Man on a Tightrope (1953)

Czech circus owner-Clown and his entire troupe employ a daring stratagem in order to escape en masse from behind the iron curtain.

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Neil Paterson (story "International Incident"), Robert E. Sherwood

Stars:

Fredric March, Terry Moore, Gloria Grahame

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fredric March	...	Karel Cernik
Terry Moore	...	Tereza Cernik
Gloria Grahame	...	Zama Cernik
Cameron Mitchell	...	Joe Vosdek
Adolphe Menjou	...	Fesker
Robert Beatty	...	Barovic
Alexander D'Arcy	...	Rudolph (as Alex D'Arcy)
Richard Boone	...	Krofta
Pat Henning	...	Konradin
Paul Hartman	...	Jaremir
John Dehner	...	The Chief

Storyline

In 1950s Czechoslovakia circus manager Karel Cernik is planning an escape from Communism to freedom.His idea is to force his way across the guarded border using his entire circus.Three years in the making his idea is ready to be tested when he's suddenly summoned to a Secret Police routine questioning about his circus' program.To Cernik it's clear that he has an informer among his staff who reports his activities and private talks to the Secret Police. The Americans are just across the river in a nearby border village but Cernik needs a special permit from the Secret Police allowing his circus freedom of movement in the border areas to perform his shows.This hard to get permit is vital to his escape plan.To make matters worse his wife is being unfaithful, his daughter has fallen in love with the new stables boy,his circus is falling apart and his longtime rival, Barovik, wants to take over Cernik's circus.

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Plot Keywords:

circus | iron curtain | euro noir | czechoslovakia | germany | 

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Taglines:

The headline-hot drama of how a whole circus escaped the hand of terror !

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA West Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

29 June 1953 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

International Incident

Filming Locations:

Fall, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Bavaria Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marlene Dietrich turned down the role that eventually went to Gloria Grahame.

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Goofs

When Fredric March is being interrogated, the inkwell in front of him is uncovered, when the camera switches between him & his interrogator, the inkwell's cover is on.

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Quotes

Rudolph: [to Cernik] The curse of my life is that I'm a handsome man.

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Connections

Referenced in American Masters: None Without Sin (2003)

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Soundtracks

The Moldau
(uncredited)
from "Ma Vlast (My Country)"
Music by Bedrich Smetana
Arranged by Franz Waxman and Earle Hagen
Played during circus sequences by a band and as background music by the orchestra several times

User Reviews

Why isn't this movie considered a classic?

This is a really fine movie, with some marvelous subtlety and powerful metaphor, despite the fact it shows its age. Great editing, good script, some superb scenes. I can't understand why it is not more widely known and appreciated. The Cold War is simply the setting; the unprepossessing story means far more.

For those who might be interested, this was the favorite movie of American poet Richard Hugo (1923-1982), who wrote several pages about it in his posthumously published 1986 autobiography, The Real West Marginal Way. A couple of Hugo's comments:

"The border becomes a kind of symbolic line separating the will from the imagination, the world of serious organizational adult responsibility from the paradise of childhood play."

"More than anything else, the music {of the amateurish circus musicians} attests to the poor odds facing not only the tacky circus but humanity itself."