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P.T. Barnum

  • TV Movie
  • 1999
  • TV-PG
  • 2h 18m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
195
YOUR RATING
P.T. Barnum (1999)
BiographyDrama

The story of the great American showman and promoter.The story of the great American showman and promoter.The story of the great American showman and promoter.

  • Director
    • Simon Wincer
  • Writer
    • Lionel Chetwynd
  • Stars
    • Beau Bridges
    • Jordan Bridges
    • Cynthia Dale
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    195
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Simon Wincer
    • Writer
      • Lionel Chetwynd
    • Stars
      • Beau Bridges
      • Jordan Bridges
      • Cynthia Dale
    • 9User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
      • 1 win & 9 nominations total

    Photos4

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    Top cast48

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    Beau Bridges
    Beau Bridges
    • P.T. Barnum
    Jordan Bridges
    Jordan Bridges
    • Young P.T. Barnum
    Cynthia Dale
    Cynthia Dale
    • Charity
    Natalie Radford
    Natalie Radford
    • Young Charity
    George Hamilton
    George Hamilton
    • Francis Olmsted
    Henry Czerny
    Henry Czerny
    • Greenwood
    Charles Martin Smith
    Charles Martin Smith
    • Beach
    Josh Ryan Evans
    Josh Ryan Evans
    • (General) Tom Thumb
    R.H. Thomson
    R.H. Thomson
    • James Anthony Bailey
    Art Kitching
    Art Kitching
    • Samuel Hurd
    Stephanie Morgenstern
    Stephanie Morgenstern
    • Nancy (Fish)
    Serge Houde
    Serge Houde
    • John Genin
    Isabelle Cyr
    Isabelle Cyr
    • Caroline (Barnum)
    Bruce Dinsmore
    Bruce Dinsmore
    • David Thompson
    Victoria Sanchez
    Victoria Sanchez
    • Helen (Barnum)
    Michèle-Barbara Pelletier
    Michèle-Barbara Pelletier
    • Pauline
    • (as Michelle Barbara Pelletier)
    Alain Goulem
    Alain Goulem
    • Nathan Seely
    Howard Ryshpan
    Howard Ryshpan
    • James Heath
    • Director
      • Simon Wincer
    • Writer
      • Lionel Chetwynd
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    6.5195
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    Featured reviews

    2CheshireCatsGrin

    Even boring in the background

    I gave up on this after an hour. My sister tried to watch it while I worked at the computer. Although I love the circus this was a farce. It was over acted as if the actors could talk over the poorly written script. The discussions in the family felt unproductive. After a while, who cares? I wanted to see P.T. Barnum, not the Barnum family. I could see that type of conversation across the street. After a while I actually felt myself getting stressed out from the arguing.

    * of 5
    10mlebarondethenard

    History and Drama Brought to Life!

    I knew nothing about P.T. Barnum before this movie. Since I have seen it on A&E I have since bought the VHS and later the DVD of the show. I loved it! Since my first viewing I have read up on my Barnum history and found only the smallest details changed, more to enhance the drama then an attempt to re-write history. The history of the man is fascinating and seeing how the great showman juggled his family and his career was expertly done! Most all of the Barnum historians agree that his wife Charity was someone of great importance to Barnum despite his touring with one act or another. This film does credit to the connection between husband and wife. Further more we get to see how the Civil War impacted everyone's lives and showcased the struggles families felt between the north and the south. The language of the script is excellent and the speeches given to Barnum are the stuff actors dream of getting. Seeing Barnum describe his dreams of touring with Joyce Heth shows not only his style and panache in the art of the humbug but also gave a wonder in being able to believe things that we know can not be true! Beau Bridges does a tour-de-force job with Barnum. Bridges has the huckster style down perfect and shows just how charismatic the real man must have been to pull off all his dreams and schemes. There is not one weak spot in the cast and it was a masterful stroke to have Beau's son, Jordan, play the young PT. The transformation between actors is enjoyable and believable! Others have pointed out the lack of time the sideshow people receive in this film. The movie is about the life of P T Barnum, not Cheng and Eng or the Bearded Lady. To tell their stories would take a movie all their own. Also the site has listed as goofs the fact Barnum never said "there's a sucker born every minute." That is very true but not a goof. What is a goof is the fact that phrase is never once mentioned in the film so while this fact might fit in trivia it is not a goof in the film. The script is faithful to Barnum's life, brings humanity to the man, and draws on first person source material in the form of Barnum's own biographies! This is a first as almost every other film/musical version goes off in totally random directions and ignores what is right in front of them. Why other writes feel the need to add made up facts when the real ones are more then interesting is beyond me. I take my top hat off to the screen writer and thank him for an excellent piece on the man who often hid behind his own myth, Phineas Taylor Barnum!
    BrunoRI

    Bridges "BARNUM" A&E's Greatest Show On Earth!

    "Ladies and gentlemen & children of all ages, in the center ring..." be prepared for the GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!!! And for all, this presentation is. Mr. Bridges should brush of his top hat for another well deserved "EMMY" award. "P.T. Barnum" ran the gambit of emotions and kept me well entertained, {even over two nights}! Bridges supporting cast held their own with THIS master showman, including Bridges own son Jordan as the young P.T Barnum. Simon Wincer's direction was wonderful and with talent and sets of such a grand manner, could perfection not be far?! Smiles for all who seek entertainment here!!!
    Bobs-9

    Where's the freaks?

    I'm afraid I only caught the second half of this miniseries, but what I saw was appalling! Doing a movie about Barnum is such a great opportunity to produce something colorful and exciting and hilarious. When will I learn not to waste time on TV miniseries? while I haven't had the opportunity to see the old 1930's film with Wallace Beery playing Barnum, it MUST have outdone this one. Quite honestly, why should I be so enthralled by the day-to-day minutiae of the private lives of Barnum and his relatives? It only makes a legendary, larger-than-life character that much more mundane.

    Typically, we would see about 25 seconds of a routine circus act, followed by 25 minutes of tedious soap opera in period costume. Ah, we get an understanding of the personal demons that drove the man! Oh,Blah...blah...blah!!! In a biography of Barnum, I expect to see outrageous flim-flams and the dumbest of rubes, bearded ladies, flashy and dangerous aerial acts, elephants -- and lots of them, dammit! This was the greatest show on earth. And freaks! A gifted screenwriter could do a whole hour on how one finds a set of Siamese twins, how they're recruited and under what circumstances they've been living, how they're exhibited, what their personalities are like, what they and Barnum thought of each other, what the public reaction was, etc., etc. These aspects of his life and career seem to me a lot more interesting than the fact that he didn't get along with all his daughters or in-laws very well, or that his wife was ill.

    Sorry I got carried away.
    wipster

    Well done!

    My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed Beau Bridges' (and his son's) portrayal of P.T. Barnum in this well written, well acted, and well directed production. We felt it provided an excellent insight into PT's feelings and motivation. His need for approval by the "upper class" (George Hamilton's character in particular) was illustrated quite eloquently, as was his eventualacceptance.

    While it may not have been 100% historically accurate, it was quite refreshing to see a well made movie that did not depend on gratuitous sex, language, and violence. This is a film that can be enjoyed by the entire family.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      P.T. Barnum was portrayed at different ages by Beau Bridges and his son Jordan Bridges.
    • Goofs
      This movie shows P.T. Barnum naming Jumbo. In fact, when Barnum bought Jumbo that was already his name. Keepers at the London Zoo (Jumbo's owners before Barnum) named him Jumbo, a derivation of an African word for elephant. The publicity Barnum brought to Jumbo eventually coined the word "jumbo" as meaning large.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 52nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2000)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 12, 1999 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La vida de P.T. Barnum
    • Filming locations
      • Brockville, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • A+E Networks
      • Hallmark Entertainment
      • Les Productions La Fête Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 18 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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