Circus of Fear (1966)

Director:

John Llewellyn Moxey

Writers:

Harry Alan Towers (writer)
Edgar Wallace (novel)

Release Date:

May 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

The most horrifying syndicate of evil in history!

Plot:

A circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder. |

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Murder | Reporter | Acrobat | Based On Novel

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Christopher Lee	...	Gregor
Leo Genn	...	Elliott
Anthony Newlands	...	Barberini
Heinz Drache	...	Carl
Eddi Arent	...	Eddie
Klaus Kinski	...	Manfred Hart
Margaret Lee	...	Gina
Suzy Kendall	...	Natasha
Cecil Parker	...	Sir John
Victor Maddern	...	Mason
Maurice Kaufmann	...	Mario
Lawrence James	...	Manley
Tom Bowman	...	Jackson
Skip Martin	...	Mr. Big
Nosher Powell	...	Red (as Fred Powell)

Also Known As:

Circus of Terror
Das Rätsel des silbernen Dreieck (West Germany)
Psycho-Circus (USA)
Scotland Yard auf heißer Spur (West Germany)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (video rating) | West Germany:12 | UK:A (original rating)

Company:

Circus Films

Trivia:

Though shot in color, the film was released in Germany only in black and white. The main reason was the close relationship of Rialto Film, the Production Company of the German Edgar Wallace Series, and Constantin Film, this film's German distributor and co-producer. Rialto Film wanted to promote a production of their own as the "first Edgar Wallace Film in Color". This film was to be "Der Bucklige von Soho" (1966), released in Germany only a couple of months after "Circus of Fear". The Original Color Version of the film was released in Germany for the first time ever on DVD in 2006, though in edited form.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the police are chasing the van, the weather alternates between cloudy and rainy, and bright sunlight between shots.

Not a bad whodunit

Based on an Edgar Wallace story, "Circus of Fear" is a whodunit, not a horror film. It begins with an armored car heist in which a guard is killed, and while the perpetrators do get away they're eventually caught, all except one, who has escaped with a bag of money to "the Old Farm", where he's killed upon arrival. I guess The Old Farm is winter quarters for a traveling circus, and it's a rather dysfunctional circus family, for sure. There's a dwarf (Mr. Big) who is blackmailing Gregor (Christopher Lee), and there's lots of sneakiness & under-handed goings on as well. Some of the money from the heist turns up in a nearby town & Inspector Elliot (Leo Genn) is on the case. Gregor (Lee) is a mystery, as he wears a black hood as the result of a lion-taming accident got wrong, to hide the scars. Carl, the ringmaster, is associated with the circus for reasons other than are obvious, because he smells a rat and he's out to expose someone for supposedly evil deeds. Klaus Kinski does his patented "lurking about" thing, for no apparently reason since his character seems to be present only as a red herring. Overall this is no great work of art, but it is entertaining and reasonably well done. I also enjoyed the music a lot. If you're interested in this please see the "Blue Underground" release...there's an Alpha Video release which is terrible, with washed-out colors and the usual non-remastered quality. 6 out of 10.