Ring of Fear ** (1954, Clyde Beatty, Pat O’Brien, Mickey Spillane) – Classic Movie Review 10,848

A circus is the setting for this odd 1954 suspense adventure Ring of Fear about a lunatic lovelorn ringmaster (Sean McClory) who, in a jealous rage, causes havoc in the big top with the help of the tippling funnyman.

There is a reasonable measure of suspense and useful creepiness, though, courtesy the Clyde Beatty Circus, there is a touch too much extraneous big-top detail, which detracts from the central crime thriller plot.

Star Clyde Beatty plays himself and so does mystery author Mickey Spillane in an unusual acting role as the detective who arrives to solve the case. But McClory is the hit of the show in a well-judged showy performance.

It is directed by James Edward Grant and produced through the Wayne-Fellows production company by John Wayne, who persuaded William A Wellman (uncredited) to film more than $100,000 of re-shoots for a percentage of the profits. Two years earlier Sean McClory was in The Quiet Man with John Wayne.

It is shot in WarnerColor and CinemaScope.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,848

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