Joan Runs A Circus

 

BERSERK!-1967-Something's up at the circus owned by Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford). A trapeze artist is hanged during his act. Monica seems fairly cold blooded and sees the accident/murder as a box office boost. Her business partner/boy toy Dorado (Michael Gough) wants her to buy out his share. She hires Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin) as a new tight wire artist. He wants to have an affair with her but she rejects him (it's a switcheroo!). Then Dorado gets a spike through his head. 

The circus people (including Diana Dors & Milton Reid) get together and some of them accuse Monica. A police commissioner (Geoffrey Kean) sends Det. Brooks (Robert Hardy) to investigate. Matilda (Diana Dors) unsuccessfully tries to put the moves on Jack. Little person Bruno (George Claydon) hangs around. Later Monica's troublesome daughter Angela (Judy Geeson) shows up after being kicked out of finishing school. Then Gustavo (Peter Burton) really saws Matilda in half. Angela becomes part of a knife throwing act. When Frank is killed the murderer is revealed and electrocuted. 

This not half bad little murder mystery horror film was co-produced (and shot) in jolly old England by Herman Cohen who in the 1950's had produced several films for AIP including I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and BLOOD OF DRACULA. Prior to that he was associate producer of BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA and producer on Abbott & Costello's last feature DANCE WITH ME,HENRY. He later worked with Crawford again on TROG. One story goes that Cohen wanted to cast Joan's real life daughter Christina Crawford in the role that eventually went to Judy Geeson but Mommie Dearest 86'd it. 

Co-producer and co-writer (with Cohen) Aben Kanel had worked with Cohen at AIP and on Cohen's previous England lensed features (KONGA, HORRORS OF THE WAX MUSCEUM and THE BLACK ZOO). Director Jim O'Connolly later made THE VALLEY OF THE GWANGI and THE TOWER OF EVIL.

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AKA: Horror on Snape Island

TOWER OF EVIL-1972-A stodgy group of English paleontologists go to the mysterious Snape Island to investigate when a Phoenician sword is found after a woman seems to have gone insane and murdered her 3 friends there. A private investigator (Bryant Haliday) goes along too because he doesn’t believe the woman was really insane. Jill Haworth (also in the English made HORROR HOUSE and THE MUTATIONS) co-stars. There’s a lot of talk and bickering about sex and infidelity. The film features an unusual amount of nudity and gore for the time (including a severed head rolling across the floor).

Although star Haliday was a well known London stage actor at the time, he only made 6 movie appearances including DEVIL DOLL, CURSE OF THE VOODOO and THE PROJECTED MAN. He died in Paris in 1996.

Director Jim O'Connolly had made BERSERK (with Joan Crawford) and VALLEY OF THE GWANGI (with Ray Harryhausen SFX) previously.

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