Circus World (1964)

When circus proprietor Matt Masters decides to take his show on a European tour, it is beset by problems, while he searches for Lili, the mother of his adopted daughter, who disappeared years before.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screenplay), Julian Zimet (screenplay) (as Julian Halevy)

Stars:

John Wayne, Rita Hayworth, Claudia Cardinale

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Maggie Rennie	...	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
Robert Cunningham	...	Ringmaster

Storyline

In the early years of the 20th century, Matt Masters takes his rambling Wild West Show to Europe. His decision is prompted by his desire to find Lili Alfredo, who disappeared fourteen years earlier following the death of her husband, The Flying Alfredo. At the time it was believed that Alfredo dived to his death deliberately when he realized his wife loved Matt and not him. Toni, a beautiful trapeze performer, raised by Matt is actually Lili's daughter, and she is in love with Steve McCabe, one of the stars on Matt's show. Doing their first show in Barcelona, aboard a ship, the ship keels over and Matt loses his show. Now broke, he leaves for Paris with Toni, Steve and his long-time friend, Cap Carson, to seek a job with Colonel Purdy's Wild West Show. But a year later, Matt has rebuilt his own show. First to be signed is a remarkable 12-year-old wire-walker named Giovana, and her guardian, Tojo the Clown, whose real named is Aldo Alfredo, formerly of the Flying Alfredos. Continuing ...

---

Plot Keywords:

circus | wild west show | search | trapeze | redheaded woman | 

---

Taglines:

You've Never Seen the Circus...Until You See It On the Giant 70mm Screen IN COLOR

---

Genres:

Drama | Western

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 June 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Henry Hathaway's Circus World

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Bronston Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Capra began this project, but left due to unhappiness with the script (Capra wanted to use his own script, but John Wayne insisted that James Edward Grant be brought to rewrite it) and budget.

---

Goofs

Whilst 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 achieve independence (and the flag) until 1918.

---

Quotes

Toni Alfredo: Kid? I am a Woman... with Sicilian blood in her. You ever hear of a vendetta?

---

Connections

Featured in John Wayne Behind the Scenes (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Viennese Medley
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss
Arranged by Dimitri Tiomkin

User Reviews

Very, very bad movie!!

I´m a big John Wayne Fan but this movie is very boring. John Wayne is acting like he thought the same in 1964. He is totally uninspired - like the whole movie is. 133 minutes and I fell asleep after 80 minutes. Endless scenes with animals, clowns and artists (one of them Rita Hayworth who looks like she will fall asleep every moment, too). In the beginning a ship is sinking and I thought I´m looking "Titanic" and in the end the circus tent is burning. But these scenes are without sense, only action - boring action. One of the movies of John Wayne you don´t need to see.