{"id":1872,"date":"2006-12-01T16:14:52","date_gmt":"2006-12-01T23:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1872"},"modified":"2021-01-06T00:42:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T07:42:57","slug":"berserk-1967","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1872","title":{"rendered":"Berserk! (1967)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;This circus is jinxed! It&#8217;s becoming a nightmare &#8212; I keep wondering and thinking, who&#8217;s next?&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-28530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poster-672x1024.jpg 672w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poster.jpg 1933w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA rash of gruesome murders at a circus owned by ringleader Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) brings a Scotland Yard detective (Robert Hardy) onto the scene to investigate.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carnivals and Circuses<\/li>\n<li>Joan Crawford Movies<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Serial Killers<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis disappointing murder mystery &#8212; best known for starring a well-preserved 63-year-old Joan Crawford &#8212; ultimately provides few genuine thrills, and fails to live up to its campy potential. While Crawford is clearly enjoying playing yet another &#8220;strong female&#8221; &#8212; an independent woman who easily attracts and beds men of all ages &#8212; the script simply doesn&#8217;t do her character justice. And though the identity of the serial killer is nearly impossible to guess, this is less a function of cleverly written suspense than of outright improbability; revelations are tossed out in the final scenes of the movie which make little sense given what&#8217;s come before. Unlike in Tod Browning&#8217;s masterful <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1845\"><em>Freaks <\/em><\/a> (1932), the scenes in this film involving circus &#8220;misfits&#8221;  &#8212; including a bearded lady, a &#8220;skeletal man&#8221; (whose body is never shown!), and a midget &#8212; are exploitative and badly written. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts-1024x545.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"341\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts-1024x545.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts-768x409.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts-1536x817.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts-507x270.png 507w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Acts.png 1851w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In addition, the occasional scenes showing various circus animal acts go on too long, and don&#8217;t fit in with the thrust of the narrative; given that this is a story about backstage machinations, we really don&#8217;t need to see so much of the circus itself &#8212; though I&#8217;ll guiltily admit that the poodle act was my favorite scene in the entire film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Still-sexy Joan Crawford, doing her best in a sub-par movie<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"335\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61891\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2-128x67.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2-1536x804.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2-516x270.png 516w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Crawford2.png 1855w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The circus poodle act &#8212; ultimately more interesting than the rest of the film!<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles-1024x537.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"336\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61889\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles-1024x537.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles-128x67.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles-1536x805.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles-515x270.png 515w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Berserk-Poodles.png 1845w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See?<\/strong><br \/>\nNo. I&#8217;m not sure why Peary lists this as a &#8220;must see&#8221; in the back of his book &#8212; I&#8217;m assuming it&#8217;s because of Crawford&#8217;s late-life performance, but you&#8217;re better off watching her in <em>true<\/em> camp classics such as <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2144\"><em>What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?<\/em> (1962)<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2024\"><em>Strait-Jacket<\/em> (1964)<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0061398\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1968\/01\/11\/archives\/circus-chiller.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fantasticmoviemusings.com\/2014\/11\/17\/berserk-1968\/\">SciFilm Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hysteria-lives.co.uk\/hysterialives\/Hysteria\/berserk.htm\">Hysteria Lives! Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;This circus is jinxed! It&#8217;s becoming a nightmare &#8212; I keep wondering and thinking, who&#8217;s next?&#8221; Synopsis: A rash of gruesome murders at a circus owned by ringleader Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) brings a Scotland Yard detective (Robert Hardy) onto the scene to investigate. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Carnivals and Circuses Joan Crawford Movies Murder Mystery Serial Killers Strong Females Review: This disappointing murder mystery &#8212; best known for starring a well-preserved 63-year-old Joan Crawford &#8212; ultimately provides few&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1872\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1872"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61894,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872\/revisions\/61894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}