The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Fredric M. Frank (story) and
Theodore St. John (story) ...

Release Date:

19 December 1952 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Romance

Tagline:

The Heartbeat Story of Circus People, Filmed with the Cooperation of Ringling Bros. - Barnum and Bailey Circus!

Plot:

The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer against a background of circus spectacle.

Plot Keywords:

Clown | Trapeze | Circus | Elephant | Backstage

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Betty Hutton	...	Holly
Cornel Wilde	...	The Great Sebastian
Charlton Heston	...	Brad Braden
Dorothy Lamour	...	Phyllis
Gloria Grahame	...	Angel
Henry Wilcoxon	...	FBI Agent Gregory
Lyle Bettger	...	Klaus
Lawrence Tierney	...	Mr. Henderson
Emmett Kelly	...	Himself
Cucciola	...	Himself
Antoinette Concello	...	Herself
John Ringling North	...	Himself
Tuffy Genders	...	Himself
John Kellogg	...	Harry
John Ridgely	...	Assistant manager

Also Known As:

Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #15440) | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U (original rating) (cut) | UK:U (video rating) (1988) (uncut) | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Cedar City, Utah, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The movie is often cited as the least deserved Best Picture winner ever. It is widely believed the film only won because many members of the Academy were reluctant to vote for the anti-McCarthyite western High Noon (1952), whose screenwriter Carl Foreman had just been blacklisted from Hollywood.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Brad is checking the baby gorillas after learning they may have contracted the mumps, a crowd of onlookers is gathered right behind, plainly staring at the camera filming the scene.

Quotes:

Holly: [Very frustrated] I send Angel for a doctor and she comes back with an *elepahnt*!
Angel: [Filled with sarcasm] You better let Birdie bandage up the pixie if you want to say good bye to our boyfriend!
Holly: [Horrified] Brad!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Boy Meets World: The Happiest Show on Earth (#3.21)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

(I Got Spurs) Jingle Jangle Jingle

Brassy Big Top Corn

Every one was shocked when THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH won Oscars for Best Motion Picture and Best Screenplay; there was nothing about the film that could be considered "great art." At the same time, however, SHOW was a lot of fun, and certainly audiences of the day flocked to it, making it the single biggest grossing film of 1952.

The story is purple-prose soap opera. Circus manager Brad Braden (Charleton Heston) is doing a balancing act between rival arielist stars Sebastian (Cornel Wilde) and Holly (Betty Hutton)--the later of whom is torn in her affections between the two. Add in a lovely but common show girl (Dorothy Lamour), a jealous elephant trainer (Lyle Bettger), the object of his affections (Gloria Graham), a clown with a mysterious past (Jimmy Stewart), high wire accidents, and a train wreck--all mixed well by Cecil B. DeMille's eye for larger-than-life spectacle. The result is brassy, silly, corny, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Seen today, the big attraction here is the chance to see the circus when it was still traveling by rail and performing under "the big top." Filmed with the cooperation of Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey, SHOW allows us to see what was involved in organizing the lavish show that was the circus in the 1950s, a world filled with roustabouts, elephants, barkers, peanut vendors, acrobats, and all the rest. One of the more interesting aspects of this is Emmett Kelly, one of America's greatest clowns, who appears throughout the film as himself.

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH is lots of flash and dazzle, a little song and dance, Charleton Heston in his first major role, Betty Hutton in one of her final films (she did most of her own stunt work), and lots of corny charm. It might not really be the "greatest" show on earth, but it is very picturesque. The film isn't restored, but it isn't in bad condition; sadly, there are no bonuses at all.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer