Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)

A Debt-ridden circus is saved by an well-meaning but inept publicity man Pop Wonder.

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Ben Hecht (book), Charles MacArthur (book),

Stars:

Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Doris Day	...	Kitty Wonder
Stephen Boyd	...	Sam Rawlins
Jimmy Durante	...	Anthony 'Pop' Wonder
Martha Raye	...	Lulu
Dean Jagger	...	John Noble
Joseph Waring	...	Harry
Lynn Wood	...	Tina
Charles Watts	...	Ellis
James Chandler	...	Parsons
Robert Burton	...	Madison
Wilson Wood	...	Hank
Norman Leavitt	...	Eddie
Grady Sutton	...	Driver
Ron Henon	...	Circus Performer
The Carlisles	...	Circus Performers

Storyline

It's the early 1900's. The Wonder Circus is a traveling circus owned and operated by Anthony Wonder - who performs as a clown - and his daughter Kitty Wonder - who performs as an aerialist and trick rider. Although Kitty loves her Pop as she and all the other circus performers call her father, she hates his gambling addiction which is placing the circus deep in debt. They and their employees treat the circus like one big family, especially Lulu the fortune teller who wants to be Mrs. Wonder, but the employees may only be so loyal if they aren't getting paid. As such, many of the performers leave or threaten to leave to join the Wonder Circus' main competitor, the Noble Circus owned by the power and money hungry John Noble. Although Pop and Kitty don't want anyone to leave their employ, the only act that they will never let go is Jumbo, their trained elephant, who Noble had tried to buy in the past. As many performers leave, into their midst comes circus Jack-of-all-trades Sam Rawlins....

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Plot Keywords:

circus | debt | elephant | gambling | competitor | 

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Taglines:

Jump for joy it's jumbo!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1962 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Jumbo

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Euterpe, Arwin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min 127 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (magnetic prints) Mono (optical prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 1935 musical play of Billy Rose's "Jumbo", on which this film was based, was the final stage presentation at New York City's venerable Hippodrome Theatre, which was torn down to make room for a parking lot. The show opened on November 16, 1935 and ran for 233 performances.

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Goofs

Jumbo is alternately using his front feet/back feet between shots when he is dancing on the circus pedestal.

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Connections

Referenced in My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Why Can't I?"
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

User Reviews

Delightful!

This is a wonderfully entertaining film. Day and Durante never disappoint and turn in their usual fine performances. Martha Raye is a delight! Stephen Boyd is magnificent! Who knew he could sing and dance so well?! He was a wonderfully versatile actor who could switch from Messala to Sam Rawlins in a heartbeat. One of my favorites - completely wonderful!