O Grande Circo

Unfortunately for The Big Circus, The Greatest Show On Earth by Cecil B. DeMille set the standard for circus films that will be pretty hard to match. One hasn't come out in many years now, probably the market isn't there. Pity too, in this age of computer graphics, the potential to out DeMille DeMille is there.

This film can still stand on its own however as good entertainment. As in The Grestest Show On Earth, someone is out trying to sabotage the circus. The villain here isn't doing it for some nefarious scheme to enrich, it's a very psychologically disturbed individual who is not unmasked until the very end.

The leads here are Victor Mature in the role of circus boss and he's got financial troubles. Working to help straighten out the circus's finances are Rhonda Fleming and Red Buttons. Both aren't quite used to the culture of the circus, but Vic works the old heavy lidded charm and he's got a sister in Kathryn Crosby who brings the circus out in banker Buttons.

In The Greatest Show on Earth James Stewart took a supporting role as a clown because he always wanted to play one. Peter Lorre departs from his usual villainy to play a similar kind of clown, kind of a father confessor to the show.

But my favorite in the film is Gilbert Roland. He plays the patriarch of a high wire act and the high point of the film is his walk across Niagara Falls as a publicity stunt for the financially strapped show. Roland is under a lot of pressure, his wife, Adele Mara, having been the only fatality in a planned train wreck.

In fact The Big Circus took so much from The Greatest Show on Earth like the train wreck and other things that producer/director Irwin Allen was rightly criticized for a lack of originality. It seems he was just trying he could do the same things on the screen better than DeMille.

Nevertheless The Big Circus is a fine film on its own, entertaining and colorful for children of all ages.

After previously doing The Story of Mankind, producer Irwin Allen decided to do another all-star production with this: his version of The Greatest Show on Earth. Among the players are Victor Mature and Vincent Price who both previously were in Allen's Dangerous Mission as well as Peter Lorre who along with Price was also in Irwin's movie that I just mentioned at the beginning of this review. There's also Rhonda Fleming, Red Buttons, David Nelson from "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", Gilbert Roland, Steve Allen as himself, and Kathryn Grant-the same one who I saw in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad last week and who by the time this movie was released was the second Mrs. Bing Crosby. Oh, and for fans of "The Andy Griffith Show", yes, that's Howard McNear near the end of the movie with a funny scene involving a lion! I'll just now say this was a very entertaining movie so that's my recommendation of The Big Circus. P.S. This review is dedicated in memory of Ms. Fleming who passed away on Oct. 14.

Flamboyant circus owner "Hank Whiting "is in trouble -his enterprise is in need of a cash injection from the bank who only agree to a loan on the condition their employee "Randy Sherman " goes along to keep an eye on proceedings.When he engages a high powered PR woman tension develops between the outsiders and the circus hard core.That is not the end of it however--there is sabotage to contend with ,rain washes away much of the season ,a fatality occurs during a train crash . Gradually the newcomers absorb the spirit of the circus and do battle with its enemies to rescue the show helped by a spectacular stunt walk at Niagara Falls Peter Lorre and Vincent Price are given too little to do as the clown and ringmaster respectively but both are excellent .Red Buttons is fine as Sherman while Victor Mature and Rhonda Fleming take care of the leading romantic roles with seasoned competence. Garish colour is a drawback as is the tightness of the budget .Robust and enjoyable even so .

"The Big Circus" is going to be a hard film for me to like. After all, the other three big circus spectaculars I've seen ("The Greatest Show on Earth", "Billy Rose's Jumbo" and "Circus World") were incredibly dull films. The only circus-themed films I can recall enjoying were comedies and so I am questioning now why I bothered to watch "The Big Circus"...perhaps I am just a glutton for punishment.

When the film begins, Hank Whirling (Victor Mature) is trying to arrange for a loan to keep his circus afloat. However, the bank is hesitant to make the loan and come up with an idea. Instead of just loaning the money, they'll send one of their people, Randy (Red Buttons), to go hang out with the circus for a few weeks to see if it really is worth the money. In addition, they assign a press agent, Helen (Rhonda Fleming) to go along as well and see if she can do anything to increase business and make the circus more profitable. Not surprisingly, Whirling is not the least bit thrilled by this but since he really has no other choice he accepts the proposition. Through the course of the film, lots of problems pop up but as the saying goes "The Show Must Go On!". But some of these problems might not be accidents...someone might just be deliberately sabotaging the circus!

"The Big Circus" is a bit different from the other three circus films I already mentioned. It seems a tiny bit smaller in scope and the actors tend to be more second-tier in stature. This is NOT necessarily a bad thing as the film seems to rest less on big names and concentrates a little more on entertaining the audience with a script that is at least modesty interesting and entertaining. I didn't love the film but found it kept my interest much more than the other circus epics and is actually worth seeing. I especially liked learning the identity of the saboteur...a really, really interesting choice!

The Big Circus I found a decent movie. It is a worthy attempt, but it isn't quite the masterpiece it yearned to be. No matter how many flaws there are, it is an entertaining and undervalued movie. While it is hindered by the fact that it is rather low budget, so the sets and technical aspects(ie. sound) weren't as up to scratch as they could have been, however, the costumes and photography are very nice and extraordinarily colourful. The plot, like a whodunit at a circus, while slow to start with, is clever and reaches to a tense ending where I admit I was surprised at the identity of the culprit. The trapeze scenes were very well choreographed, and the highlight was the tightrope walking scene with Zach, I really felt the desperation and anguish in his face. The music is wonderful too,the script is acceptable and the performances are above decent. Victor Mature, who I think can act, is a little world-weary and is disappointingly one note at times but wonderfully over the top in other parts of the film. Rhonda Fleming is lovely as the female lead. However they are both overshadowed by a brilliant supporting cast including Red Buttons, Gilbert Roland, Kathryn Grant, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre. All in all, not a masterpiece, but I do think despite its flaws that the Big Circus is undervalued. 8/10 Bethany Cox