Step Right Up for the Sinister Circus That Will Drive You- "Berserk!"

Join us tonight in the MeTV big top for the greatest show unearthed ( see what I did there?)- as we’re bringing back to the center ring a chilling tale of sawdust and the sinister- with Joan Crawford as the owner and ringmistress of a travelling circus whose main attraction seems to be murder in – “Berserk!”

Joan is Monica Rivers, who presides over a circus that tours Great Britain-which she co-owns with the disgruntled Dorando. The reason for his unhappiness is a tragic- and highly suspicious-high wire accident- and Monica’s rather cold response to it. She feels it will pay off in publicity- and that disgusts Dorando enough to ask her to buy out his part of the show so he will no longer have anything to do with it. Alas- she can’t do it- and instead decides to hire a new high wire artist.

The new hire is handsome young Frank Hawkins- a skilled daredevil whom Monica appreciates for more than his acrobatic skills. The happy excitement of this new act is eclipsed when there is another death- and the circus crew is beginning to think Monica has a hand in it in an attempt to generate more publicity. Especially vocal about that theory is the voluptuous assistant to the knife-thrower, Matilda- who also has her eyes ( and , she hopes, more) on Frank! Meanwhile, Frank tries to use the suspicion to his advantage to try to coerce Monica into providing a share in the circus for himself.

As if the situation needs an additional twist- Monica’s semi-estranged daughter, Angela, shows up at the circus, having been thrown out of school for bad behavior. With nowhere else for her to go, Monica’s cold heart melts a little- and decides she can stay on with the circus.

Happy days are NOT here again, however- as there is more murder, more accusations, and fear and unrest among the circus folk- with Monica in the center ring of suspicion!

This 1967 film, actually Joan’s next-to-last big screen appearance, utilizes a real travelling show- the Billy Smart circus. We’ll introduce the performers, including Ty Hardin, Diana Dors, and Michael Gough- as well as conducting our own circus and sideshow- not to mention bringing you a new song- though it will be airing a little later in the show than usual.

Go “Berserk” tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, and for the time and channel check in your area , visit www.metv.com  -or check your local listings. During the show, our fans on Twitter will again be live-tweeting, using the hashtag #svengoolie – feel free to join them. Last week they again had our show trending high on the national list. The U in our Chicago viewing area returns our show to its usual time- 11 am- for this week, with an encore of “The Old Dark House”.

On a personal note- my brother Michael Koz has passed away just shy of his 60^th birthday. Mike worked as an assistant editor on various TV shows and movies, including “Get Shorty”, “Men in Black”, ”The Gates”, and “Collateral”. As was stated in his memorial service- he was a nice guy. One of the nicest.

Remember that you can join me next weekend – in Berwyn- at the new “Pet Supplies Plus” store at the Harlem and Cermak Plaza - 7133 Cermak Road . It takes place Saturday, February 1^st  from 1-3 pm. In February, we’ll have a full schedule appearing at the big C2E2 comics and entertainment convention at Chicago’s McCormick Place- more about that soon!

But tonight- step right up for circus thrills that are not always death-defying- as in, they may not be lucky enough to defy death!