Psycho-Circus (1966)

A circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder.

Directors:

Werner Jacobs, John Llewellyn Moxey (as John Moxey)

Writer:

Harry Alan Towers (screenplay) (as Peter Welbeck)

Stars:

Christopher Lee, Leo Genn, Anthony Newlands

Cast

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

Storyline

A circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder.

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Plot Keywords:

circus | manhunt | murder | krimi | rope ladder | 

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Taglines:

The most horrifying syndicate of evil in history!

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Psycho-Circus

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Circus Films, Proudweeks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 65 min (edited) (black and white)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though shot in color, the movie was released in Germany in black-and-white. Rialto Film, the Production Company of the German Edgar Wallace series, was very close to Constantin Film, this movie's German distributor and co-Producer. Rialto Film wanted to promote a production of their own as the "first Edgar Wallace film in color". That movie was The Hunchback of Soho (1966), released in Germany only a couple of months after this film. The original color version was released in Germany on DVD in 2006, though in edited form.

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Goofs

About five minutes into the movie, when the police are chasing the van, the shadow of the camera is visible on the front of the van.

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Alternate Versions

Video version entitled Circus of Fear includes new footage and introduction with John Carradine.

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Connections

Featured in TJ and the All Night Theatre: Circus of Fear + the X from Outer Space (1980)

User Reviews

A bit better than just a time passer.

This is a pretty good little film, though it is a lot like two films in one. The first portion is a heist film. However, after the money is hidden among the props at a circus, the film abruptly becomes a 'psycho at the circus' film. This was a very odd way of constructing the film--not bad, mind you, just very different.

Once in the circus portion of the film, one by one people are killed or nearly killed and the film becomes like a mystery. Who is the person behind all this? Who will they kill next? I would say that the true perpetrator was a pretty good choice, as it took me by surprise--making the film a better than average film.

By the way, although the film gives top billing to Christopher Lee, you barely see him in the film. Much of the time he's wearing a hood and I even wondered if it was always him under this disguise or if they just had an extra (a very TALL extra) filling in for some scenes. Who knows? However, even it was always him, it's more Leo Genn's film. Regardless, it's worth a look.