Berserk! is a 1968 Columbia Pictures horror/thriller/mystery motion picture starring Joan Crawford and Ty Hardin. Others in the cast include Diana Dors, Michael Gough, Judy Geeson, Robert Hardy, and Thomas Cimarro. // Events October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts. ... The Columbia Pictures logo, since 1996. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... Thriller films are movies that primarily use action and suspense to engage the audience. ... Mystery film is a film genre which uses mystery as an element to the plot. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... Joan Crawford, photographed by Yousuf Karsh, 1948 Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905 – May 10, 1977) was an acclaimed Academy Award winning American actress. ... Ty Hardin in Cheyenne Ty Hardin Ty Hardin was born in New York City on January 1, 1930. ... Diana Dors Diana Dors (October 23, 1931 – May 4, 1984) was a British actress born in Swindon, England as Diana Fluck. ... Michael Gough (born November 23, 1917 in Malaya) is an English character actor. ... Judy Geeson (born September 10, 1948 in Arundel, Sussex) is an English actress. ... Robert Hardy as Cornelius Fudge in the film Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (born October 29, 1925) is one of Britains best-known and most popular actors, and also an acknowledged expert on the longbow. ...

Directed by Jim O'Connolly, produced by Herman Cohen and co-produced by Robert Sterne for Herman Cohen Productions, the script was by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel. Original music was by John Scott. Cinematography was by Desmond Dickinson. Costumes were designed by Jay Hutchison Scott. The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... A film producer oversees the making of movies. ... Herman Cohen (August 27, 1925 - June 2, 2002) was a producer of B-movies during the 1950s, who helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf. ... A screenplay or script is a blueprint for producing a motion picture. ... John Scott (1731-1783) of Amwell, Quaker poet and friend of Samuel Johnson John Scott, American (Missouri) politician John Scott, U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania John Scott, editor of the London Magazine, killed in a duel in 1821 John Scott (1874? - September 23, 1951), Canadian newspaper editor and publisher John...

Crawford's sensational two-piece leotard outfit was designed for her as a favor by Edith Head. Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who had a long career in Hollywood that garnered her more Academy Awards than any other woman in history. ...

Berserk! was filmed in England at Shepperton Studios and at the Billy Smart Circus. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Shepperton Studios at Shepperton, Surrey, England is a film studio with a long history of film making. ...

U.S. release: January 11, 1968 January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

96 mins.; Technicolor It has been suggested that John Hay Whitney/Technicolor be merged into this article or section. ...

Synopsis

The Great Rivers Circus, which is owned and operated by the still fit and sexy ringmaster Monica Rivers (played by Crawford), has not been doing very good business as it travels across England. Then a peculiar death occurs during a performance as the tightrope walker, "Great Gaspar" (played by Cimarro), is hanged by his tightrope when it frays and snaps. Tightrope walking is a spectacle activity usually performed for the amusement of an audience. ...

Almost as soon as Gaspar dies, Frank Hawkins (played by Hardin) appears on the scene looking for a job and just happens to be a tightrope walker. Monica hires him to replace Gaspar and he performs as "Magnificent Hawkins." Scotland Yard assigns a detective, Superintendent Brooks (played by Hardy), to investigate and solve the case. It is revealed that Gaspar's fall was no accident; the tightrope had actually been cut. New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ...

The resultant publicity from the death causes business to pick up tremendously as large crowds are drawn to the circus audience, apparently hoping to see a repeat performance of death under the Big Top. Monica, a hard-edged, no-nonsense and pragmatic business woman, is determined that "the show must go on." She argues with her business manager and lover, Dorando (played by Gough), about how to handle the investigation. When he wants out of the circus, she refuses. In the meantime, Frank is quick to gain favor with her and Dorando is jealous of her attraction to the strapping and much younger man. The Big Top of Billy Smarts Circus Cambridge 2004. ...

The deaths continue in a gruesome manner when, shortly afterward, Dorando is found murdered inside the Big Top with a medal spike driven through his skull. Despite the murders, Monica is pleased with the newfound popularity and the large sums of money being generated. She refuses to shut down her now flourishing circus and is herself a prime suspect.

To complicate matters further, Monica's beautiful young daughter, Angela Rivers (played by Geeson), has been expelled from an exclusive women's college for unruly and disruptive behavior. In one scene, the devoted and beleaguered mother goes and gets her daughter from the school where Angela has been boarding. Angela then joins the knife throwing act at the circus. In higher education, particularly in the United States, a womens college is a college (that is, a primarily undergraduate, bachelors degree_granting institution) whose students are exclusively women. ... Knife throwing is an art, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapon(s) s/he is throwing, and a target. ...

Monica's affair with her new lover, Frank, who has a secret about his past that he does not want anyone to know, runs into trouble when he begins blackmailing her for a share in the profits. She makes him her new business partner, but still manages to keep him on a short leash. They are both suspected because they appear to be the only two with the most to gain from the murders. Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a monetary demand is met. ...

The flirtatious blonde bombshell Matilda (played by Dors), who is part of an act where she is sawed in half, wants Frank for herself. In one scene, she barges in on the tightrope walker, who is wearing no shirt, carrying a bottle. As he is seeing Monica for his own personal reasons, he resists Matilda's attentions. Sawing a woman in half is a famous stage magic trick. ...

The members of the circus troupe have become increasingly frightened and argue among themselves. In one scene, they secretly convene late at night to theorize who the perpetrator might be. Trouble-making Matilda is outspoken in her conviction that Monica is the murderer. In one scene, buxom Matilda and another female performer get into a violent fight on the ground. Monica, who has maintained a pretty regal air throughout, breaks it up with a deep, threatening shout.

Any of the key players, including all the circus employees, could be the guilty party. It seems no one is safe. Frank receives a stray knife in his back while performing his act on the tightrope. Before Matilda can prove her theory to the police, she meets with a grisly end when she is literally sawed in half by a faulty electric saw. Although Monica is suspected of the crimes, in one scene she is eerily stalked at night by a mysterious silhouette between some trailers on the circus grounds.

At the end of the movie, the investigation by Superintendent Brooks reveals the identity of the homicidal maniac, Angela Rivers. Her twisted motives for committing the brutal and bizarre murders are divulged as a thunderstorm rages outside the Big Top. She has harbored an insane hatred of her mother after years of being practically ignored. In order to get Monica's attention, she has been "removing" those who take up her mother's time. Finally going completely insane, she attempts to murder Monica. However, when Angela runs from the circus tent, she is herself struck down by lightning and dies in the rain.

Trivia

• Berserk! was the first of two movies that Crawford starred in for her friend, Herman Cohen. The next was Trog (1970), her final screen appearance.
• Although she has been criticized for having no judgment in accepting the low-budget features she later appeared in, Crawford said in a number of interviews, "I wanted to remain a working actress, not just an ex-performer plugging soft drinks." She was on the Board of Directors of PepsiCo.
• The movie is slightly reminiscent of Lady of Burlesque (1943) starring Barbara Stanwyck. Based on a novel by Gypsy Rose Lee, Lady of Burlesque features a series of backstage murders involving a jealous performer.
• Michael Gough also played Sam Murdock in Trog. He played Alfred Pennyworth, the loyal butler, in the movies Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997).
• Reportedly, Crawford's adopted daughter, Christina Crawford, wanted to play the role of her onscreen daughter, Angela Rivers, but was by then in her late twenties.

Wally Fawkes (born 1924) is a jazz musician and satirical cartoonist. ... // Events February 11 - The film The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr premieres in New York City. ... PepsiCo, Inc. ... See also: 1942 in film 1943 1944 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films North America For Whom the Bell Tolls The Song of Bernadette This is the Army Stage Door Canteen Random Harvest Star Spangled Rhythm Casablanca Journey Into Fear Academy Awards Best... Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American film and television actress. ... The Screaming Mimi (1958) Gypsy Rose Lee (February 9, 1911 - April 26, 1970) was an American actress and burlesque entertainer. ... Batman was released in U.S. theaters on June 23, 1989 by Warner Bros. ... See also: 1988 in film, other events of 1989, 1990 in film, list of years in film. // Events Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia for $20 million. ... Batman Returns is both the second Tim Burton Batman movie and the second Batman film starring Michael Keaton as the title character. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1992. ... Batman Forever (1995) is the third of the Batman movies which began with Tim Burtons 1989 version of the character, although it is a major departure from previous entries in the franchise, with the dramatic changes to such things as the cast, design and Danny Elfmans theme, which... This is a list of film-related events in 1995. ... The film Batman and Robin, directed by Joel Schumacher, is considered by most to be less serious than the 1989 Batman movie and sequels Batman Returns (1992) and Forever (1995). ... This is a list of film-related events in 1997. ... Christina Crawford (born June 11, 1939) is an American actress and writer. ...

External links

• Berserk! at The Internet Movie Database
• Berserk! Movie Stills
• Interview, Attack of the Monster Movie Makers: Herman Cohen, Crazed Trog Goes Berzerk!