3 Ring Circus (1954)

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Don McGuire (screenplay)
Don McGuire (story)

Release Date:

22 January 1955 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Another movie with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Jerry and Pete are two friends with no money, looking for some job...

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Crosley Automobile | Handicapped Child | Beautiful Woman | Circus Performer

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, Lion Tamer
Gene Sheldon	...	Puffo the Clown
Nick Cravat	...	Timmy
Elsa Lanchester	...	The Bearded Lady
Douglas Fowley	...	Circus Payroll Man
Sue Casey	...	Circus Snake Charmer
Mary Orozco	...	Circus Fat Lady (as Mary L. Orozco)
Frederick E. Wolfe	...	Circus Giant
Philip Van Zandt	...	Shell Game Operator (as Phil Van Zandt)
Ralph Peters	...	Circus Chef

Also Known As:

Big Top (USA) (working title)
Jerrico, the Wonder Clown

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:6 (nf) | Finland:K-8 | USA:Approved | Argentina:Atp | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Hey, Punchinello

The beginning of the end

Dean and Jerry are more relaxed in this film than in previous efforts. The comedy is also milder. It is also the first time Jerry indulges in his sentimental clown shtick. Hello, telethon Jerry! Dean has absolutely nothing to do in the film. He plays his usual heel character, but there is absolutely no depth to it. And where are the musical numbers? Only the woefully unfunny "That's My Boy" has less in the way of music! Dean and Jerry get to do one new number, "Puncinello", and Dean sings the standard "It's a Big, Wide Wonderful World" to a bunch of animals! (Hugh Shannon, the wonderful jazz singer-pianist who is most identified with this song, must have had a good laugh from Dean's version.) Dean has no ballads and hardly any screen time with his leading lady, Joanne Dru. It's all about Jerry, not silly, lovable Jerry, but a telethon Jerry, trying to become a clown. Actually, the film is quite amusing and heartwarming, but it's not Martin and Lewis. I do not know if Twenty-first Century youngsters would find this amusing, but I did when I was a kid. It is more endearing than "That's My Boy" and most of the solo Lewis films. It may be a bit slow for today's kids.