Circus of Fear | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Llewellyn Moxey |
Produced by | Harry Alan Towers |
Written by | Harry Alan Towers Edgar Wallace |
Starring | Christopher Lee |
Music by | Johnny Douglas |
Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
Edited by | John Trumper |
Production
company |
Circus Films, Proudweeks
|
Distributed by |
Warner-Pathé Distributors (UK) American International Pictures (US) |
Release date
|
29 April 1966 (W. Germany) November 1967 (UK) |
Running time
|
90 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Circus of Fear (German: Das Rätsel des silbernen Dreieck or Scotland Yard auf heißer Spur, also Circus of Terror) is a 1966 Anglo-German international co-production thriller film starring Christopher Lee, Suzy Kendall, Cecil Parker, Klaus Kinski and Victor Maddern. The U.S. title was Psycho-Circus. It was based on the novel The Three Just Men by Edgar Wallace (1926).
When an armoured car is robbed, in a daring daylight raid on Tower Bridge, one of the gang hides the money in Barberini's Circus. The police also investigate people being murdered by throwing knives. Gregor (Christopher Lee), is a facially scarred lion tamer, one of the many suspects in the case investigated by Scotland Yard's detective Elliot (Leo Genn). His examination of all the clues leads to a final denouement in front of the assembled suspects during a knife-throwing act.
The film was partially shot at Billy Smart's Circus.
The film premiered in Germany on 29 April 1966 and in the UK in November 1967.
The Radio Times wrote, "Christopher Lee wears a black woolly hood for nearly all of his scenes in this lame whodunnit, with minor horrific overtones...but the stalwart efforts of the cast including Klaus Kinski and Suzy Kendall act as a welcome safety net for the shaky plot" ; while Britmovie called it "fairly suspenseful."