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Suuri maailmansirkus

Original title: The Greatest Show on Earth
  • 19521952
  • K-16K-16
  • 2h 32m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Gloria Grahame, Betty Hutton, Dorothy Lamour, and Cornel Wilde in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Official Trailer
Play trailer6:54
1 Video
75 Photos
DramaFamilyRomance

The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.

IMDb RATING
6.6/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Cecil B. DeMille
  • Writers
    • Fredric M. Frank(screenplay)
    • Barré Lyndon(screenplay)
    • Theodore St. John(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • Charlton Heston
    • Betty Hutton
Top credits
  • Director
    • Cecil B. DeMille
  • Writers
    • Fredric M. Frank(screenplay)
    • Barré Lyndon(screenplay)
    • Theodore St. John(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • Charlton Heston
    • Betty Hutton
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 144User reviews
    • 63Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 9 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Greatest Show on Earth
    Trailer 6:54
    The Greatest Show on Earth

    Photos75

    James Stewart, Betty Hutton, Lane Chandler, and Emmett Kelly in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    Charlton Heston and Gloria Grahame in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    Cecil B. DeMille in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame, Betty Hutton, and Lane Chandler in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    Charlton Heston, James Stewart, and Cornel Wilde in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Gloria Grahame, Betty Hutton, Lane Chandler, and Cornel Wilde in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, and Lou Jacobs in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    Betty Hutton in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
    The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Stewart
    James Stewart
    • 'Buttons' A Clownas 'Buttons' A Clown
    Charlton Heston
    Charlton Heston
    • Brad Bradenas Brad Braden
    Betty Hutton
    Betty Hutton
    • Hollyas Holly
    Cornel Wilde
    Cornel Wilde
    • The Great Sebastianas The Great Sebastian
    Dorothy Lamour
    Dorothy Lamour
    • Phyllisas Phyllis
    Gloria Grahame
    Gloria Grahame
    • Angelas Angel
    Henry Wilcoxon
    Henry Wilcoxon
    • FBI Agent Gregoryas FBI Agent Gregory
    Lyle Bettger
    Lyle Bettger
    • Klausas Klaus
    Lawrence Tierney
    Lawrence Tierney
    • Mr. Hendersonas Mr. Henderson
    Emmett Kelly
    Emmett Kelly
    • Emmett Kellyas Emmett Kelly
    Cucciola
    • Cucciolaas Cucciola
    Antoinette Concello
    • Antoinette Concelloas Antoinette Concello
    John Ringling North
    • John Ringling Northas John Ringling North
    Tuffy Genders
    • Tuffy Gendersas Tuffy Genders
    John Kellogg
    John Kellogg
    • Harryas Harry
    John Ridgely
    John Ridgely
    • Assistant Manageras Assistant Manager
    Frank Wilcox
    Frank Wilcox
    • Circus Doctoras Circus Doctor
    Robert Carson
    Robert Carson
    • Ringmasteras Ringmaster
    • (as Bob Carson)
    • Director
      • Cecil B. DeMille
    • Writers
      • Fredric M. Frank(screenplay) (story)
      • Barré Lyndon(screenplay)
      • Theodore St. John(screenplay) (story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground. Subplots involve the secret past of Buttons the Clown and the efforts of racketeers to move in on the game concessions. Let the show begin! —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
    circus trainhorse ridingblockbusterfreak showall star cast32 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The Heartbeat Story of Circus People, Filmed with the Cooperation of Ringling Bros. - Barnum and Bailey Circus!
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Family
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • K-16
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Despite his made-to-order background as a real-life circus acrobat, Burt Lancaster declined the role of The Great Sebastian, a fact Cecil B. DeMille doubly regretted when he learned that Cornel Wilde was afraid of heights. Wilde was game, however, and ended up performing many of his own stunts on the flying trapeze.
    • Goofs
      When Brad is checking the baby gorillas after learning they may have contracted the mumps, a crowd of onlookers is gathered right behind, plainly staring at the camera filming the scene.
    • Quotes

      Brad Braden: [while Buttons is doing first aid] Buttons! If that detective sees you doing this, he won't need *fingerprints*!

    • Connections
      Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Stewart (1980)
    • Soundtracks
      The Greatest Show on Earth
      By Victor Young and Ned Washington

      Sung by Betty Hutton (uncredited)

    User reviews144

    Review
    Top review
    It sure is.
    This is my favorite Cecil B. DeMille picture and it rightfully deserves it's title. The cast is well cast. Heston makes a fine circus manager and a perfect "don't take nothing from nobody" type of guy when it comes to dealing with local gamblers. Cornell Wilde is perfect as the typical heart-throb of a trapezist. Betty Hutton is good as the daring young star fighting for the center ring. Last, but certainly not the least, James Stewart is wonderful as the lonely clown with a terrifying secret (I will not give it away!!! See the movie!!!). Cecil was a man of tremendous persona with a hunger for showcasing spectacle by means of careful, intense, and thorough research. He achieves amazing success in portraying (to the best of his ability of the times) the most realistic circus acts without the use of raw footage, and covering the stories behind the characters involved. The thing that really moves everything along though, is the musical score. Two words on that GOOD GOD!!! The music will make you want to go to the circus, even if you didn't like this picture. For those of you who didn't like this picture, why not go to the circus instead? You may be entertained to the point that you'll end up silencing your bad reviews. I'm not saying you have top like this picture, but if you haven't seen it yet, and it's because of the certain bad reviews it got from some people, you're really going to miss something.
    helpful•18
    6
    • DrezenMedia
    • May 5, 2004

    FAQ1

    • What did Buttons do?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 25, 1952 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Den stora världscirkusen
    • Filming locations
      • Sarasota, Florida, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $36,000,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $36,000,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 32 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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