''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 Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

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, ultim ...

Suzy Kendall Suzy Kendall (born Freda Harriet Harrison; 1 January 1937 ) is a British retired actress best known for her film roles in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Personal life Born in Belper, Derbyshire, Kendall attended Derby & District College of A ...

Leo Genn Leopold John Genn (9 August 190526 January 1978) was an English actor and barrister. Distinguished by his relaxed charm and smooth, "black velvet" voice, he had a lengthy career in theatre, film, television, and radio; often playing aristocr ...

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'' by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

(1928). It was shot at Hammer Film's

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

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 Ber ...

and on location around

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.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 showman ...

''. The film was co-produced by the leading German distributor

Constantin Film The Constantin Film AG is a German mini-major film production and distribution company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of p ...

, which was at the same time releasing

Rialto Film Rialto Film is a German motion-picture production company headquartered in Berlin. It is named after the Rialto in Venice, and used as its production logo an image of a gondola in front of the Rialto Bridge. History The original Danish Rialto F ...

's long-running series of Wallace adaptations in Germany. Several of the cast

Heinz Drache Heinz Drache (; 9 February 1923 – 3 April 2002) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1953 and 2002. He was born in Essen, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany of lung cancer. Selected filmography * '' Once I ...

Eddi Arent Gebhardt Georg Arendt (5 May 1925 – 28 May 2013) was a German actor, cabaret artist and comedian. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1956 and 2002. He was born in Danzig, Free City of Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) and died in ...

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 Werner Jacobs (1909–1999) was a German film director and editor. He was born in Berlin on the 24 April 1909. He is best known for his contributions to Modebummel (1951), Der Stern von Santa Clara (1958) and André und Ursula (1955). Selected fi ...

directed the version release in West Germany.

Plot

The film is set in

, mainly in the East End and docklands. When an armoured car is robbed, in a daring daylight raid co-ordinated on

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

, one of the guards is shot and killed by Mason (

Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...

). The gang escape on the river. Part of the gang escape northwards on the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

. 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 Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

) 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^) *

as Elliott *

Anthony Newlands Anthony Newlands (31 January 1925, London – 6 October 1995), was a British actor, born Raymond Gordon Newland. His parents were Lilian Elizabeth (née Manning) and Frederick Stanley. Newland had two sisters: Jean Lillian Newland (born 24 J ...

as Barberini *

as Carl *

as Eddie *

as Manfred Hart * Margaret Lee as Gina *

as Natasha, Drago's niece *

as Sir John *

as Mason * Maurice Kaufmann as Mario * Lawrence James as Manley * Tom Bowman as Jackson * Skip Martin as Mr. Big *

Nosher Powell George Frederick Bernard Powell (15 August 1928 – 20 April 2013), credited as Nosher Powell, Freddie Powell, or Fred Powell, was an English actor, stuntman and boxer. He is best known for his work in the ''James Bond'' film series, most ...

as Red * Gordon Petrie as Man * Henry B. Longhurst as Hotel porter * Dennis Blakely as Armoured van guard * George Fisher as Fourth man * Peter Brace as Speedboat man *

Roy Scammell Royston Edwin Scammell (28 July 1932 – 15 May 2021) was a British stuntman and actor. Life and career Scammell was born in July 1932 in Hendon, Middlesex, England. He died at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital in Luton, Bedfordshire ...

as Speedboat man * Geoff Silk as Security man * Keith Peacock as Security man *

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

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 Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...

'' 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