Plastic surgeon Diffring botches an operation and flees to Europe, hiding out in a traveling circus, which he transforms into the title, both as a hiding place for criminals and a 'temple to beauty'.
Interesting little film, the second of what David Pirie called Anglo-Amagamated's "sadean trilogy") along with Horrors of the Black Museum and Peeping Tom. Hayers makes the most of it, turning an explotative script into something a bit more layered and thoughtful than say, Berserk! or Circus of Fear (the latter of which uses some footage from this film). The only negatives are the characters comstantly make dumb decisions to further the plot; Monlaur's character in particular is irritatingly dim.
-Dave W.
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