Circus of Fear Reviews

This is a fairly routine murder mystery. An armored car is held up, and its stolen bank notes turn up at a circus. Genn, a Scotland Yard investigator, is sent out to solve the case. The corpse of one of the robbers is discovered, and soon circus performer Margaret Lee is dead as well. The chief suspects are Christopher Lee, a lion tamer who wears a hideous black mask to cover his scarred face; Drache, a ringmaster who is convinced his father was killed by Lee's twin brother; Kaufmann, a knife thrower driven crazy with jealousy over the dead Lee's other suitors; and Martin, a dwarf known as "Mr. Big" who is blackmailing Lee. Other possible culprits include Arent, a bookkeeper who is a frustrated would-be circus performer, and Kendall, Lee's niece and the daughter of the man Drache wants. Lee is found to have the missing money hidden in a suitcase. He tries to get away but is murdered by a mysterious masked figure. After his death numerous secrets are revealed. It seems that he was actually Kendall's father and that Drache's father died in an accidental fall rather than being murdered. However, Genn still thinks Lee was innocent of the murders despite the loot found on him. He arranges for Arent to assist Kaufmann in the knife-throwing act. Kaufmann switches his knives, using ones resembling those used in the murder. This causes the bookkeeper to break down and confess to the murders, saying he was driven by his jealousy of circus performers to kill the stars. The plot is fairly confusing, but Genn and Lee are good in their roles. The movie was released in black-and-white prints in the US despite being filmed and released as a color film in Britain. It was simultaneously shot in a German-language version by a different director.