Writer Robert Bloch may not have had much artistic finesse, but he sure knew how to compose good gimmicky horror stories. This is one of them. Slow-witted Brandon de Wilde hooks on with a traveling carnival show, where trollopy Diana Dors and her magician husband take advantage of his trusting nature. Trouble is that Dors is two-timing her husband with acrobat Larry Kirt, and decides to use de Wilde to get rid of the inconvenient husband. That would be fine for them, except mentally-challenged de Wilde really does believe in magic. The ending is deliciously appropriate.
Dors appears to be bursting out of her bodice and is perfectly cast as the husband's buxom stage prop. De Wilde spreads it on pretty thick, looking as if he's having a good time playing the exaggerated Hugo. At the same time, Kirt shows why he needed to stick to Broadway dancing. Production does a nice job of suggesting tacky carnival atmosphere. But all this is really beside the point, since the story here is the thing, and a good ironical one it is.
Dors appears to be bursting out of her bodice and is perfectly cast as the husband's buxom stage prop. De Wilde spreads it on pretty thick, looking as if he's having a good time playing the exaggerated Hugo. At the same time, Kirt shows why he needed to stick to Broadway dancing. Production does a nice job of suggesting tacky carnival atmosphere. But all this is really beside the point, since the story here is the thing, and a good ironical one it is.