In 1880 in the fictional central European country of Gorslava, prominent London physician Sir Robert Cargrave (Ronald Lewis) has come to the mysterious Baron Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe) at the urgent request of his one-time love, Maude (Audrey Dalton), now the Baron's wife.
A case of risus sardonicus features in the short story "Sardonicus" by Ray Russell, later used as the basis of the 1961 William Castle movie Mr. Sardonicus.
His most famous short fiction is "Sardonicus", which appeared in the January 1961 issue of Playboy magazine, and was subsequently adapted by Russell into a screenplay for William Castle's film version, titled Mr. Sardonicus.