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"It's a good thing you're inhuman."
In the tawdry thriller, "Berserk" Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) owns the Great Rivers Circus. Business isn't booming, but when circus performers start dropping like flies, the crowds start flocking in for a repeat performance. Soon Scotland Yard assigns a policeman, the dapper Superintendent Brooks (Robert Hardy) to question the circus employees, and stay on site until he's solved the case. <
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>Joan Crawford was in her mid 60s when she made "Berserk", and she isn't shy about slipping into her circus costume and showing off those legs. Monica Rivers is a powerful, cold-hearted businesswoman, and while she has lovers amongst the circus crowd, she doesn't let her dalliances interfere with the running of the circus. Business manager, Dorando (Michael Gough) is jealous of the strapping new trapeze artist, Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin). Hawkins is quick to curry favour with Monica Rivers. While she isn't averse to his hunky attentions, Monica still manages to keep Hawkins on a short leash. Monica's mothering instinct is revealed when her daughter Angela (Judy Geeson) arrives after being expelled from her boarding school. <
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>"Berserk" is cleverly sequenced. Horrible, grisly murders--with close ups of the victims' faces--occur as various circus acts are rigged for disaster. With acts such as the high wire trapeze, knife throwers, lion tamers, etc, the opportunities for disaster are great. The tension runs high as the circus acts open, and harmless and charming acts take place (the Intelligent Poodles, for example). Then high-risk acts commence, and we wait for the next murder to occur. The circus audience (which has grown larger with the news of each death) waits with baited breath and anticipated ghoulish delight as each act opens. It's a wicked, dark sense of humour indeed that creates grisly murder scenes within the magical anticipation of the circus <
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>"Berserk" is very cheesy and has a moderate camp appeal. There's a bearded lady at the circus, and the sexy Matilda (Diana Dors) gets into a girl fight with slaps exchanged and some great name-calling. On the negative side, the plot introduces a couple of red herrings that are never explained, and after the film's sensationalistic conclusion, the red herrings remain unexplored. Also some of the circus act scenes drag on interminably. Joan Crawford fans won't be able to resist, but "Berserk" is only moderately entertaining--displacedhuman

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Joan-Just the way you love her!!! Campy dream!
I was given Beserk as a Christmas gift from a friend. Its absolutly fabulous you get Joan Crawford in leotards and tights in a circus outfit. She plays Monica Rivers, owner of Rivers circus You get to hear her bitch at everyone that works for her (and who doesn't). The plot is, theres a killer knocking off people in the circus but who is it! Is it the hairy women? The skinny skinny man? The midget? Is it Joan? Is it the new guy in her act who she is dating, who is half her age! The cast of supporting freaks is a lot of fun!!! This movie is a MUST HAVE for CAMP lovers and people who love cheesy movies! One of my favorite movies of Joans, I'd say more fun then StraitJacket.

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Joan Crawford's Second To Last British "Horror", Film
"Berserk!", always comes in for a great deal of flak along with Joan Crawford's last film made two years later "Trog". Certainly they couldn't even begin to compare to the efforts from Joan's glory days at MGM, and Warner Bros. When titles such as "Grand Hotel", "The Women", "Mildred Pierce", "Possessed", and "Sudden Fear", come to mind these later British thriller/horror efforts from the late 1960's definately look poor indeed. However I always believe that "Berserk!" is an enjoyable outing to watch and Joan Crawford, being the real pro that she always was gives this little effort her absolute all like she still was starring at MGM.

In "Berserk!" also known by its English title "Circus of Blood", Crawford plays Monica Rivers the owner and mistress of ceremonies of a travelling circus. She is a woman hardened by the school of hard knocks common in circus life where beneath the fun and the bright costumes there exists a hard and cold existence. Monica rules the circus with a firm hand and always with an eye on increasing her profit margin on the acts she has perform at the circus. When a series of fatal accidents begin occuring during the performances Monica sees that behind these tragedies is a way to increase publicity for the circus. The rest of the circus performers become very scared with what is going on among them when it is revealed that the fall suffered by Gasper the Great from the tightrope was no accident and that his line had actually been cut. Monica comes into direct conflict with her business manager/sometime lover Dorando (Michael Gough) over how to handle the investigation into the "accidents". When he wants out from the circus Monica refuses and Dorando also finds himself jealous of Monica's attraction to much younger replacement Trapeze artist Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin) who has turned up at the circus looking for work, replaces the deceased Gasper in the show and worms his way into Monica's affections. Shortly Dorando is also found murdered in the Big Top further scaring the circus performers, in particular the brassy Matilda (Diana Dors), who is one half of an act where she is sawn in half. She blames Monica for the murders but before she can prove anything she too dies while performing. To complicate matters for Monica her unruly young daughter Angela suddenly turns up at the circus having left her school. She joins the knife throwing act. Monica's romance with Frank however runs into rough seas when he begins blackmailing her for a share of the circus profits and then he too finds a stray knife in his back while he is performing on the high wire. After an investigation by Scotland Yards Superintendant Brooks (Robert Hardy) it is revealed that Angela is the murderer and has long harboured an insane hatred of her mother after years of neglect. To get her total attention Angela has been "removing" those that take up her mothers time. Finally losing the last of her sanity Angela attempts to kill Monica however she herself is struck down by lightening outside the Big Top and dies in the rain.

Vintage melodrama perhaps but "Berserk!", has a whole series of talented British performers to create interest in a fairly ordinary story. Michael Gough as Monica's tired business associate has a wonderful rapport with Joan Crawford and his few scenes in the first part of the story are very well acted. Diana Dors, just starting to move out of her earlier glamour girl roles that often hid the fact that she was a very fine actress is excellent as the cheap, tarty circus performer who meets a grisly end under a cutting saw. Judy Geeson in her first film role is effective as the young daughter who is finally revealed as the villianess of the piece. Her innocent playing of her part is well enough done to create the right suspense when all is revealed at the end. Joan Crawford of course is the focal point of "Berserk!". In the first of her two Herman Cohen British based movies, Joan has often been accused of having no judgement in excepting this low budget feature. However as she said in a number of interviews, she quote, "wanted to remain a working actress, not just an ex performer plugging softdrinks (Pepsi)" unquote. In the absense of any better roles being offered to her "Berserk!" at least kept her in the limelight. The rich colour and great circus atmosphere of the film is well done and although not totally exciting there were far worse films made in that decade both before and after "Berserk!". Joan certainly looks the part of a glamourous ringmistress.Even in such a low budget production long after her great years of stardom Joan still showed that she was a true star in the old meaning of the word by insisting that famed costume designer Edith Head be especially hired to create her sensational two piece leotard outfit that she wears throughout the picture.

While far from the best horror circus thriller you will see "Berserk!" is not the total mess that alot of people make it out to be. I enjoy it for the lively later day Joan Crawford performance is contains but also because of the fact that no matter how cheap the production was Joan tackled it with the same commitment and seriousness that she did her great productions from earlier decades. "Berserk!", is a good little mystery to spend 90 minutes with. Enjoy