Robert Mulligan's taste and sensitivity as a director make a poor match for this barely watchable TV episode. IMDb classifies it for a series titled "Rendezvous" while screen credits assign it to the older "Suspense" series.
There's so much wrong with the show that as an artifact of the 1950s it is interesting to dissect, even though hardly worth the trouble.
Generically, it has content that in recent years has become extremely popular in the horror field: a supposedly scary clown ("It" by King has revolutionized that sub-genre), and a madman trapping innocent victims, Keenan Wynn versus youngsters Molly McCarty and Timmy Everett, presaging the nauseating horror-porn genre of James Wan, Eli Roth and other revered hacks. (Ironically, these helmers as well as Tarantino have become household names and the many greats of yesteryear like Mulligan are forgotten.)
Shot by the fine "Naked CIty" cinematographer J. Burgi Contner at an empty amusement park (presumably in Brooklyn) in a mix of realism and surrealism, there is suspense, but plenty of cliches regarding the Funhouse setting. Keenan Wynn overacts as the fired disgruntled employee who fancies himself a great clown, name dropping Emmett Kelly and even ending up in clown makeup quite similar to Kelly's iconic persona. Attempted pathos here is awful.
Young lead Everett is poor, and his treatment of his girlfriend Molly McCarthy (her career peak in the classic "Blast of Silence") borders on the type of No Means Yes male chauvinism that has led to the MeToo movement, coloring the central romance presented here.
The "everything's okay" happy ending that papers over completely all the dramatic issues preceding is emblematic of the '50s, the sort of self-delusion right-wing nuts (e.g., DeSantis) are trying to force upon us today under the mantle of Conservatism (not).