If you're thinking of buying the new "Batjac Suspense Collection" of DVDs but aren't sure whether you want all four titles, here's a word of wisdom: you can live without Ring of Fear (1954). Like the other titles in the collection, it's long been officially unavailable and has been very difficult to find in any form. Unfortunately, it hasn't held up too well. The story and characters lack energy and interest, many of the verbal quips fall flat, and the acting generally leaves much to be desired. That said, Sean McClory does a decent job as a "homicidal maniac" (as the script so often reminds us), with his natural Irish lilt providing an intriguing contrast with his murderous tendencies. Pat O'Brien is good enough as the circus manager, but he isn't given much to do. It's the performance of Mickey Spillane which drags things down, which is ironic because his mere presence is one of the most interesting aspects of the whole movie. Almost every Spillane line reading sounds wooden and stilted.

The plot has McClory escaping from a mental institution and returning to the Clyde Beatty circus, for which he was once ringmaster. He is determined to exact revenge on those in the circus who laughed at him years ago after an incident in a lion cage, as well as on the trapeze artist played by Marian Carr - whom he still obsesses over despite the fact that she is now married with child to another man. Various acts of sabotage by McClory cause circus owner Beatty to call in mystery novelist Mickey Spillane and his friend Jack Lang (also playing himself, and also a terrible actor) to solve the mystery. Along the way, McClory kills a couple of people in most brutal fashion. Spillane worked uncredited on the screenplay, and these killings bear his signature strongly. Producer John Wayne, in fact, was so appreciative of Spillane's efforts that he sent him a new Jaguar wrapped in a big red ribbon, along with a note that said simply, "Thanks, Duke."

Famed hunter, lion tamer, and circus showman Clyde Beatty stars as himself, and his lion taming scene is the most compelling circus act sequence in the film. (There are many.) The camera impressively seems to be right in there with him and a half-dozen big cats. Perhaps when this movie was released in 1954 it was of greater interest to audiences because Clyde Beatty was a household name, but today the bulk of the circus scenes just aren't terribly interesting on their own, and since they mostly have nothing to do with the plot, they bring the movie to a standstill.

Ring of Fear was the second of just two movies directed by James Edward Grant, after Angel and the Badman (1947) - another film produced by John Wayne. The two became great friends, and Grant was quickly the Duke's favorite writer. Among the eleven other Wayne films written by Grant are Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Hondo (1953), The Alamo (1960), The Comancheros (1961) and Donovan's Reef (1963).

Paramount's DVD of Ring of Fear features a handsome widescreen transfer of this CinemaScope film but is one of two titles in the box set which does not feature a commentary or any extras.

For more information about Ring of Fear, visit Paramount Home Entertainment. To order Ring of Fear, go to TCM Shopping.

by Jeremy Arnold