Review of Circus of Fear (1966) by Stuart K — 06 Feb 2015

Based on a story by Edgar Wallace, adapted and produced by Harry Alan Towers, who had previously produced Wallace adaptations such as Death Drums Along the River (1963) and Coast of Skeletons (1964). Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, (The City of the Dead (1960), this is a suspenseful thriller, which starts off as crime thriller, then it becomes a whodunnit.

It has a good cast moving the film forwards. In London, a group of thieves led by Mason (Victor Maddern), rob an armoured car on Tower Bridge and making off with the money by boat up the Thames. But the trail of the money goes cold after that, and some members of the gang turn up dead.

Scotland Yard inspector Elliott (Leo Genn) investigates further, and is surprised when some of the money turns up in the takings of a travelling circus ran by Barberini (Anthony Newlands). But Barberini can't explain how the money got there, but Elliott discovers there's a lot of suspicious characters in the circus, not least the masked lion tamer Gregor (Christopher Lee), who has a lot to hide from his co-workers.

It's a good thriller, and the change in tone doesn't affect it one jot, it manages to make for good entertainment, and like many over thrillers like this from the time, it hasn't really dated, plus look out for Klaus Kinski as a member of the gang, who is a nasty piece of work, and there's a few more familiar faces.