As a circus picture, Joan Crawford’s penultimate film BERSERK is really good. There’s lots of great footage of Billy Smart’s Circus mixed in with shots of Crawford as ringmaster. The poodle act, the elephants and horses, even a scene with a lion tamer are all classic old school circus routines that recall an earlier time when life and circuses were far less complicated. Although it’s not fashionable to like circuses because of animal rights issues, I have fond memories of going to see the smaller ones where the animals and the performers not the glam and glitter were the stars.
As a horror film, BERSERK leaves a lot to be desired. Aside from a spike through the head there is little gore in the film even though a couple of the deaths are gruesome in conception. There is little suspense leading up to the murders which must be laid at the feet of Jim O’Connolly who directs the film in a by-the-book manner. However the dependable cameraman Desmond Dickinson is inspired as usual making the movie belie its meager budget. The cliched script offers nothing new so why does BERSERK work? In a word, performances.
Joan Crawford was always the total professional. Looking great at 62 especially in her Edith Head ringmaster’s outfit, she dominates her scenes as Monica Rivers head of the Rivers Circus. Crawford started her career 40 years earlier in the circus movie THE UNKNOWN with Lon Chaney Sr. But it’s not just a one woman show. Producer Herman Cohen surrounded her with quality Brit performers like Michael Gough and Robert Hardy who complement Joan but never overshadow her. Add real performers from the Billy Smart Circus and you have a movie that is a guilty pleasure.
The real surprise here is the male lead Ty Hardin. He is best known for the 1960s Western TV series BRONCO and for a handful of Spaghetti Westerns. He later went into Arizona politics. Hardin makes the most of an unsympathetic part with a performance that has confidence and authority. Judy Geeson, then 22 and fresh from Sidney Poitier’s TO SIR, WITH LOVE, has little to do as Joan’s daughter until the very end. BERSERK is hardly a great movie but it is entertaining and is light years ahead of Joan’s unfortunate final film TROG which came 3 years later.
The Capsule Critic 