El fantasma del circo

One of the best horror films of the 1960s is this entry with its interesting mix of suspense, sex and mysterious deaths that has the benefit of real circus settings and fine work by Anton Diffring as the outlaw plastic surgeon. Diffring is the erudite but flawed medical genius whose past is littered with botched operations but continues his work behind the prop of a circus staffed with female performers whose faces he has restored in exchange for fealty and silence. Diffring gives the film its pulse as the resourceful and controlling renegade who keeps his flawed females on a very short leash. The film moves along at a good pace with no filler or wasted scenes. Donald Pleasance, erstwhile owner of the circus, is among the good supporting cast that includes the buxom ladies who are at great risk under Diffring's watchful, evil eye.

This is a strange little horror gem from the early sixties about a mad plastic surgeon who must flee England because of some not very sound surgery practices. Once out of England, he(played by Anton Diffring with aplomb) and his two cohorts murder their way into owning a run-down circus whilst in France. From there on ten years pass as the doctor fixes the disfigured faces of thieves and prostitutes in return for their services in the circus. Well...I am not making this up but the doctor and his renegade circus performers then travel all over Europe and become a huge success. Problems start to happen though as the beautiful female star attractions want out of the circus...and the bed of Diffring...only to find their solace in bizarre deaths...circus-related of course. One female is killed in a knife-throwing accident while another falls while trapezing. This is a credulous scenario to be sure, but the film is quite fun. The acting is good: Diffring is marvelous as the mad physician plagued with his obsession for perfection in beauty, Donald Pleasance is quite good in a small role, and the female leads are quite stunning...visually of course. The music is rather hokey...very sixties, but atmosphere is otherwise rather well-staged. All in all I think I would prefer this over spending my time in a real circus...what a "real" horror. Enjoy.

'Circus Of Horrors' is one of the most entertaining movies it has ever been my pleasure to see! It is corny and melodramatic, and the plot is totally ludicrous (which is one of the things that make it so special), but you can't help but get caught up in it. Anton Diffring is wonderful as a brilliant plastic surgeon who flees England in disgrace and ends up running a French circus which he stocks with criminals and prostitutes that he has operated on. He wants it to be known as "the Circus Of Beauty", but it gains notoriety as "the Jinx Circus" after several mysterious deaths, all performers who intended leaving him. You get the picture. Diffring really makes the most of his role and it is impossible to keep your eyes off him. The supporting cast includes several fine British character actors, including 'Halloween's Donald Pleasence (who is in the most unintentionally hilarious scene of the movie, I'll say no more...) and Kenneth Griffith (a familiar face from countless movies and someone who fans of 'The Prisoner' will recognize as a #2). There are also a handful stunning beauties on screen, particularly Yvonne Monlaur (Hammer's 'The Brides Of Dracula'), who plays Diffring's adopted "niece", and Erika Remberg, who went on to appear in the erotic classic 'The Lickerish Quartet'. This movie is fantastic fun for 60s horror/suspense buffs. Highly recommended!

Anton Diffring plays the definitive psycho-narcissist, using all those around him as pawns for his personal pleasures and goals. I saw this film on it's initial theatrical release in 1960. (As a young boy of 10,I recall,I was pleasantly shocked at seeing the scantily clad female circus performers!) And I now own the film on laserdisc. The suspense still holds up well, and though the violence is not as explicit as you find in today's horror films, it is still on the gruesome side. Call me sentimental, but I like the theme song that is sung during the performance of the circus's female headliner ("Look for a Star"). It is typical early 60's love song ala Frankie Avalon, but it is a pretty song inserted within all the gruesome murder and violence around it. Very effective if you think about it. My rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Trying to emulate the success of Hammer Films, Anglo-Amalgamated made a series of gruesome contemporary horror shockers around 1959/60 (others included "Peeping Tom" & "Horrors of the Black Museum").

This cheerfully lurid shocker exploits the mixed emotions we feel when watching circus performers - the idea of something going terribly wrong is horrible, yet exciting. But crude as the concept is, cast and crew play it for all it's got : Anton Diffring is excellent in the lead role and Sidney Hayers' direction is slick and effective.

The all-stops-out climax is great stuff and there's an effective final scene. The frequently-heard background song, "Reach For A Star", is corny but you won't be able to shake it out of your head!