Circus of Fear (1966)

Director: John Llewellyn Moxey

Starring: Christopher Lee, Leo Genn, Anthony Newlands, Heinz Drache, Eddi Arent, Klaus Kinski, Margaret Lee, Suzy Kendall, Cecil Parker, Victor Maddern, Maurice Kaufman, Lawrence James, Tom Bowman, Skip Martin

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The most horrifying syndicate of evil in history!

Plot: Based on an Edgar Wallace murder mystery this chiller centers on a Scotland Yard investigation of a series of puzzling deaths plaguing a traveling circus and the hunt for loot stolen from an armored car robbery. Suspects include the mask-wearing and disfigured lion tamer, a vengeful ringmaster, an insanely jealous knife-thrower, and a blackmailing dwarf called "Mr. Big."

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Gee, I'd like to give this a higher score but despite some fine police procedural work it's just OK.  For Christopher Lee fans, it's Lee doing Lee with the booming voice and there's little depth to his character. I dug the quickly spoken and paced police stuff.  It's always neat seeing Klaus Kinski and Skip Martin was fun as Mr. Big.  There are some surprises in the whodunit but they're not gonna tickle your taint with excitement.