Sous le plus grand chapiteau du monde

Brad: "Women are poison!; Angel: It's a wonderful death"

This one has it all. Even as Show's top competition for that year's Oscar, Quiet Man, is a personal favorite, I take no issue with the Academy's choice for best picture (52). The guts are glorious in their colorful pageantry, charming odditites, romantic wrangle, heroic animals, clever dialogue, subtle to serious humor, cute crowd vinettes (Hope Crosby), strong sentiment, terrific action (a train wreck so exciting it makes Fugitive's "Casey Jones" almost pale in comparison) & moral message on mercy (Dr Buttons) that doesn't feel moralizing. Maybe the greatest director on the planet, DeMille provides narration throughout, opening wide a window into the joy, drama, tireless teamwork and sheer enormity that was the circus, truly the greatest show on earth (3.5/4).

I know that some people are down on this movie, but I absolutely LOVE it. It has great ideals and good (not great) acting. It tells a story about the circus in a pseudo-documentary. The story has love, action, and humor. Three things that are missing from much of today's movie. I also love the color and the dramatic "feel" of the film for that era. It's a wonderful, wonderful, piece of 'Americana'.

It constantly amazes me that people carp that this won best Picture, as though no movie before or since ever won when maybe they shouldn't have. It was a big picture, it had a great story, it gave a lot of bang for the buck and that has always been a factor in grabbing the Oscar. It does seem a bit dated to us now, used to high flying special effects, different acting styles, and quick cut editing, instead of letting the scene play out as it so often does here, but it's such a great story. The circus itself is a character and the way Demille used the audience to make them seem so individual is wonderful. And I'm not just referring to the Hope/Crosby cameo. Remember the fat guy with the kid scarfing down the ice cream laughing his head off while the kid looked confused? You could tell he was reliving his childhood and he became EveryMan to us with only seconds of screen time. That's mastery. The integration of the real circus people with the actors was seamless and if nothing else this movie captures a time when the circus was really a circus. Carp all you want, guys. But I think you may be too spoiled by ultra realism to appreciate the subtler gems in this very respectable film.

As time goes by circuses have become scarcer and in many parts of the world are no longer in business. In the 50's and 60's they were indeed on top of the world. Children loved the circus with performing animals, trapeze artists and other performers and especially the clowns. And with all this tension and awe, sweets, popcorn and ice cream were consumed in large numbers.

This era will never be seen again because of changed circumstances.

To take yourself back in time and especially for children to experience this missed opportunity, you can do no better than view this film. It has it all and is a spectacular glamorous show, with a number of underlying stories to tell as well. Worth a sparking star rating of 8 in 2020.

I've never been to the circus, so I think of this movie as my trip to the circus. Charlton Heston is great as Brad, the all business manager of the circus. But my favorite character is James Stewart as Buttons the Clown. It's a very different role for him, but it's great.

The Best Picture of 1952, "The Greatest Show on Earth" is wonderful, especially if you've never experienced it. I think this is one of Cecil B. De Mille's finest movies, and I recommend it to everyone. So I give it a 10 out of 10!