Circus Of Horrors (1960)

After he botches the face of a patient (Colette Wilde), a plastic surgeon (Anton Diffring) goes on the run and assumes a new identity. He becomes a partner in a run down circus and soon transforms it into a profitable money making venture. However, mysterious "accidents" seem to happen to those performers who choose to leave his circus. Directed by Sidney Hayers (BURN WITCH BURN). what makes this a horror film is the constant threat of mutilation to beautiful young girls. Otherwise, it fits into the mold of thriller or mystery movies. It's an effective piece of pulp with Diffring (Truffaut's FAHRENHEIT 451) perfectly cast as a sadistic megalomaniac. It's compromised by having some of the circus animals like bears and gorillas obviously people in costume. While it stretches credibility (how long could you keep killing off your performers before the police uncovered you), there's something oddly compelling about it which makes it eminently watchable. The film spawned a hit song, Look For A Star which reached #16 on the record charts. With Donald Pleasence, Erika Remberg, Yvonne Monlaur, Jane Hylton, Kenneth Griffith, Conrad Phillips and Yvonne Romain.