3 Ring Circus (1954)

Another movie with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Jerry and Pete are two friends with no money, looking for some job. They finally find one as workers in a circus, but Jerry has different ... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writer:

Don McGuire (story)

Stars:

Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Joanne Dru

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dean Martin	...	Peter 'Pete' Nelson
Jerry Lewis	...	Jerome F. 'Jerry' Hotchkiss
Joanne Dru	...	Jill Brent
Zsa Zsa Gabor	...	Saadia
Wallace Ford	...	Sam Morley
Sig Ruman	...	Colonel Fritz Schlitz
Gene Sheldon	...	Puffo the Clown
Nick Cravat	...	Timmy
Elsa Lanchester	...	The Bearded Lady

Storyline

Another movie with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Jerry and Pete are two friends with no money, looking for some job. They finally find one as workers in a circus, but Jerry has different dreams. He wants to become a clown...

---

Plot Keywords:

circus | circus performer | handicapped child | crosley automobile | number in title

---

Taglines:

Tame a lion. Get shot out of a cannon. Wash an elephant. Jerrico will do anything to become a circus clown.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1955 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Big Top

Filming Locations:

McKinley Home for Boys - 13840 Riverside Drive, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In August 1955 writers George Beck and Samuel Locke filed a $65,000 infringement lawsuit against Paramount and Hal B. Wallis, claiming that Wallis had hired them to write a circus story for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, entitled Big Top, which Wallis later rejected. The disposition of the suit is not known.

---

Connections

Referenced in Martin and Lewis (2002)

---

Soundtracks

"Time to Shave"
(uncredited)
Performed by Jerry Lewis

User Reviews

The clown and Mr Martin

Jerry Lewis plays Jerome F. 'Jerry' Hotchkiss and Dean Martin is Peter 'Pete' Nelson, two friends who find work at the circus.Jerry's dream is to become a master clown, which he did become in real life.Joseph Pevney's 3 Ring Circus offers something for the Martin and Lewis fans they're asking for.Jerry is as zany and funny as always and Dean is as smooth and wonderful as he ever was.There are also stars like Kathleen Freeman and Zza Zza Gabor in the movie.I saw this movie in 1998 and I would like to see it again, as I would like to see a bunch of other Jerry Lewis films.This is the day when Jerry Lewis turns 80 years old.He still hasn't fully retired.On IMDb it said he's making a cameo in a movie called Horrorween, which comes out next year.He also wrote a book called Dean and Me: A Love Story.You should all read it.I sure would if only I could find it from this country.This grand old man has made so many people laugh over the years that all I can say to him is thank you.Laughter is something we all need these days.