|
"Berserk" (1967)
-Joan Crawford
Plot: IMDB
Monica Rivers, is the owner and ringmaster of a traveling circus and who'll stop at nothing to draw bigger audiences. When a series of mysterious murders begins to occur and some of her performers die gruesomely, her profits soar. She hires high-wire
walker Frank Hawkins, impressed by the handsome and muscular young man. They begin an affair which arouses her previous lover Durando's jealousy. When Durando is found dead shortly afterward, the other performers begin to take alarm, as a mysterious killer is obviously loose in their midst. Many suspect Monica herself of the killings, especially Matilda, who has set her sights on Monica's new lover. At this point, Monica's unruly, sixteen-year-old daughter Angela, is expelled from school for being incorrigible and Monica is forced to take her into the circus, allowing her to become the partner of knife-thrower Gustavo. Meanwhile, the dead bodies continue to pile up...
Phantom's Review: What a lousy movie! Despite a good cast (Joan Crawford and Micheal Gough) and an interesting concept this film is so boring. Crawford, who around 62 at the time, was trying to act like a sex symbol and It just didn't work. Also, they used a real circus to film at, and whenever any sort of suspense was starting to build it would be interrupted by a animal act and the director filmed the whole act and it brought the film to a screeching halt. By the time you found out who the murderer was, you just didn't care. And the finale is so lame, it looks like it was made up on the spot. A terrible film, don't waste your time on it.
|