''Circus of Fear'' (german: Das Rätsel des silbernen Dreieck / ''Mystery of the Silver Triangle''), also ''Scotland Yard auf heißer Spur'', also ''Circus of Terror'') is a 1966 Anglo- German international co-production thriller film starring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

, Suzy Kendall, Leo Genn and

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between ...

. The U.S. title was ''Psycho-Circus''. It was based on the novel ''

Again the Three Just Men ''Again the Three Just Men'' is a 1928 British thriller novel by Edgar Wallace, sometimes known simply as ''Again the Three''. It is the last of six novels in the Four Just Men series, featuring a gang of vigilantes committed to fighting crime ...

'' by Edgar Wallace (1928). It was shot at Hammer Film's Bray Studios in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and on location around London.The film was partially shot at ''

Billy Smart's Circus Billy Smart Jr. (born Stanley Smart, 15 October 1934 – 23 May 2005) was a British circus performer and impresario. Biography Smart, whose real name was Stanley, was the tenth child and third son of Billy Smart Sr. His father was a showm ...

''. The film was co-produced by the leading German distributor Constantin Film, which was at the same time releasing Rialto Film's long-running series of Wallace adaptations in Germany. Several of the cast Heinz Drache, Eddi Arent and

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

were regular performers in that series and were added to this production to appeal to German audiences. Werner Jacobs directed the version release in West Germany.

Plot

The film is set in London, mainly in the East End and docklands. When an armoured car is robbed, in a daring daylight raid co-ordinated on Tower Bridge, one of the guards is shot and killed by Mason ( Victor Maddern). The gang escape on the river. Part of the gang escape northwards on the M1 motorway. The police catch up and force them off the road, killing one man. Meanwhile Mason dumps his car in a lake and takes a suitcase full of money to nearby buildings. An unseen knife-thrower kills Mason as he turns to leave. We are introduced to the characters of Barberini's Circus, including Drago (

), who wears a full mask to hide his fire damaged face. Manfred (

) arrives at the circus seeking employment. It is revealed that Mr Big (the midget) is blackmailing Drago. An unseen person unlocks the lion and it almost kills one of the circus girls. The police are led to the circus but also require to investigate a body found with a knife next to it. The police interview the girl who was attacked by the lion and soon after is herself murdered by a thrown knife. The police (naturally) interview the circus knife-thrower. Drago confesses to his niece that he found a suitcase of money and hid it. Manfred is the next victim of the knife-thrower who this time also sets a fire. A police manhunt causes Drago to fall to his death and the suitcase of money is retrieved. However, detective Elliot (Leo Genn) decides this is not the killer. His examination of all the clues leads to a final denouement in front of the assembled suspects during a knife-throwing act.

Cast

as Gregor ("Drago^) * Leo Genn as Elliott * Anthony Newlands as Barberini * Heinz Drache as Carl * Eddi Arent as Eddie *

as Manfred Hart * Margaret Lee as Gina * Suzy Kendall as Natasha, Drago's niece *

as Sir John * Victor Maddern as Mason * Maurice Kaufmann as Mario * Lawrence James as Manley * Tom Bowman as Jackson * Skip Martin as Mr. Big * Nosher Powell as Red * Gordon Petrie as Man *

Henry B. Longhurst Henry B. Longhurst (February 1891 in Brighton, Sussex – 11 April 1970 in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Berkshire) was a British actor. Selected filmography * ''Chin Chin Chinaman'' (1931) - Purser * ''The Crooked Lady'' (1932) - John Morla ...

as Hotel porter * Dennis Blakely as Armoured van guard * George Fisher as Fourth man * Peter Brace as Speedboat man * Roy Scammell as Speedboat man * Geoff Silk as Security man * Keith Peacock as Security man * John Carradine as Narrator

Release

The film premiered in Germany on 29 April 1966 and in the UK in November 1967.

Reception

The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' 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."

References

External links