Bigger Than Barnum's (1926)

User Rating:

(awaiting 5 votes)

Director:

Ralph Ince

Writers:

J. Grubb Alexander (writer)
Arthur Guy Empey (story)

Release Date:

15 August 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama

Cast

Ralph Lewis	...	Peter Blandin
George O'Hara	...	Robert Blandim
Viola Dana	...	Juanita Calles
Ralph Ince	...	Carl Ravelle
Lucille Mendez	...	Princess Bonita
Daniel Makarenko	...	Jack Ranglin (as Dan Makarenko)
George Holt	...	Bill Hartnett
William Knight	...	Ringmaster
Rhody Hathaway	...	Doctor

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation

Shut your trapeze

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Bigger than Barnum's" is a hokey drama with a circus background. Like so many movies which use the circus as a setting, this one gives a highly inaccurate and unconvincing depiction of the culture of circus people. A travelling circus is a self-contained universe in microcosm, and filmmakers who have never lived among circus people will have difficulty depicting that universe properly.

Robert Blandin is the youngest in a line of circus aerialists: his father and grandfather were high-wire walkers before him. (The fictional name 'Blandin' used here was probably inspired by Blondin, a real-life daredevil who once walked a tightrope over Niagara Falls.) Robert's father Peter has been performing an act in which he carries a pretty girl on his back while walking the high-wire. When Peter falls ill, it's Robert's turn to perform the act. The girl in question is the beautiful young dark-haired Juanita. When circus owner Ranglin decides he can sell more tickets if the act is performed without a safety net, young Robert refuses to do it ... and he's promptly ostracised as a coward by all the other circus folk. But the show must go on (says whom?). To protect the Blandin family's reputation, Peter performs the high-wire act with Juanita on his back, even though he hasn't recovered his health. Inevitably, Peter slips and falls off the high wire. Juanita manages to grab the wire and save herself, but Peter is permanently crippled ... and the circus folk blame Robert's cowardice for Peter's injury. Juanita and Robert are estranged.

SPOILERS COMING NOW. One dark night, a fire breaks out in the hotel where Juanita and Peter are staying. (Since when do circus people have enough money to stay in hotels?) Juanita manages to save herself, but the crippled Peter is trapped in the burning hotel. He manages to drag himself upstairs to the roof. Conveniently, a telephone wire passes directly above the roof. Guess who redeems himself by walking across the telephone wire to rescue his father. Without a safety net!

This movie is completely unconvincing in its depiction of circus people. In real life, they don't take unnecessary risks, and don't ostracise other acts for refusing to take such risks. Ralph Lewis (a tragically underrated actor) gives an excellent performance in a badly-written role. Viola Dana (who had a small amount of circus training in real life) does surprisingly well in a predictable role. In the central role as Robert Blandin, George O'Hara is worthless. Ralph Ince, who directed the film, turns in a decent performance in a comedy-relief role. I'll rate this hokum 2 points out of 10.