Rent Berserk (1967)

Decent story let down by the telling - Berserk review by NP

Joan Crawford tops the bill in this alleged thriller set in a circus where someone is killing off the acts. Sadly, at least two of the most interesting characters fall victim to the murderer. Crawford is in her sixties here, and yet the only person to comment adversely to her cooing naïve sweet nothings to hunky Frank (Ty Hawkins) is wayward daughter Judy Geeson.

Sadly, the real casualty here is the story. Despite strong performances from a suave Robert Hardy as Superintendent Brooks and an underused Geoffrey Keen as Commissioner Dalby, no progress is ever really made on catching the killer, therefore there’s no real sense of pace or progression. It comes to something when the most impressive scenes comprise of footage from a real circus, involving magnificent animals made to look silly by smiling, costumed humans. When the film’s running time comes to an end (SPOILER), the killer simply confesses and manages to escape despite running through a live circus packed with performers, public and police – but don’t worry: the killer is struck by lightning and is killed - very convenient, very anti-climactic. Also, Jim O'Connolly’s direction is sluggish and contains some strange choices – at one point, switching scenes abruptly, cutting off a line of dialogue. There’s even a musical number towards the end, just to obfuscate the mood even more.

Joan Crawford’s long career had some ups and downs: many people view her final film ‘Trog’ as her least enjoyable. I would say ‘Berserk!’ actually trumps that. The odd gory moment seems very out of place in a sadly dull production, which is the biggest sin of all, especially using – or under-using – a fine cast including Michael Gough, Diana Dors, Philip Madoc all attempting to breathe life into proceedings. My score is 5 out of 10.