The Main Attraction

The movie begins with a scene where Boone is crooning a syrupy tune with the audience paying no attention,till one of the guests tries to teach him his own song.There's a similar scene in one of Presley's early movies.

Pat Boone was a safe alternative to the fifties Elvis and his only good movie was the tremendous "Journey to the center of the earth" (1959). This one is pleasant ,mainly in its first part ,more boring afterwards even though it features a relatively smart "unexpected end" .

The main attraction of the circus is a lovely girl, Tessa ,who does very dangerous things.But pretty boy Eddie is aging alcoholic ventriloquist Gina 's partner and gigolo and she is not prepared to accept a rival.And ,to make the matters worse,Tessa's brother -in -law propositions her.

The second part takes place -we did not notice it in the circus scenes- in a chocolate box Austria where everybody speaks English ;it even includes the Bundesheer (two soldiers) and an avalanche,which makes the movie a disaster flick as well as a musical or a sentimental story.

I don't know why this one has such a low score. For starters you have a horse kick its legs to jazz rhythms. And Pat Boone is actually pretty good. He has a sort of presence, he's attractive, he looks like he's having fun. They all look like they're having fun. The film is kind of campy in its own way. With this cast it can't be helped. There's lots of sex, implied of course. Neither Mai Zetterling nor Nancy Kwan are shy about pouring it on and it's fun to watch. Especially Mai although Nancy Kwan can be sensuous as well. It's hard to imagine Pat Boone as a hard-nosed vagabond but he gets a lot of help from his costars and eventually we accept it. Both he and Nancy Kwan are athletic. It looks like it's really him some of the time on the trapeze. It's obvious that's her somersaulting and jumping on and off the horse, not a double. And there's real chemistry between them. It's too bad Yvonne Mitchell doesn't have much more to do but what she does have she does well. She's the icing on the cake. Kieron Moore is very good as her husband. This is an actor who can be really passionate and his character has real pathos. Granted, the story is not the greatest but it's good enough, there's plenty of good lines and enough action to move it along and keep us entertained. So, overall, it's much better than its score would have you believe. In fact I'd say it's good enough for a second or third look. It's just plain fun.

This is just one of those movies that makes a totally pointless impression and makes you wonder why it was ever made in the first place. Not that it's an horrible movie of course but it's too lacking on basically every front to consider this a good movie as well.

The movie has a very simple story that only slowly takes more shape in the second halve of the movie. But even then, the story just never really knows to intrigue. Oh well, maybe it's just because I never really liked the circus that this movie just couldn't interest me much.

But even so, this movie is lacking on more fronts than just the story. It's also a quite cheap and simple looking movie. You know, the movie with painted backgrounds, which makes it all painfully obvious most of it was shot inside a studio. It says something I think about the overall production values of this movie. Again, it's nothing too bad but not anything impressive either.

The actors are all quite good but the characters they portray remain mostly flat and uninteresting. Also their relations just never know to interest you and the movie just mostly muddles on as it progresses. There are some good ideas but just movie just never really exploit them fully or in the best way possible,

No, just not really a movie that will stay with you.

5/10

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In Italy, handsome singer Pat Boone (as Eddie) attracts the attention of ventriloquist Mai Zetterling (as Gina), a sexy older woman scouting a new partner for both her act and the sack. After some liquor, Mr. Boone dons his leather jacket and goes to live with Ms. Zetterling. They decide to flaunt their affair, which comes as no surprise to the circus veterans in the troupe as Zetterling has had a string of young lovers. Zetterling runs her eyes over Boone's body and purrs, "I like everything about you!" Apparently more than satisfied, the older woman lets out a primal scream when she loses her mate...

On arrival, Boone meets Italian bareback rider Nancy Kwan (as Tessa), and runs his eyes over her body. The movie's tag-line declares Pat Boone gets "in trouble with that 'Suzie Wong' girl," but he thinks Kwan is just his style. The two become mutually attracted, but Kwan is harder to get. Meanwhile, Zetterling notices Boone's "lusty" wandering eye and threatens him with their ventriloquist doll "Lady Godiva". Boone can hardly see his guitar strings over her protruding bust when singing, "Si, Si, Si!"

Watch for a circus mishap to change everyone's lives...

This strange film can perhaps be described as an Elvis Presley-type vehicle with the sexual content turned up (for a mainstream 1962 movie, at least). It must have been startling to see Boone drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and characterized as sexually active. Release in the US was put off, and likely limited. In the UK, Boone's accompanying single "The Main Attraction" became his final hit, topping "Love Me Do" for awhile, before succumbing to The Beatles' first hit.

** The Main Attraction (11/62) Daniel Petrie ~ Pat Boone, Nancy Kwan, Mai Zetterling, Yvonne Mitchell

Handsome drifter, able crooner and guitar player and pursued for a murder he didn't commit, gets involved with pretty young circus girl as they brave an avalanche in the Italian Alps. I was unprepared to be as charmed by this candyfloss feature as I was. God know there's not one iota of bad-guy in Pat Boone who tries hard to fit the picture of insolent masculinity and act the cad. Someone who sings 'Amore, baciami' with honeyed tones such as his is not destined for evildom. If it comes your way, watch it by all means, it's not half bad.