mbmnow I first saw this movie when it was released in 1960. I was 16 at the time and have always remembered the film. At the time I thought the movie was the most interesting one I ever saw. It had pretty sexy girls, horror and one of the best movie songs I had ever heard. I am watching now as I write this review. It still has all those things and it has held up all these years. The acting was very good for this type of movie as well as a good script. The movie is in color which also was very impressive. I can say for a movie that is thought as a horror film it has plenty to offer. The Circus of Horrors title may be a little misleading to some, it is much more that the title suggests.

bebop63-1 A 60's horror movie which differs from the rest in that there's no vampires, zombies, and monsters abounding, only human monsters like Dr Rossiter, the womanizing plastic surgeon who flees to greener pastures anew after botching an operation on a high-profile patient. He then befriends the owner of a run-down circus which he eventually takes over and transforms into a successful showcase of beautiful women who are former prostitutes, thieves, and low-lifes whose disfigured visages he restores in exchange for loyalty and carnal favors. The catch? No one is allowed to leave the circus, not on their lives - literally. German born actor Anton Diffring plays the deliciously evil yet charming Dr Schuler nee Rossiter who is ready to opportunize every situation if it is of benefit to him and will stand at nothing to get his way in anything, even if it means committing murder. He comes across as a domineering control freak, yet there are a couple of moments when he does show that he does have his soft side - as seen in his display of concern and affection for Nicole who refers to him as Uncle even though they are not in the least way related and the grief he displays when protégé Melina is mauled to death by lions. The plot is not without its flaws - questions arise like why those who wished to leave the circus didn't just run away in the dead of night secretly without attracting attention, and why Schuler would revel in the notoriety of his circus being publicized as a jinx when he would surely be aware that this would merit unwelcome attention from the authorities (from whom he was hiding) and result in questions about his past? But then we wouldn't have a story. For all its imperfections. Circus of Horrors does have its moments of genuine tension and suspense, especially during Elisa Caro's spinning performance on the rope (is she gonna get strangled in that noose?) and Magda's knife-throwing act that ends predictably in tragedy. It's somewhat different to conventional horror tales in that the villain is by far the most enjoyable character who does evoke sympathy at certain moments, while the inspector cum reporter . who is the closest the film has to a hero doesn't appear till halfway, and even then proves rather ineffectual and unconvincing. It's old school British horror at its most unpretentiously enjoyable, and it's smart and breezy enough to have stood the test of time rather well.

dougdoepke Too bad the movie's lavish costuming and candy box colors are coupled with a darn near incomprehensible script. But for the guys, who cares, since almost every shot includes a lovely bare leg or a plunging neckline. No, this exercise in tepid Grand Guignol was not made for the Shakespeare crowd or even for those who read lips. After all, it's 1960, and the producers are pushing the sex envelope about as far as they can, since what better guarantee of big returns than a healthy dose of titillation supplied here in spades.The story is something about our usual mad scientist, only this one (Diffring) is a mad plastic surgeon, of all things, (the scriptwriter must live in Beverly Hills). The loopy doc reconstructs beautiful faces of criminal women and then blackmails them into working in his two-bit circus-- seems entry level requirements of circus acts has slipped to near-zero. However, the real trouble is that those who insist on quitting do get severance pay, but of a more literal kind than expected, which of course eventually brings in the cops. I think I've got things right, but frankly I was more interested in the parade of pulchritude than in a fractured storyline. One thing about this campy exercise—Diffring's got the best nose since the great Basil Rathbone cleaved a side of ham with his.

Michael O'Keefe A very well made British thriller directed by Sidney Hayers. Dr. Rossiter, alias Dr. Bernard Schueler(Anton Diffring)is a plastic surgeon on the run from England to France in the mid 40s. He gains control of a down-trodden circus to use as a front. The doctor gives female criminals a "new look" and then enslaves them as various acts in his circus...Circus of Beauty. When they want out; he offs them in a flamboyant manner.Played throughout the circus sequences is the haunting song "Look For A Star" by Gary Miles; a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Also featured in this horror/drama: Yvonne Monlaur, Donald Pleasence, Erika Remberg and Yvonne Romain.