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Circus of Horrors (1960) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   528 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
George Baxt (original screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Circus of Horrors on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
April 1960 (UK) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Spectacular Towering Terror! One man's lust...made men into beasts, stripped women of their souls! more
Plot:
In 1947 England, a plastic surgeon must beat a hasty retreat to France when one of his patients has ghastly problems with her surgery... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Madman, mayhem, and music more (31 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Anton Diffring ... Dr. Schuler
Erika Remberg ... Elissa Caro
Yvonne Monlaur ... Nicole Vanet

Donald Pleasence ... Vanet
Jane Hylton ... Angela
Kenneth Griffith ... Martin
Conrad Phillips ... Insp. Arthur Ames

Jack Gwillim ... Supt. Andrews
Vanda Hudson ... Magda von Meck
Yvonne Romain ... Melina
Colette Wilde ... Evelyn Morley Finsbury
William Mervyn ... Doctor Morley
John Merivale ... Edward Finsbury
Peter Swanwick ... German Police Inspector Knopf
Carla Challoner ... Nicole (as a Child)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kenny Baker ... Dwarf (uncredited)
Jack Carson ... Chief Eagle Eye (uncredited)
Chris Christian ... Ringmaster (uncredited)
Sasha Coco ... Luis (uncredited)
Walter Gotell ... Baron Von Gruber (uncredited)
Fred Haggerty ... Second Roustabout (uncredited)
Glyn Houston ... Carnival Barker (uncredited)
Kenneth J. Warren ... First Roustabout (uncredited)
Malcolm Watson ... Murdered Frenchman (uncredited)
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Directed by
Sidney Hayers 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
George Baxt  original screenplay

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff .... producer
Leslie Parkyn .... producer
Norman Priggen .... associate producer
Julian Wintle .... producer
 
Original Music by
Muir Mathieson 
Franz Reizenstein 
 
Cinematography by
Douglas Slocombe 
 
Film Editing by
Reginald Mills 
Sidney Hayers (uncredited)
 
Art Direction by
Jack Shampan 
 
Makeup Department
Trevor Crole-Rees .... makeup artist
Maude Onslow .... hair stylist (as Maud Onslow)
 
Production Management
Charles Permane .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David W. Orton .... assistant director (as David Orton)
 
Sound Department
Ken Cameron .... sound re-recordist
Len Page .... sound recordist
Lionel Selwyn .... sound editor
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Chic Waterson .... camera operator
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vi Murray .... wardrobe mistress
 
Music Department
Muir Mathieson .... musical director
 
Other crew
Nat Cohen .... presenter
Gil Kirk .... title designer
Stuart Levy .... presenter
June Randall .... continuity
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Phantom of the Circus
Le cirque des horreurs (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Circo dos Horrores (Brazil) [pt]
Der Narbenteufel (Austria) [de]
Der rote Schatten (West Germany) [de]
Il circo degli orrori (Italy) [it]
Kauhujen sirkus (Finland) [fi]
To tsirko ton eglimaton (Greece) [el]
more
Runtime:
Germany:92 min | USA:88 min | USA:92 min (DVD)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The song "Look for a Star", used throughout the film during the circus sequences, became a hit pop recording in Great Britain and the United States. It was written by the young Tony Hatch under his regular pseudonym of Mark Anthony. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Magda meets her fate, close shots from behind show the wheel still spinning, with her on it, intercut with a distant shot showing people crowding around the wheel which is static. more
Quotes:
Vanet: They're murderers.
Dr. Rossiter, alias Dr. Bernard Schueler: Don't you see, these are the people who will contribute to our circus troupe.
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
The Washington Post more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
Madman, mayhem, and music, 9 October 2004
8/10
Author: maxfabien (maxfabien@yahoo.com) from Ottawa, Illinois

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.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Circus of Horrors (1960)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I was 11 when I saw this and.... purplerustling
Vanda Hudson Squashpants
the song "Look For A Star" afbille
What a waste..... aveitdotnet
'Sh*t' in 1960! zxcv-9
Does anyone know which company produced this movie?? torq89
more

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