“Kill! Kill! Kill! That’s all I have inside me!”

The 1967 film Berserk was originally titled Circus of Blood, but a more accurate title may have been Movie of Circus. A huge amount of the run time is dedicated to real-life circus footage—from Big Top acts to the assembly of the Big Top itself—as a kind of payment for being allowed to film on location. Some of it is fun, some of it is a drag, but it’s all weird and a part of Berserk’s charm. Yes I could have used more blood in this picture! But I am not complaining about the amount of Joan Crawford I got, from her technicolor wardrobe to her high-n-tight hair, commanding the screen and the aforementioned Big Top as circus owner Monica Rivers.

I can’t believe with all my blathering in this episode that I forgot to mention Pepsi. How could I be so remiss, particularly once I spotted some signs for the beverage and some people enjoying a sip here and there? When Crawford married Pepsi president Alfred Steel in 1955, she went all in on that shit! When he died in 1959, she replaced him on the board of directors (seems fair) and became a Goodwill Ambassador for the brand, attending openings of bottling plants, corporate events, and generally hucking Pepsi at every possible turn. This meant handing it out to the crew (Steven Spielberg even mentions this when he talks about working with her on Night Gallery) and getting some sweet product placement in…pretty much every latter-day film she was in. Spotting Pepsi in a Joan Crawford movie is some Where’s Waldo shit, folks. I love it. Next time I’ll be sure to mention it—yes, I’m sure there’ll be a next time where I get to blather on some more about one of my favorite actresses.