Berserk!

Berserk!
Original theatrical poster
Directed by	Jim O'Connolly
Produced by	Herman Cohen Aben Kandel
Written by	Herman Cohen
Starring	Joan Crawford Ty Hardin Judy Geeson
Music by	John Scott
Cinematography	Desmond Dickinson
Edited by	Raymond Poulton
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	September 1967 (UK), January 1968 (US)
Running time	96 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$3,195,000

Berserk! (also known as Circus of Blood) is a 1967 British horror-thriller film starring Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, and Judy Geeson in a macabre mother-daughter tale about a circus plagued with murders. The screenplay was written by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel, and the film directed by Jim O'Connolly. Berserk! marks Crawford's second-to-last big-screen appearance.

Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) and Dorando (Michael Gough) own a travelling English circus. Monica acts as the ringmistress, and Dorando is the business manager.

When tightrope walker Gaspar the Great falls to his death, it appears that his tightrope might have been purposely weakened. Monica's unemotional reaction to the tragedy alarms Dorando. When she suggests it will be good for business, he asks her to buy him out, which she refuses to do.

Monica hires a new high-wire walker, Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin). Not only is he handsome, he is daring, doing his act over a carpet of sharp bayonets. Monica is impressed, especially by his physical appearance. Shortly after an argument, Dorando is found gruesomely murdered. Suspicion of Monica's guilt grows. Frank in particular suspects her, having seen her leaving Dorando's trailer before the body was discovered. He confronts Monica, demanding a share in the circus for his silence.

Monica's daughter, Angela (Judy Geeson), having been expelled from school, shows up at the circus. Not knowing what to do with her unruly daughter, Monica pairs her with Gustavo the knife thrower (Peter Burton). Another member of the circus company, Matilda (Diana Dors), attempts to seduce Frank, which Monica discovers.