie rights to the Ira Levin novel before it was published, hoping to finally direct a prestigious A-movie himself.

He made a deal with Paramount Pictures, then under Robert Evans, who insisted on hiring director Roman Polanski.

Alfred Hitchcock decided to make Psycho after noting the financial success of 1950s B-movies by Castle and Roger Corman.

"[14] Waters portrayed Castle in the episode "Hagsploitation" in the first season of the FX television anthology series Feud, depicting the notorious rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford through the production and aftermath of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Waters (playing Castle) appeared onstage at an Oklahoma theater in 1964, exuberantly introducing a screening of Strait-Jacket while Jessica Lange (as Crawford) proceeded down the aisle, wincing and wielding an axe past hooting teenagers before pursuing Castle behind a backlit scrim to "decapitate" him in silhouette.

The William Castle Story, directed by Jeffrey Schwarz, premiered at AFI Fest 2007 in Los Angeles on November 8, 2007.