DC COMICS: Batman '66 Berserk! (Joan Crawford)

Berserk! is a 1967 British Technicolor thriller film starring Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, and Judy Geeson in a macabre mother-daughter tale about a circus plagued with murders. The screenplay was written by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel, and the film directed by Jim O'Connolly. Berserk! marks Crawford's second-to-last big-screen appearance.

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PLOT:[]

Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) and Dorando (Michael Gough) own a travelling English circus. Monica acts as the ringmistress, and Dorando is the business manager.

When Gaspar the Great falls to his death, it appears that his tightrope might have been purposely weakened. Monica's unemotional reaction to the tragedy alarms Dorando. When she suggests it will be good for business, he asks her to buy him out, which she refuses to do.

Monica hires a new high-wire walker, Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin). Not only is he handsome, he is daring, doing his act over a carpet of sharp bayonets. Monica is impressed, especially by his physical appearance. Shortly after an argument, Dorando is found gruesomely murdered. Suspicion of Monica's guilt grows. Frank in particular suspects her, having seen her leaving Dorando's trailer before the body was discovered. He confronts Monica, demanding a share in the circus for his silence.

Monica's daughter, Angela (Judy Geeson), having been expelled from school, shows up at the circus. Not knowing what to do with her unruly daughter, Monica pairs her with Gustavo the knife thrower (Peter Burton). Another member of the circus company, Matilda (Diana Dors), attempts to seduce Frank, which Monica discovers.

During Matilda's act, sawing a woman in half, there is a malfunction in the equipment and she is killed. And during his next high-wire performance, Frank falls onto the bayonets and is killed.

It was not an accident. Angela was seen throwing a knife into him before he fell. She confesses having hated her mother for years as a result of being ignored, now "removing" those who take up her mother's time. She then unsuccessfully tries to kill her mother. As Angela attempts to escape, she is electrocuted by an exposed wire during a rainstorm. Monica sobs inconsolably over her daughter's body.

MONITOR'S NOTES:[]

A scene (toward the end of the movie) with the circus performers making their grand entrance into the big top, and among them are two performers dressed as Batman and Robin. Due to the popularity of Batman '66 and since the circus was in England The Billy Smart Circus added in to acrobats dressed as Batman and Robin. There only appearance in the movie is during the Circus walk.