Alarm in the Circus

Alarm in the Circus (German: Alarm im Zirkus) is an East German crime movie. It was directed by Gerhard Klein. It was released in 1954.

Alarm in the Circus
Directed by	Gerhard Klein
Written by	Wolfgang Kohlhaase Hans Kubisch
Produced by	Paul Ramacher
Starring	Erwin Geschonneck
Cinematography	Werner Bergmann
Edited by	Ursula Kahlbaum
Music by	Günter Klück
Production company	DEFA
Distributed by	Progress Film
Release date	27 August 1954 (1954-08-27)
Running time	75 minutes
Country	East Germany
Language	German

Cast

• Erwin Geschonneck as Klott
• Uwe-Jens Pape as Jimmy
• Karl Kendzia as Batta
• Ulrich Thein as Herbert
• Hans Winter as Klaus
• Ernst-Georg Schwill as Max
• Gertrud Keller as Helli
• Annelise Matschulat as Mrs. Weigel
• Siegfried Weiß as Hepfield
• Peter Dornseif as Police officer
• Günther Haack as Catcher
• Horst Giese as uncredited role

Reception

Alarm in the Circus had 3.6 million watches in 1954. It was the biggest grossing East German movie that year.^[1] It sold 5,515,078 tickets in total.^[2] Klein and Kohlhaase both won the National Prize, 3rd degree, for their work on the movie.^[3]

The Catholic Film Service defined the film as "exciting, well-made crime film that presents the background of a divided Berlin in a highly authentic manner."^[4] Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor wrote that it had "drawn a clear contrast between the city's halves that fit the official communist paradigm."^[5]