Circus World (1964)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

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:

Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts a European tour of his circus. At the same time...

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Indian Attack | Mother Daughter Relationship | Trapeze | Suicide

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 | Finland:S | New Zealand:R13 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | 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:

Circus World

It's just a movie . . .

When you just enjoy an actor's gift, even a bad movie can be somewhat entertaining. I have seen many movies by John Wayne and some movies many, many times. I prefer the early westerns, war years films and even some of the appearances on The Tonight Show, Dean Martin Show and even the Roasts of the late '60's and '70's. As a matter of fact Wayne's movies dominate my collection of VHS and DVD. You a can always find bad movies in a list of an actor's work, especially when the actor has done over 150 movies in 50 years. Don't care what the policital views are. Just enjoy the film for what it is, a movie, not reality. Sit with a bowl of popcorn or gooey movie theater candy and enjoy a movie where you have to imagine rather than have thrilling stunts thrown at you every 35-45 seconds. Relax for a while.