Ring of Fear (1954)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

James Edward Grant

Writers:

Paul Fix (original screenplay) and
Philip MacDonald (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 July 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Mystery

Tagline:

THE ONE AND ONLY MICKEY SPILLANE (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Three psychiatrists find that Dublin O'Malley has homicidal tendencies, an under-diagnosis at best. O'Malley kills a guard...

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Escape | Tiger | Accident | Performer

Cast

Clyde Beatty	...	Himself
Mickey Spillane	...	Himself
Pat O'Brien	...	Frank Wallace
Sean McClory	...	Dublin O'Malley
Marian Carr	...	Valerie St. Dennis
John Bromfield	...	Armand St. Dennis
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez	...	Pedro Gonzales (as Gonzalez-Gonzales)
Emmett Lynn	...	Twitchy
Jack Stang	...	Himself
Kenneth Tobey	...	Shreveport
Kathy Cline	...	Suzette St. Dennis

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound System) (magnetic prints) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16800, General Audience) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Deming, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Wayne-Fellows Productions

Trivia:

Originally intended to be photographed in 3-D and to be titled "Man-Killer."

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene at the beginning of the movie, where Dublin is pleading his case before the prison board, the photograph he places in his right breast pocket changes position between camera shots.

Great Circus Show, Weak Plot and Acting

After being analyzed by three psychologists and considered schizophrenic with homicidal tendencies, the former ringmaster Dublin O'Malley (Sean McClory) subdues the guard that is escorting him to his room and escapes from the mental institution where he is interned. He travels by train and later he attacks a worker and swaps the clothing, throwing the man on the trail of an approaching train. Then he goes to the city where the Clyde Beatty Circus is camped, seeking revenge against the lion tamer Clyde Beatty and also seeking out his former lover, the trapeze artist Valerie St. Dennis (Marian Carr). Valerie is married with her mate Armand St. Dennis (John Bromfield), with whom they have a daughter. Dublin meets the alcoholic clown Twitchy (Emmett Lynn) and uses booze to force him to sabotage the circus. Then Dublin is hired by Frank Wallace (Pat O'Brien) to his former position. Frank also brings the writer Mickey Spillane and detective Jack Stang to investigate the sabotages and make clear to the superstitious performers that there is no jinx in the circus. When Dublin kills Twitchy, the smart investigators find evidences that he might be a maniac killer.

"Ring of Fear" is a weird and disappointing movie, with a forgettable story, many non-actors performing themselves and filmed in a circus. The result is a great circus show, but with a predictable weak plot and terrible performances. In the end, it is better off going to the circus than watching this flick. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Circo do Medo" ("The Circus of the Fear")