CIRCUS
OF HORRORS (1960)Director: Sidney Hayers
Anchor Bay Entertainment
CIRCUS
OF HORRORS (1960)British film company Anglo-Amalgamated produced a trio of grisly shockers around the same period--PEEPING TOM, HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM, and this, one of the best horror films set in a circus. German actor Anton Diffring--the most inexcusably under-used actor in horror films--offers his finest hour in this sick and sleazy effort.
Diffring plays Dr. Rossiter, a crazed surgeon who is forced to flee England after badly botching up an operation. With a brother and sister pair of cohorts (Kenneth Griffith and Jane Hylton), he ends up in France, taking refuge at the crumbling circus of Donald Pleasance. Pleasance's young daughter had her face badly scarred during the war, and Rossiter promises to rectify it, becoming his circus partner in exchange. The surgery is a success, but Pleasance is killed after a drunken dance with a guy in a pair suit that looks like it was leftover from Abbott and Costello's "Colgate Comedy Hour" (an equally unconvincing gorilla suit surfaces later).
A decade later, Rossiter is calling himself Schuler and the circus is now a tremendous success. The little girl has grown up to be the beautiful Yvonne Monlaur (BRIDES OF DRACULA), whose severe French accent is fittingly applied here. Rossiter is using the circus not only to mask his true identity, but also to perform surgeries on various female criminals and prostitutes with injurious histories. He transforms the once-scarred femmes into raving beauties, and they all have their place as star performers in the ring. Of course, problems occur as he has affairs and issues with them, causing conflicts resulting in horrifying "accidental" deaths (deeming it "The Jinx Circus"). Vanda Hudson is killed in a knife-throwing mishap while Erika Remberg violently falls from her trapeze rope.
Jack Gwillim plays a police inspector who finds time to seduce Remberg and Monlaur, while Diffring has his hands full with luscious Yvonne Romain (CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF). Romain arrives at the circus horribly burnt, but she becomes a ravishing lion tamer, literally busting out of the outfits she's given to wear.
As a madman obsessed with perfection in women, Diffring is marvelous. He could have been another Peter Cushing, but his horror roles where few and he was usually cast as Nazis or other heavies during his long career. Sidney Hayers' direction moves along at a brisk pace, allowing good characterization and sufficient panic amongst the rather voyeuristic three-ring spectacle. The screenplay by George Baxt (HORROR HOTEL, VAMPIRE CIRCUS) is over the top on almost every level, making for some grand entertainment.
Anchor Bay's DVD of CIRCUS OF HORRORS is another triumph. Originally released in the U.S. by American International, the transfer is culled from the original British film source, and the results are spectacular. Not only is the print in perfect condition, but it displays a delectable array of vivid colors in a nicely composed 1.77:1 letterboxed image with anamorphic enhancement. The sound is remarkably clear and free of any defects.
Extras include the original British theatrical trailer, three different U.S. TV spots, a photo and still gallery (which emphasizes the surprising success of a tie-in Top-20 single from the film--"Look for a Star"). There's also a very interesting bio and selected filmography of Diffring. (George R. Reis)