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 | psychotronic film | murder | krimi | 

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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

The only double the producers could find for Sir Christopher Lee was the circus' real lion tamer, who Lee described as being "half my height". In order to make the situation credible, 6'4" tall Lee was shot in close-up, so the height differential would not be too obvious to the audience. According to Lee, he wore a black mask through 90% of the movie anyway.

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Goofs

In the fight scene between the knife thrower and the head of the circus the two actors were rolling around in the elephant area and on the circus floor, but five minutes when the manager is talking to the midget and smoking a cigarette his brown sport coat looks like it came from the cleaners.

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Alternate Versions

Original West German theatrical release was in black-and-white, whereas everywhere else the film was shown in colour.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Box: Christmas Evil (2011)

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.