It's very sad to see Joan Crawford reduced to appearing in this cheaply made and poorly written opus but she behaves like a STAR all the way through. Who else would have looked so good in a leotard at 62 years old? The film is set in a travelling circus (in reality the UK's Billy Smarts Circus, one of the best and biggest of its day)and much of the running time is taken up with showing the acts. As most UK circus acts are now animal free it's an interesting history lesson to see how these acts were actually presented. It's quite a breathtaking sight to watch a huge elephant step over half a dozen women prostrate on the floor and rather sad to see the lion tamer putting half a dozen snarling, growling beasts through their paces. Just look at Joans expression as she helps lead out the performing poodles though, she's loving every minute of it! We know that she had pet poodles of her own and she is really in her element here. The plot (what there is of it) doesn't bear too much scrutiny and the revelation of the killer and the motive are quite ridiculous. Also on the minus side of things are some poor performances - George Claydon in particular and a cringe-making musical comedy number which appears out of nowhere. There is also a hugely embarrassing scene with Crawford looking like an ancient ghost, wearing shoulder length hair and a neck high negligee, being romanced in her trailer by hunky Ty Hardin - she was 62 and he 37! On the plus side there are some great character actors appearing including the fabulous Diana Dors, Michael Gough, Ambrosine Phillpotts and Robert Hardy but only Diana Dors gives Crawford a run for her money. Overall this is still a fun film for Crawford fans but if you're going to watch it don't watch the trailer first as it shows every killing and even the death of the (supposed) murderer!
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Greensleeves31 August 2007
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BaronBl00d1 December 2007Old Joan Crawford, dressed in tights and a ringmaster's coat throughout much of the film, plays Monica Rivers, circus owner and apparently heart-breaker to men decades younger than herself. Watch Joan cavort first with Michael Gough with lots of suggestions about their business and personal lives merging(fortunately for Gough this does not last too long as he soon finds himself nailed to another post). So with Gough gone, he-man Ty Hardin, a new high wire act who arrives after the old one hangs himself while performing, comes into the picture, no shirt half the time and all, and makes his moves for the less-than-sexy sixty plus year-old. Watching Crawford and her beaus work with heavily-laden dialog laced with absurd innuendo was the highlight of this film as it was just so preposterous. She looks ancient and yet acts like she is still 25! Anyway, the film itself is one of those films that is so very fun to watch just for those elements already mentioned, the then grisly murders as circus people start to die off, and the lush colour used in the film. The settings of the circus are believably done and Herman Cohen, the producer, always knew how to put on a good show. I even enjoyed some of the circus acts that were intermittently laced in the picture. The rest of the cast is very able with Gough, always good, and George Claydon playing Bruno excelling. Lovely Diana Dors and Judy Geeson also star. Hardin was really quite bad but I really enjoyed his trapeze act at the film's end. While the story can only be classified as silly and absurd, the ending seems way too abrupt even for this film. The film seems to be going along almost effortlessly - Joan prancing about working her guys over(Yuck!) and circus performers dying - then a quick ending that comes out of left field. Despite the many shortcomings, Berserk - why the heck is it named that? - is a whole lot of fun and is very similar, as some other reviewers have noted, to Straight-Jacket, Crawford's film for William Castle.
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dinky-425 August 2000The makings for a good thriller are here: a series of bizarre murders plagues a traveling circus as it journeys across England. Unfortunately, the film's pacing is slow and unimaginative. Scenes tend to run long and they've not been shaped to create any real suspense or urgency. Occasionally the film simply stops for footage of circus acts which, though mildly interesting, do little to advance the plot. Even the revelation of the killer's identity proves disappointing since this revelation doesn't seem to grow out of past events but has simply been "tacked on."
Despite these faults, there's a curiously likable quality to "Berserk," and Joan Crawford's damn-the-torpedoes performance as the circus owner lends it a certain "campy" charm. Especially amusing are her romantic scenes with Ty Hardin who was about 26 years her junior at the time of the filming.
Ty may have been a bit past his "beefcake" prime which he reached in his "Chapman Report" appearance some five years earlier, but he still looks good here with his shirt off, even though there's a curious reluctance to show his navel.
Rounding out the cast are Michael Gough, Diana Dors, and Judy Geeson. Robert Hardy plays the policeman sent to investigate the murders but his part proves to be superfluous. -
Joan Crawford's fans will appreciate her foray into yet another horror show, this time as the feisty, hard-edged manager of a traveling circus show suddenly burdened with murders of several circus members. The careful photography cannot hide the fact that Crawford has aged considerably--and consequently, although her figure is still trim, her scenes with hunky Ty Hardin have an unpleasant and unbelievable quality about them.
The plot is strictly standard fare--who is responsible for the series of gruesome murders? For awhile, it looks like Joan herself is probably the wicked one--and there are a few other red herrings to make you think you know who did it. When the ending is revealed, in a climactic thunderstorm, it comes as a distinct letdown although a surprise, the reason being the guilty one is given no substance in the plot. The killer's identity seems highly implausible which makes the ending seem as though it has been merely tacked on to provide a final scene.
As these sort of things go, BERSERK isn't a bad way to pass the time on a low-budget mystery. The technicolor is good, Joan's costumes are fantastic, her shapely legs are on almost constant display and she uses her haughty manner to great effect. The details of circus life are smoothly integrated into the story and some of the animal acts are amusing--but none of the characters have any depth. Ty Hardin makes a handsome and arrogant stud whose daredevil highwire act provides some high moments of suspense as he performs over a row of spikes below. Like Crawford, he's given ample opportunities to show off his handsome physique.
Diana Dors makes the most of her role as an outspoken tart and all of the supporting performances are competent enough--Michael Gough, Judy Geeson and Robert Hardy. Certainly worth a view if you're a Crawford fan. The dialogue is ripe with campy one-liners.
Trivia note: The plot is slightly reminiscent of Barbara Stanwyck's LADY OF BURLESQUE where a series of backstage murders takes place with a slim plot involving a jealous performer. -
tamstrat11 May 2005This is a strange movie on a lot of different levels. The basic premise is Monica Rivers owns a traveling circus, and in the first few moments of the flick her high wire star is murdered (inexplicably by the tightwire snapping and then hanging him-unbelievable). This gruesome death increases business so Monica is needless to say not to upset her star has gone to the big tent in the sky. There are several other wildly amusing murders and no one in the circus is safe. Is Monica the murderer or is she just an innocent victim, next on the list? The one and only Joan Crawford wildly overacts as the circus owner Monica Rivers. She chews up the scenery as she torments the poor, frightened circus performers. She looks pretty great in her Ringmaster's Costume, even at 63 she had fantastic legs, but it is stomach churning to see her love scenes with the hunky Ty Hardin who was young enough to be her son for God's sake!!!! The idea that any man would pick the aging Monica over the young and beautiful Matilda (sluttily played to perfection by Diana Dors)is just too hard to fathom. Joan was just too old to pull this off, yet somehow we are to believe that she has so much allure she can get any man she wants.
The circus scenes go on WAAAAAAAAAAY too long, endless scenes of leaping poodles and llamas running, etc. They should have spent the time used on these pointless scenes developing the storyline more. There could have been a great movie here, but it never quite comes together. Poor Joan had been reduced in her later years to playing the "Grand Guignol" and she does a fair job of it, but the material is just too weak. The color of the film is vibrant, and there are some creepy moments of Monica being stalked as she walks through the circus late at night, but the ending is just too sudden and too abrupt. It left me wanting to know more of why the killer did what they did. There are some great campy scenes as well, 2 women catfighting, Joan making out with the young lover, etc., but overall I would say this movie is for die hard Joan Crawford fans only. -
Aussie Stud12 May 2002Joan Crawford is the lone notable hi-light in this highly ridiculous yet entertaining popcorn fluff where a psychopath infiltrates and wreaks havoc upon a traveling circus troupe in Europe.
Joan Crawford portrays the owner and ring-master of the Circus, "The Great Rivers Circus" - she is a gutsy, feisty no-holds-barred woman who is hell-bent on running her circus while a murderer terrorizes her employees by offing their victims in bizarre fashions. For example, one tight rope walker is hanged by his own tight-rope after it frays and snaps during a live performance - another man has a pick driven through his head and a woman is literally 'sawed' in half in a hilarious scene that involves a buzz saw and two missing screws (!!).
Meanwhile, Crawford tries to capitalize on the murders by cashing in on the general public and their morbid fascination with death by making sure that the 'show must go on'. Box office receipts have never been better after the murders begin and the audience must wonder, is Crawford behind it all? Is this just some sick over-the-top publicity stunt?
Further characters introduced into the story line include a hot-shot tight-rope walker (Ty Hardin) who also plays her love interest and future business partner, a flirtatious blonde circus performer who tries to stir up trouble among her colleagues by implying that Crawford is the murderer and an incredibly ludicrous situation that allows the film to introduce Angela, Crawford's mischief-making daughter who has just been expelled from an exclusive ladies college for her disruptive behavior. Any of these key players including all the circus folk could turn out to be the murderer, but which one is it?
Crawford is perfectly cast in "BERSERK", in a highly camp role that could only have worked with no one else but her in it. Sporting a ridiculous blonde hairdo while wearing see-through night apparel and exposing her long legs while donning a ring master's outfit, she manages to nail down hilarious one liners such as, "That Matilda the Mouth!", and, "Just remember, I was the one who gave you all a home!" while at the same time, keeping a straight face. Her delivery of such is highly commendable.
Besides Crawford's performance, many other highly camp scenes also take place in the movie - including a cat fight scene that breaks out between two women after one heckles at the other, "Don't fall down - you might hurt your brain!", Crawford being stalked by a mysterious silhouette between a set of caravans(!), and the countless filler scenes involving actual circus out-takes of dancing poodles and high-wire acrobats using a 'love rocket' apparatus(!!).
The climatic conclusion of "BERSERK" is riotous. When the killer is revealed, laughter will ensue as their motives for murdering its victims come to light, followed by a scene where they dash outside the circus tent only to be conveniently struck by lightning(!)
Nothing in "BERSERK" quite makes sense, but it is actually a rather amusing film. Crawford never looked better in her twilight years - although she would finally succumb to starring in nothing other than this kind of trashy fare. Watching her being seduced by Ty Hardin is a notch below completely embarrassing, yet it is also at the same time completely hilarious. "BERSERK" is certainly among the dregs of misfired film projects, but it isn't as bad as say a matinee showing on "MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000".
Crawford fans should give "BERSERK" a gander - I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
My Rating - 6 out of 10 -
MOscarbradley25 February 2019Yes, it's dreadful but then you seriously didn't think it would be anything else? "Berserk" was Joan Crawford's penultimate cinema release and at least she gets her name above the credits. She's the owner of a circus where the performers are dropping like flies and she made the film in the UK so the cast includes the likes of Diana Dors, Michael Gough, Robert Hardy and Judy Geeson. The male lead is a mostly shirtless Ty Hardin who probably needed the money to pay for his alimony. Indeed, this may well be a camp classic; it's certainly impossible to watch it with anything like a straight face and while Joan may be stiffer than a poker, at least you can't take your eyes off her.
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planktonrules7 August 2007Okay, I'll admit this movie ain't Shakespeare nor is it likely to be confused with a Bergman or Fellini film! The movie, like many of Joan Crawford's later films, is highly entertaining but also high on the camp factor--with lots of suspense but also lots of over-the-top action! It seems that after WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? that Crawford cheerfully accepted the schlocky direction her career turned and played it to the hilt--starring in some wonderfully clever suspense films like STRAIGHT-JACKET and BERSERK! All these film are far from subtle and low-budget, but somehow in spite of their many shortcomings, they entertain! Snobs and sophisticates may not think much of them, but they deliver on the chills and action! This film casts Joan in a very odd role as the owner of a small circus and ringmaster. During the course of several months, several performers die. At first, it might just be accidental, but when the business manager gets a tent spike driven through his head, you know it ain't suicide! In fact, for the kitsch film lover, the many deaths in the film are all rather entertaining and silly--a lady getting sawn in half, a man being hung by a high wire rope, a guy getting a knife in the back and falling to his death on a bed of swords! I tell you, it's never dull! It's also very reminiscent of the Dr. Phibes films because of all the clever killings. In addition to a fun script and lots of shrill acting, the film features some dandy real circus acts. I particularly loved the poodle act--it's a real hoot.
About the only letdown is the very end. How the murderer is exposed seemed a little too easy but how they soon died by accident shortly after this just seemed silly and anti-climactic. Other than the ending, the only other negatives are seeing Joan in tights (at 61) and her love affair with Ty Hardin who was significantly younger than her. I don't know if Ms. Crawford had anything to do with it, but in several of her newer films she played characters way too old to be bedding such young men (such as Hardin, Jack Palance and Jeff Chandler).
By the way, for you "Pepsi Watchers" out there, note the kid in the audience near the end of the film drinking Pepsi from a bottle. This is sort of an inside joke, as Crawford was on the board of directors at Pepsi and insisted on sneaking a bottle into her films as often as possible. In her later films, it's much like trying to spot Hitchcock in his films--you know that if you look closely enough, it's bound to turn up somewhere. -
Joan Crawford made some decent (if routine) thrillers after the success of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", but "Berserk!" isn't one of them. A scream-filled, British-made heap of horror clichés, the plot involves a traveling circus beset with a psychopathic killer. Crawford runs the carnage-ridden carnival, and shows lots o' leg in her circus-manager costumes, yet these revealing outfits are a little bit laughable on a woman well into her sixties. Despite the obvious camp-value, the film isn't very enjoyable; it's shameful swill, a low-budget atrocity which may attract masochistic film-buffs, although the trained poodle act is kinda cute. *1/2 from ****
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RNQ23 February 2004Berserk!, despite many things including its overkill title, is not as bad as some people claim, though not a great success either, not as good as Max Ophuel's Lola Montes. The actors get through their lines professionally. Set in a circus, the movie does a tolerably good job of showing performers of the class of "freaks" as responsible participants, notably George Claydon. Its best scene is when the character played by the ueberblonde Diana Dors barges in, bottle in hand, on shirtless Ty Hardin, and he resists her close up. For his own reasons, he's set instead on Joan Crawford. Joan was not a spring chicken by the time the movie was made, if she ever was one: she looks good in her ringmaster's costume, running the circus she owns, but someone should have helped her better with the red cloak she throws over her dowdy nightgown and told her never to let down her red-tinted hair. The real problem is that the movie never lets sparks fly between her and Ty Hardin. It's not a question of age difference, because look at Anna Magnani's triumphs over Burt Lancaster and Marlon Brando. OK, Joan Crawford in this movie has the additional handicap of playing a character hard as nails. But a better script would have made the discrepancy of her motives tragic. The last 10 minutes close things down in a pretty improbable way (the last murder is not done by the same person as the others). It would have helped to have ten more minutes for the Crawford character to be bereft and not berserk. Meanwhile, for those into it, there are lots of circus acts that emphasize their risks.
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mukava99120 October 2008Berserk is not as dreadful as I had anticipated. It's a straightforward and reasonably entertaining whodunit set in a traveling circus in Britain. Overall I wouldn't call the pacing slow, as others have, but it is odd. At the beginning the story moves along briskly, as the plot quickly thickens. Then periodically it breaks for extended circus acts that have no bearing on the story, though it could be argued that since we are half expecting a new murder to occur at any moment, we have no choice but to be attentive. Certainly this wouldn't be much of a film without the centerpiece, Joan Crawford, who delivers a forceful performance as the hardboiled boss of the circus. Over sixty, her hair is dyed pinkish blonde and worn tightly pulled back to emphasize her still attractive facial features (and possibly to lift the face) and in half her scenes she is wearing a mistress-of-ceremonies outfit with bare legs. She could still pull it off. But one notices several instances of "Joan Crawford lighting" that started in the 50s if not earlier: in these instances the upper part of her face is high lit but there is a convenient shadow under the chin to de-emphasize the sagging jawline. (These days the average actress of 60-plus has had surgical facelifts.) The tone of her acting here is very much like the performance she gave around the same period on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm in which she subbed for her ailing daughter who was a regular cast member of the show: full throttle whether necessary or not – but you got your money's worth or at least felt you were being generously served by the performer.
Ty Hardin as a high wire performer who sort of has the hots for Joan (we really can't tell because the script coyly dances around the issue) was on a career downturn at the time this was made and doesn't make much of an impression here. Diana Dors as an abrasive member of Crawford's troupe of performers enlivens every scene she's in. Just when you think she is stealing the film, in steps Crawford to show everyone who's the Star.
The production values are cheap but so well presented that they almost look expensive. Shooting actual circus acts lends an air of plausibility to the film as a whole that the script itself lacks, and one can understand the logic of approaching the production from this angle. If you cut out all of the genuinely interesting circus material this would be very thin gruel indeed. The scoring is also peculiar. Usually it's par-for-the-course sinister/suspenseful. But sometimes it veers off into a lush studio orchestra sound of the kind you'd expect to hear as underscoring to a scene of a limo gliding to a stop in front of a Beverly Hills mansion wherein Lana Turner is longing for love. This disconcerting shift occurs right after the dandy opening scene and credits.
Crawford seems in her element here as a tough lady with responsibilities and she is the main reason to see the film. -
ricky_says_hi12 August 2006Now most people say this is a ridiculous and pretentious piece of clap-trap but they're wrong. This is considerably better than most crappy '80s period movies i've seen. Joan Crawford plays Monica Rivers, a sexy owner of The Great Rivers Circus who wastes no time in taking advantage of the publicity brought in by a string of murders - two of which happen during a performance - and falls under suspicion, all thanks to the loud-mouth Matilda (Diana Dors). She seems to fall apart with each tragedy and soon everyone - including her daughter (Judy Geeson), the cool-dude tightrope walker (Ty Harding) and the pompous manager (Michael Gough) - wonders if she's gone 'BERSERK'. Despite a few airy-fairy conversations and ludicrous puns, BERSERK is definitely a cult classic and should be seen if you've never been to a circus. It makes good use of suspense and you don't know who is getting it next.
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matthewrmt28 March 2006I recently saw this on the 'Big Screen' and laughed all the way through the film. This is not a film to be taken seriously.
From the highly improbable yet shocking title credit, you know it will be an overacted, campy, ride. I mean, how many times do you see emergency personnel put someone on a stretcher face down to carry them out?!? The few murders are delightfully over the top and the dialogue is bitchy and knowing. It tries to be 'hard boiled" and fails miserably!
Yes, there are several scenes that are too long and/or pointless. We are shown entire circus acts of parading elephants and prancing poodle--even a bizarre musical number from out of nowhere. These scenes slow down an otherwise fun, campy film--although, they do add a sort of 'out-of-touch' surrealness to the film.
At the end, when the killer is reveal and the killer screeches that they had to "kill, kill, kill!" the audience in the theater roared with laughter.
This is film that should be seen with friends, preferable those that enjoy over the top acting, campy dialogue and inventive (if very improbable) murders! -
dbdumonteil12 July 2007In the wake of her brilliant "Whatever happened to Baby Jane" (1962) ,with a pleasing grasp of continuity ,Joan Crawford continued in the thriller vein.Unfortunately there is no Robert Aldrich here (and no Bette Davis either).
Actually we are closer to "Straight Jacket" (1964) which was a hilarious camp fest."Berserk" is more "conventional" which does not mean "plausible".When you know the killer's identity which I won't reveal of course,you'll say to yourself "how come?"."Berserk!" is primarily a whodunit à la Agatha Christie (doesn't it take place in England?The- murderer- is -among -us- and- pretty- soon -someone- else is-gonna- die stuff),but without anything of the writer's algebra .
Nevertheless,the circus is the place where you dangerously live.Anything can happen during the show so there is a good suspense which would not be sustained if the action took place,say,in a forest near a lake.The high-wire walker,the knives-thrower's partner,the girls under the elephant's feet,the lion tamer ,and Diana Dors in her box waiting for the saw which will cut her in two halves ,all are in danger even if the murderer does not strike.That's the strength of the movie. -
Boyo-225 August 1999"We've eaten caviar, and we've eaten sawdust".
Only Joan Crawford could muster the dramatics possible to make the above line actually work, but she does it all with a totally straight face and makes this movie hysterically funny! Her scenes in lingerie with studmuffin Ty Hardin must be seen to be believed. That woman must have had an ego the size of Texas. The movie is worth seeing as a 'bad' movie that you'll enjoy. -
GroovyDoom18 January 2009SPOILERS (including the identity of the killer) Obviously spun off of the success of Joan's earlier film "Strait-Jacket", "Berserk!" attempts to set up a similar situation where Joan is plagued by vicious murders going on around her. The similarities don't end there, either. Once again, we get the impression that Joan's character is supposed to be a few decades younger than Joan is, giving you an odd feeling when the men in the film are directed to treat her as a sex object.
Instead of a reformed murderess, Joan portrays the bun-wearing, leotard-clad owner of a traveling circus. Right away things start to go bad for the performers; one guy is doing a highwire routine when the wire snaps and, defying all laws of physics, coils around the guy's neck and hangs him. Does this qualify him as a "wire hanger"?
"Berserk!" piles on the gory deaths, the most outrageous of which is when a character gets a spike driven through the back of his head and it erupts from his forehead. A scene where a woman was sawed in half would have been the most grisly, were it not for the fact that there isn't a single drop of blood anywhere, not even on the saw blade. A close runner up for most terrifying moment is when Joan and her studmuffin boy toy share a candlelight dinner in her trailer and he tells her "I'm crazy about you." Oddly enough, the writers played up to the "Strait-Jacket" legacy by having Joan's daughter turn out to be the killer, even giving her a scene where she gets to really go berserk just like Diane Baker did.
The script is short and padded into a feature length by the constant insertion of seemingly unending footage of circus acts. There's no real point to showing the circus acts. They don't advance the plot, and who wants to watch a five minute elephant parade during a horror movie? There's also a meaningless musical number performed by the circus "freaks", with Tod Browning nowhere in sight. We want JOAN, dammit--Joan in a leotard, baring her legs to the crotch. Joan with her hair in a severe bun that takes on the shape of a flaxen balls of yarn on top of her head. Joan slapping a nosy photographer and Joan pushing people out of her way. Joan flirting like a schoolgirl with a guy who might actually be young enough to be her grandson. She's the real cougar in this zoo of a circus film.
Let's see, since I already told you who the killer is, I might as well go all the way and tell you that she doesn't get away with her crimes. Much like Rhoda Penmark, she runs out into the rain, and while she's running through a wet patch in the grass, a cartoon bolt of lightning splits a black screen and apparently zaps her to death. Poor her. And poor Joan. -
AlsExGal19 December 2022A high-wire act is going on as the film opens. The wire snaps, and Gaspar The Great is victim #1. Ringmaster Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) sends out clowns to distract the audience as the body is carried off. Later that night, Rivers is going over box-office receipts, which upsets her manager Dorando (Michael Gough). He accuses her of not having a heart. The rest of the film is a whodunit, spiced with occasional killings, red herrings, and animal acts (the French poodle act was my favorite).
The Billy Smart Circus of Britain did the animal acts and the most difficult stunts. They also participated in an earlier British horror film, "Circus of Horrors" (1960).
Joan Crawford has a marvelous time chewing the scenery and outacting her costars. Diana Dors is fine as Matilda, the woman whose partner "does nothing in bed but snore". Hardin is the hunk who replaces Gaspar on the wire and in Monica's bed. Geeson is the girl who gets herself expelled from a private school and goes to work as the target in the knife throwing act.
The film does slow down after a fast moving first half hour. The finale is too abrupt, unconvincing, and badly staged. Despite these faults, film is still worth a watch. -
mark.waltz24 September 2018Poor Michael Gough gets the worst of it here early on with a very gruesome demise that has to be seen to be believed. In what is essentially a color retread of "Straight Jacket", Joan Crawford plays the mannish looking owner of a traveling circus, seducing new trapeze artist Ty Hardin with all the determined and unromantic allure she can muster. She has no time for nonsense such as real romance, not with bills to pay, feuding performers to keep from killing each other, and Scotland Yard breathing down her neck because of sudden accidents on the high wire with the trapeze artists falling to their deaths. Then out of the blue comes a musical number that wouldn't have been out of place in the musical "Side Show", a ridiculous and unbelievable death involving a broken spring on the box sliced in half (where the victim doesn't scream until the blade would be half way through them), and the revelation of the killer which seems so out of place and took my rating down a bit.
So yes, Crawford is still glamorous looking, but it is easy to see why many people insists that as she got older, Crawford looked more like a drag queen than a fading 30's movie legend. Ty Hardin is ruthlessly sexy, using his manly wiles to get what he wants from Crawford to move up in the ranks of the circus (and obviously with the intention of getting his hands on it by manipulating Crawford into marriage), and Diana Dors is malevolently vindictive as part of a magic act that goes wrong. Even then, she's so nasty to everybody around her that you know she won't be missed, and the gruesome way she's taken care of might even be applauded by some! Judy Geeson is wide eyed innocence with some sly motivations as Crawford's daughter, kept out of sight for the first part of the film by being away in boarding school. The scene where she's kicked out and returned to Crawford reminds me of the scene in "Mommie Dearest" where Faye Dunaway, as Crawford, must pick up daughter Christina after she is expelled.
I enjoyed the hysterical, if lengthy dog act, that takes up a good five minutes during part of the film, and when trapeze acts do happen without incident, the tension is unbearable. The humor quotient is high, as is the camp element of the film, with more than just Crawford's overly made up face (with still great looking legs in tights) getting unintentional laughs. It is a bad film that ranks higher because it is extremely enjoyable on so many levels. What weakens it is the revelation of the guilty party that has no motivation and just seems to be a desperate measure for the screenwriter to proclaim their being smarter than the audience who would never predict this, unless they picked up clues that I somehow missed. -
Several murders at a circus in Britain demand a police investigation, including a detective from Scotland Yard. Joan Crawford plays the cold owner, Ty Hardin a high wire artist, Diana Dors a sultry performer and Judy Geeson the daughter of the owner.
"Berserk!" (1967) is similar to "Circus of Horrors" (1960) but with Crawford's star power; not that I'm a fan, but she certainly has the charisma to carry a film. While it lacks the spectacular feminine cast of "Circus of Horrors," it does feature a couple of notable women as high wire artists in the second half, not to mention Dors as Matilda; and Geeson's a'right. Meanwhile, Crawford was in great shape for a woman of 62 years of age when the flick was shot. Of course no one believes that Hardin's character is remotely attracted to her, but we can chalk that up to avarice.
This also has superior circus acts & animals compared to "Circus of Horrors," perhaps because it took advantage of an actual circus for the shoot. There's some hokey melodrama, of course, but anyone who appreciates circus/carnival flicks, like "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952), "Roustabout" (1964), "Water for Elephants" (2011) and the aforementioned "Circus of Horrors" should enjoy this.
The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot at Shepperton Studio, just west of London, and Billy Smart Circus.
GRADE: B -
. . . Joan Crawford's agent (no doubt a very brave man) should have told her. "Maybe a dramatic anthology, we could get you a recurring role on 'Peyton Place,' hell, I'll have Tennesse Williams write you a play and you'll finally be on Broadway. But please, don't do 'Berserk.' I know you're a Christian Scientist but all the prayer in the world won't heal your career if you make this bomb." However, Joan was a strong-willed lady (to put it mildly) and so she went, well, "Berserk." This might be the worst idea, ever, for a motion picture. It's a cheapie that intersperses scenes of circus acts with a grisly serial-killer mystery. Which means it's supposed to appeal to small children and teenaged horror fans -- two audience segments which should not, repeat, not be in the same theater. Perhaps knowing what kind of turkey they were stuffing, the screenwriters didn't worry too much about continuity. "Berserk" may set a cinematic record for unresolved plot points. What happened to Joan's husband? Why did the trapeze artist kill a man in Toronto? Why is the cockney midget stalking Joan? Maybe the filmmakers intended to tie all these loose threads together but apparently they got so sick of making this movie that they concocted a ridiculous deux ex machina for an ending and called it a wrap. ("Nice working with you, Miss Crawford." "I wish -- hic! -- I could say the -- hic! -- same.")
The plot, such as it is, centers around Joan as the owner of a traveling circus in Britain. Is Joan supposed to be English? The movie never bothers to explain her accent, but her ungrateful blonde daughter (shades of things to come!) is played by the very British Judy Geeson. Joan's performers and business associates start dying mysteriously, but she isn't too upset by it, since the bad publicity is good for business and her legs still look good in her Mistress of Ceremonies costume. Her romantic interest is "portrayed" by Ty Hardin, who's half her age and half as animated. Hardin would go on to join the Aryan Nation in the 1970s, perhaps blaming "the Jews who run Hollywood" for his film non-career. He should blame his mediocre looks and lack of talent instead. The circus acts are mildly entertaining, the foppish detective investigating the murders is moderately amusing, but the horror is, for the most part, pretty lame -- the producers apparently didn't budget for much blood so only one or the murders is even remotely gory. Watch at your own risk. -
BA_Harrison25 November 2019After her success in 'What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?', past-her-prime Hollywood star Joan Crawford appeared in several horror/thriller films for which 'camp' is perhaps the most applicable adjective. Rather than begrudgingly accept each ridiculous role and phoning in a lacklustre performance (as so many 'down on their luck' actors have done), Crawford actually appeared to embrace the genre and relish its absurdity.
And absurd this film most definitely is, but certainly no less enjoyable for it. From the brilliant reveal of the film's title (a high wire performer falls and is hung by the neck, his body swinging across the screen to reveal the word Berserk) to the quite outrageous finalé, this is as much fun as a barrel of monkeys.
Speaking of monkeys, there aren't any, despite the circus setting; there are, however, acrobatic elephants, prancing ponies, trained lions, and pack of performing poodles, all part of the traveling show owned by Monica Rivers (Crawford). After her business manager Dorando (Michael Gough) is murdered, Miss Rivers finds that the crowds start to pour in out of morbid curiosity and in the hope of catching some real drama. Since the circus's owner is the one who stands to profit most from the deaths, she becomes one of the prime suspects, but there's no shortage of other possible killers: midget Bruno (George Claydon), blonde Matilda (British sex symbol Diana Dors), new high-wire act Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin), as well as a gypsy fortune-teller, a bearded lady, a strong man, and a skeleton man. Hell, even some of the zebras look a little suspicious. It's up to Scotland Yard's Detective Supt. Brooks (Robert Hardy) to try and crack the case.
Director Jim O'Connolly makes the most of his colourful circus world with plenty of entertaining acts to punctuate the drama, including a lion-tamer who definitely earns his wage. The acting from the supporting cast (the circus performers) is diabolical, which is entertaining in itself, while the death scenes range from the tame (the off-screen sawing in half of a victim) to the nice and gory (a metal tent spike through the head and a high fall onto steel bayonets). There's also a fair amount of glamour: for those who don't mind them on the mature side, Crawford swans around in a black leotard; for those who like 'em fuller figured, there's Dors, squeezed into a corset; and for those who prefer them still in their teens, we have pretty Judy Geeson as Rivers' feisty daughter Angela, who wears a revealing costume as a knife-thrower's assistant.
After lots of squabbling between the circus folk, several impressively colour-coordinated outfits from Crawford, and a hilarious lip-synched song and dance routine from the midget, the bearded lady, the strong man, and the skeleton man, we finally find out the identity and motive of the killer, and it's so dumb it cannot fail to entertain. As the killer makes a bid to escape, they are struck by lightning, which makes for a fittingly bonkers end to a totally trashy horror. -
bkoganbing18 October 2008Joan Crawford's next to last feature film Berserk finds her as boss lady of a circus where a string of murders is being committed. I will say the best thing about Berserk is the circus acts from the Billy Smart Circus where the film was shot in the United Kingdom.
As for the film it's your usual slasher flick that could have, but didn't come from Hammer Studios. The whole cast with the exception of Crawford and Ty Hardin playing the hunky high wire artist were from Great Britain and the continent.
Hardin's one daring dude, his high wire act not only consists of no net, but he walks underneath a row of very sharp spikes. There's no surviving if he falls.
And there's a rapid rate of homicide at Crawford's show unless Scotland Yard in the person of Inspector Robert Hardy can figure out who is killing off the circus, a bit at a time.
Maybe Berserk might have been better had Hammer Films actually had done this production. This was the kind of thing they were good at, even if the villain isn't a supernatural one. I will say that the death of Michael Gough is a shocking and original one. You might want to catch Berserk for that alone.
As it is there are more red herrings thrown up as potential suspects in Berserk than at feeding time at Marineland.
You'll go Berserk just trying to figure it all out. -
bilahn12 August 2007Some people really have no sense of humor. I am talking about the ones who dissect the script and the acting, on and on, and say what a bad movie it is. OK, fine, on that basis, I give it a 4! But it's funny, it's campy, and doesn't commit the worst sin a movie can make, that is, it is not boring.
Actually I found it not as bad on its own merits as I expected. But in any case, the garishness, the 60s nostalgia, the unintentionally hilarious dialogue, and of course, most of all the inimitable Joan Crawford looking like a combination of Mae West and Divine.
If you liked Berserk and want to see another "bad" Joan Crawford horror fest, I highly recommend Straight Jacket, which I truly rate a 10! -
ah-3124317 March 2021In this hammy movie, old Crawford is bit*h slapping her employees and a photog away from her circus high-wire act who hanged himself in a 'not so accidental' freak accident. We're supposed to believe the newly hired young high-wire guy has the hots for old Crawford. Upon seeing the two together coupled with the riotously funny dialogue, I'm not sure which is bigger---the laugh or the skin crawl. The murders are preposterous, and the only scream worthy event in the movie is Crawford's terrible acting (not to mention her wardrobe). In one of the scenes, Crawford is wearing a green sequined flapper looking thing. The dress made her look like an alligator. The melodramatic ending is unintentionally hilarious, as is Crawford's stone faced performance. Crawford tries too hard to be convincing, and only comes across as wooden and brash. The dialogue is laugh out loud funny, and Crawford's delivery is snarky, barky, and loaded with malarkey. A horror flick doesn't necessarily have to be realistic to be good, just scary. But not only are the murders absurd, they would be impossible to carry out. And, the movie is padded with too many circus scenes. However, the movie is entertaining because of its high camp factor.
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Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) is the owner of a traveling circus. One night the tightrope walker's rope breaks. He falls and (somewhat impossibly) is hung by his own rope. The next day Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin) shows up looking for a job--and he just happens to be a tightrope walker. Rivers hires him...and almost immediately begins romancing him! But then a bunch of gory murders begin happening. Michael Gough gets a spike through the head--Diana Dors is cut in half and there's a real surprising killing at the end.
This is pretty awful. The murders themselves are pretty well-done but that's about it. By today's standards they're not that violent but were really pretty strong for 1968. Most of the film is padding--endless circus acts and pointless, uninteresting material detailing the personal lives of the performers. Also seeing 64 year old Crawford romancing 38 year old Hardin is kind of scary. And Crawford (looking pretty good considering) has many needless dramatic scenes and she overacts all the way. Hardin is very handsome but can't act. Diana Dors does what she can with the miserable sex pot role she was given. Even Michael Gough was bad. Only Judy Geeson gives a halfway interesting performance. And the revelation of the killer at the end is ludicrous. If you think about it, it was impossible for the killer to even perform two of the killings!
Boring, stupid with only a few nice bloody killings to liven it up--but they're few and far between. A real come down for Crawford. Skip it.