**SPOILER ALERT** Nifty little whodunit thriller set at a traveling circus outside of London that also has to do with an armored car robbery. A robbery that is somehow connected with the big top.
Christopher Lee playing the hooded Russian lion tamer Gregor comes upon this suitcase of some 250,000 pound sterling in the deserted farm, where he keeps his wild animals caged. The cash was taken in the spectacular armored car robber on the London Bridge at the beginning of the movie. Gregor also finds the body of one of the robbers, who was killed, with a knife in his back, there too.
Whoever planned the robbery had the money specifically brought there, the deserted farm house, on the circus grounds by one of his unwitting henchmen corrupt cop Mason, Victor Maddan, and then had him murdered to keep the cash all for himself. The rest of the film "Circus of Fear" has the unseen and unknown killer try to murder anyone who has any idea of who he is. That includes the cheating partner of the jealous and hot headed circus knife-thrower Mario (Maurice Kaufmann) Gina, Margaret Lee, as well as the not to on the ball and creepy person who's supposed to smuggle the stolen cash out to the country for the armored car robbery gang Manfred Hart, Klaus Kinski. With some of the stolen car robbery money being passed around the town where the circus is preforming it soon becomes evident to the Scotland Yard chief investigating this baffling case Elliott, Leo Genn, that the killer is somehow in the circus as a performer. This makes knife-thrower Mario the number one suspect.
Going undercover as a news photographer Scotland Yard inspector Elliott zeros in on lion tamer Gregor and his pretty assistant Natasha, Suzy Kendall. We soon learn of the black-hooded Gregors, who's face was supposedly ripped to shreds by a wild lion, somewhat checkered past and how he may well be helping his recently escaped from prison brother Otto. Otto was convicted of killing the circus' ring master's Carl, Heinz Drache, father. Gregor is also made to look very suspicious in the circus killings when we see that one of the circus performers Mr.Big, Skip Martin, is blackmailing the big hooded guy. This is done by Mr. Big in return for withholding information about Gregor from the police! Just who really is this big and scary-looking guy anyway? can he actually be the escaped killer Otto who's also a wild animal trainer like Gregor and just happens to be the father of Gregor's assistant Natasha?
Interesting twists and turns has you guessing just who the killer is and it takes a major mistake on the killers part. Or was it just his sick and arrogant attempt to gain publicity.In the end It was the killers own greed and vindictiveness in being given thankless menial and humiliating jobs by circus owner Barberini, Anthony Newlands, that made him go so insane and then take out his frustration and anger on everyone in the circus that he felt kept him from being the big star that he always envisioned himself to be.
Planing the London Bridge armored car robbery and using the circus grounds to stash away the money after double-crossing and murdering both his fellow robbers Mason and Manfred the killer's subconscious desire to get attention is what eventually gave him away.
Christopher Lee playing the hooded Russian lion tamer Gregor comes upon this suitcase of some 250,000 pound sterling in the deserted farm, where he keeps his wild animals caged. The cash was taken in the spectacular armored car robber on the London Bridge at the beginning of the movie. Gregor also finds the body of one of the robbers, who was killed, with a knife in his back, there too.
Whoever planned the robbery had the money specifically brought there, the deserted farm house, on the circus grounds by one of his unwitting henchmen corrupt cop Mason, Victor Maddan, and then had him murdered to keep the cash all for himself. The rest of the film "Circus of Fear" has the unseen and unknown killer try to murder anyone who has any idea of who he is. That includes the cheating partner of the jealous and hot headed circus knife-thrower Mario (Maurice Kaufmann) Gina, Margaret Lee, as well as the not to on the ball and creepy person who's supposed to smuggle the stolen cash out to the country for the armored car robbery gang Manfred Hart, Klaus Kinski. With some of the stolen car robbery money being passed around the town where the circus is preforming it soon becomes evident to the Scotland Yard chief investigating this baffling case Elliott, Leo Genn, that the killer is somehow in the circus as a performer. This makes knife-thrower Mario the number one suspect.
Going undercover as a news photographer Scotland Yard inspector Elliott zeros in on lion tamer Gregor and his pretty assistant Natasha, Suzy Kendall. We soon learn of the black-hooded Gregors, who's face was supposedly ripped to shreds by a wild lion, somewhat checkered past and how he may well be helping his recently escaped from prison brother Otto. Otto was convicted of killing the circus' ring master's Carl, Heinz Drache, father. Gregor is also made to look very suspicious in the circus killings when we see that one of the circus performers Mr.Big, Skip Martin, is blackmailing the big hooded guy. This is done by Mr. Big in return for withholding information about Gregor from the police! Just who really is this big and scary-looking guy anyway? can he actually be the escaped killer Otto who's also a wild animal trainer like Gregor and just happens to be the father of Gregor's assistant Natasha?
Interesting twists and turns has you guessing just who the killer is and it takes a major mistake on the killers part. Or was it just his sick and arrogant attempt to gain publicity.In the end It was the killers own greed and vindictiveness in being given thankless menial and humiliating jobs by circus owner Barberini, Anthony Newlands, that made him go so insane and then take out his frustration and anger on everyone in the circus that he felt kept him from being the big star that he always envisioned himself to be.
Planing the London Bridge armored car robbery and using the circus grounds to stash away the money after double-crossing and murdering both his fellow robbers Mason and Manfred the killer's subconscious desire to get attention is what eventually gave him away.