Circus of Fear (1966)Movie Review

Trailer here.

Circus of Fear is a 1966 horror movie directed by John Llewellyn Moxey(City of the Dead, Home for the Holidays) and starring Christoper Lee, Leo Genn, Anthony Newlands, Klaus Kinski and Suzy Kendall. 

The film begins with a robbery of a money van in London. One of the thieves is shot and the others get away by boat. The police arrive on the scene and the thieves go to their hideout. A man called Manfred(Kinski) shows up. One of the thieves is taking the money to a farm to hide it. The police are after the gang. They chase a van they suspect as being part of the robbery and they catch some of the thieves. The one thief is searching for the farm. He is met by someone who murders him. Cut to a circus. It is called Barberini's circus. The owner is Mr. Barberini(Newlands). There is a man called The Great Gregor(Lee). He is a lion tamer. He wears a mask. Manfred arrives at the circus seeking work.

The police are searching for the man who took the money to the farm. Gregor has money. He is being blackmailed by Mr. Big, another entertainer. The money seems to be the same money from the robbery. The notes are being traced by the police to the circus. Inspector Elliot(Gen) is asking questions at the circus. There are plenty of things happening there. Manfred is hanging around. Someone lets a lion out of it cage and it almost kills a circus member, Gina(Margaret Lee). The Inspector asks the staff questions. The police find a body and a knife. They think that it is the thief who escaped. Gina is the next to die. The same knife is in her back .

The inspector wonders why he murderer didn't leave with the money. There is some story with Gregor and his brother. Mr. Big hears about it and he wants money to keep his mouth shut.Gregor replaced his brother in the circus. He found the money from the robbery and took it. Manfred is looking for it. He ends up getting killed with the same knife. The killer sets fire to the place. Gregor races to get the money but gets caught up in the flames. A guy called Carl(Heinz Drache)was at the circus looking for the man who murdered his father. He thought it was Gregor. He finds Gregor hiding in cave as the police are searching. He confronts him about the death of his father and Gregor says it was an accident. He heads off with the money but he falls and gets pushed off a cliff by someone. 

The inspector says that they haven't found the killer. The real killer is a man called Eddie who is also in the circus. He is the son of a knife thrower and he is an expert. He owns the deadly knives that were used in the killings. He tries to escape as the police close in.  One of the others throws a knife at him and he dies.. The inspector knows that Mr. Big was blackmailing Gregor so Barberini fires him.This is a mystery film. There are lots of suspects and a lot of stuff going on. It has a good cast and I did enjoy it. I will give it a 5/10.

The Fourth Victim (1972) Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Fourth Victim is a 1971 giallo movie directed by Eugenio Martin and starring Carroll Baker, Michael Craig and Miranda Campa.

The movie begins with a woman dead in her pool. The housekeeper and her husband pull her out. The doctor arrives and writes a death certificate. She is buried. Superintendent Dunphy(Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez) appears and says that the body will have to be dug up on orders of the magistrate. He talks to her husband Arthur (Craig). He says someone questioned the death. Arthur has been married three times. His previous wives also died. Dunphy is suspicious. Arthur is brought to court for the murder of his wife. He pleads not guilty. It can't be proved that it was murder for certain. The insurance company is suspicious also.The housekeeper (Campa)testifies. She backs up Arthur and he found not guilty.

Dunphy follows Arthur into a travel agent. He tells him that he knows he is guilty. Arthur finds a girl in his pool. It is his neighbour, Julie Spencer (Marina Malfatti). She is squatting in the house next door. She is really there to investigate Arthur. They end up sharing a kiss. A woman is watching Julie. She and Arthur get closer and they end up married. He finds her snooping and he hits her. She runs off and disappears. A strange woman has rented the house next door. Arthur finds Julie's car at the cliffs. He goes to the police who tell him that Julie went insane after killing her husband.  He goes to the clinic where she was kept afterwards to find her. He talks to the doctor who informs him that she was fine and she was released. A friend of Julie's from the clinic tells Arthur not to let Julie near the lake. He is confused.

Julie arrives back. She meets Dunphy. Julie admits what she did in the past to Arthur. She calls someone on the phone and tells them that she can't go through with it. Arthur catches her and she drives off. He follows her. She crashes and he takes her home and gives her a sedative. Dunphy arrives and tells Arthur that his wife is NOT Julie Spencer. The strange lady next door is wandering around. She kills a doctor who comes to see her. She is going to kill Julie for some reason. Dunphy tells Arthur that he is going to meet the real Julie Spencer. Arthur is going too.The real Julie is going to kill the imposter. She locks the doors in the house and says she will help the fake Julie to die. Fake Julie is actually called Lillian. She fights Julie.She ends up knocked out. Dunphy and Arthur are searching the place for Lillian and Julie. They know Lillian is in danger. It turns out Lillian is working for the insurance company. It was a set up. Arthur figures that Julie will take Lillian to the lake and kill her. Julie ends up slipping into the water and drowning.Police arrive and Arthur and Lillian leave together.

There's a lot of twists and turns in this. The story gets a bit confusing at times but it is still an entertaining movie. I like a mystery film and this does the job nicely. The cast are good and the story is fun. I will give it a 5/10.