Circus of Fear/Fun Facts
From The Grindhouse Cinema Database
< Circus of Fear
- The only double the producers could find for Christopher Lee was the circus' real lion tamer, who Lee describes as being "half my height." In order to make the situation credible, 6'4" tall Christopher Lee was shot in close-up so the height differential would not be too obvious to the audience. According to Lee, he wore a black mask through nine-tenths of the movie anyway.
- Though shot in color, the film was released in Germany only in black-and-white. The main reason was the close relationship of Rialto Film, the Production Company of the German Edgar Wallace Series, and Constantin Film, this film's German distributor and co-producer. Rialto Film wanted to promote a production of their own as the "first Edgar Wallace Film in Color". This film was to be The Hunchback of Soho (1966), released in Germany only a couple of months after "Circus of Fear". The original colour version of the film was released in Germany for the first time ever on DVD in 2006, though in edited form.
- The 1967 USA release was in black and white and edited down to 65 minutes for bookings on the lower half of the bill.
- The winter quarters of Barberini's circus in the film were largely filmed at the actual home of one of Britain's most famous circus companies Billy Smart's circus in Winkfield, Berkshire.
