Circus World (1964)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers (WGA):

Ben Hecht (screenplay) and
Julian Zimet (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

All WAYNE...And a World Wide...

Plot:

In the early years of the 20th century, Matt Masters takes his rambling Wild West Show to Europe. His...

Plot Keywords:

Wild West Show | Circus | Search | Trapeze | Brussels Belgium

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations

Cast

John Wayne	...	Matt Masters
Claudia Cardinale	...	Toni Alfredo
Rita Hayworth	...	Lili Alfredo
Lloyd Nolan	...	Cap Carson
Richard Conte	...	Aldo Alfredo
John Smith	...	Steve McCabe
Katharyna	...	Giovana
Katherine Kath	...	Hilda
Wanda Rotha	...	Mrs. Schuman
Margaret MacGrath	...	Anna (as Maggie Macgrath)
Miles Malleson	...	Billy Hennigan
José María Caffarel	...	Barcelona´s Mayor (as Jose Maria Cafarell)
Kay Walsh	...	Flo Hunt
Francois Calepides	...	Ringmaster (as François Calepides)
Robert Cunningham	...	Ringmaster

Also Known As:

El fabulós món del circ (Spain: Catalan title)
El fabuloso mundo del circo (Spain)
Henry Hathaway's The Magnificent Showman (UK) (complete title)
Samuel Bronston's Circus World
The Magnificent Showman (UK)

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:Approved | Finland:S | New Zealand:R13 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Samuel Bronston Productions

Trivia:

While filming a scene where the main tent catches fire, 'John Wayne' was almost killed when the set collapsed. As he was "fighting" the fire, Wayne was to be cued by the assistant director when to leave before the set was to collapse in flames. Either Wayne didn't hear the cue, or the a.d. mistimed it (it was never determined which), but the flaming set began to collapse before Wayne got out. He escaped with just a few seconds to spare before the entire set would have fallen down on top of him.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: While the film is taking place in 1901, there are several mistakes with the European flags. One example is the Finnish flag that is seen in the movie. Finland didn't achieved independence (and the flag) until 1918.

Soundtrack:

A Hot Time in the Old Town

Bilge.

Apart from JET PILOT and THE CONQUERER, this is my choice for worst John Wayne film once he became a bona fide star. Sure, some of his very early B-movies were rough and silly, but considering he was young and had little star power, I wouldn't count these films. Plus, despite their shortcomings, the B-westerns were fun. CIRCUS WORLD, on the other hand just isn't any fun. Imagine, someone making a movie about circuses and there being no fun at all in the film...as well as some of the worst writing I've seen in an A-movie...ever.

The movie already starts out with a major handicap with the casting. While Claudia Cardinale is a lovely woman, she was 102% wrong for the film. She is supposed the to be the daughter of an American and an Italian who was raised since a very early age by John Wayne in the United States. So, why does she have this French accent?!?! She sounds NOTHING like Wayne (who raised her) or her mother (Rita Hayworth--who abandoned her) or her long-dead Italian father. What gives?!

Apart from that, the writing was the single worst problem with the film. Much of the dialog was clichéd, unbelievable and silly. Frankly, considering the considerable clout Wayne had at the time, it's amazing he'd have allowed such a terribly written script. If you read the trivia on IMDb, director Frank Capra left over changes in the script by Wayne--perhaps it WAS a good script until he "fixed it" but we'll never know for sure. The problems extend from scene to scene, where some characters (especially the emotionally labile Miss Cardinale) jump from one emotion or motivation to another. There simply is no consistency. For example, late in the film, Cardinale goes nuts and tells Wayne and Hayworth that she hates them. Then, 30 seconds later, she is clinging to them and all is well. This is the sort of emotional "flexibility" that you'd expect...in a mental patient! Also, many times, plots are simply lost in the shuffle. For a 2-1/4 hour movie, you'd think there'd be time to work out these dangling plot elements!! For example, the identity of who painted over the posters and how the fire began all seem to be forgotten by the time the movie ends...as well as exactly who hates Wayne and Hayworth so much...as well as why there was the affair many years ago (Wayne keeps saying that he'll have to explain it all to her...and never does). So, the writing is very broad, unbelievable and sloppy--like chunks of the film must have been missing it was that bad.

Otherwise, I guess I should say something about what I liked. Some of the animals were cute and some of the big spectacle scenes are not completely horrible (though unnecessary). And,...well,...that's it.

A bad film, even if John Wayne lovers would disagree. I love most of his films, but I'm calling it like I see it--a big, bloated, overblown mess. And, by the way, Wayne is completely miscast as well--what is this great western star doing running a circus that goes on tour to Europe?!?

By the way, my wife adds that SOMEONE must have had some incriminating pictures of Wayne to get him to make this film. My guess (and she does NOT agree) is that maybe he was kissing a Communist or burning an American flag...it had to have been THAT bad to merit making this film.