MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

JohnHowardReid RELEASE DETAILS: Copyright 25 June 1964 by Samuel Bronston—Midway Productions. Released through Paramount Pictures. New York opening at Loew's Cinerama: 25 June 1964. U.S. release: 25 June 1964. U.K. release through Rank Film Distributors: 28 December 1964. London opening: 16 July 1964. Australian release through British Empire Films: 4 June 1965. 135 minutes (U.S.); 143 minutes (Australia). U.K. release title: The MAGNIFICENT SHOWMAN.SYNOPSIS: In the early 1900's, an American impresario takes his circus to Europe. COMMENT: "A dismally trite and obvious picture" wrote Bosley Crowther in The New York Times. I would not go anywhere like this far, but yes, the script is undeniably weak. Story issues are introduced which are neither resolved nor developed (particularly those involving Richard Conte character). Much tighter editing would help. We were almost asleep before the climactic fire re-awoke us to the earlier spectacular potential of the script, as in the early boat capsize episode. Both the boat capsize and the fire are particularly well-staged — a seamless collaboration between Hathaway and Talmadge (or did Hathaway stage these eps himself?). Talmadge undoubtedly did the "runaway" horse in the street and all the circus material where the hand of Renoir can be clearly detected in the characteristic use of more muted color than Hildyard is using for the main unit.Certainly Wayne himself is doing some of his own stunts, though a very obvious process screen is often employed. Acting is more creditable than usual under Hathaway's direction, despite the weak and familiar plot, the tedious dialogue and unresolved drama (presumably Conte started the fire and planted the stuff in Claudia Cardinale's dressing room, but after his dramatic impingement into Hayworth's opening shot at trapeze practice, he virtually disappears.Claudia herself is perhaps a little too enthusiastically vivacious and Mr. Smith is far too much of an eager-beaver, but Hayworth's restrained performance holds her scenes together. Wayne is his usual self. Nolan is a liability (admittedly he has the worst of the faithful, trusted sidekick dialogue) but Katherine Kath makes a memorable impression in her scene as Hayworth's former landlady. Kay Walsh has a tiny spot.A great deal of well-deserved footage is given over to the circus acts themselves — the plate sequence with the clowns is most amusingly well-timed, and I enjoyed the introductory act by Conte's double — the clown on the high wire!

writers_reign I acquired this via a boxed set of six Rita Hayworth films offered at a ridiculous price. Like the majority of boxed sets there were a couple of half-decent efforts - in this case Gilda, You'll Never Get Rich and The Lady From Shanghai, plus a couple of dogs. Circuses have never appealed to me, I can take or leave Duke Wayne and Claudia Cardinale; Lloyd Nolan is invariably good but he seldom if ever carried a film, and Rita was down to third billing so I didn't figure I was missing much. Now that I've finally seen it it's not as bas as it might have been, which is not the same as saying I'll watch it again. Rita arguably comes off best, not least in her early scenes where she plays a character who has lost her self-respect and more or less has to act as opposed to just looking glamorous. The plot dredges up just about every cliché there is, Richard Conte is wasted and that's about all there is to say.

James Hitchcock "Circus World", generally known in Britain as "The Magnificent Showman" was one of a number of films on a circus theme made during the fifties and sixties as filmmakers sought to cash in on the spectacle and drama of the Big Top. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" is possibly the best-known, but "The Big Circus" is another well-known example. All three films are large-scale spectaculars and all three have for their central character the figure of the circus owner or manager, played in "The Greatest Show..." by Charlton Heston, in "The Big Circus" by Victor Mature and here by John Wayne. In each case this individual is played as tough but fair, with a deep love of the circus and its traditions. Although the film was made in 1964, the action takes place at some unspecified date in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Most circus dramas involve the company touring America by train, but here Wayne's character, Matt Masters, decides to take his circus on a tour of Europe. Part of the reason is that he hopes to be reunited with his former lover, Lili Alfredo. This plot is perhaps a measure of the way in which the cinema was becoming more permissive in the sixties; it turns out that Lili was the wife of another man, one of the circus acrobats, who was killed in a fall which (it is hinted) may really have been suicide prompted by his wife's infidelity. At one time it would have been unthinkable for the clean-cut John Wayne to have been cast as a man involved in an adulterous affair, let alone an adulterous affair which led to the death of the cuckolded husband. Another important character is Toni, Lili's daughter whom she abandoned after her husband's death and whom Masters has raised as his own daughter. The circus genre had its own conventions and clichés, and a number of these are recycled here. The European setting means that a shipwreck can replace the more traditional train crash as the disaster which threatens the business, and we also get the fall from the high wire or trapeze, the glamorous female acrobat whose love-life forms a mainspring of the plot, the dangerous wild beasts on the loose, a fire and the clown whose make-up hides some unexpected secret. (In this case that he is the brother of the dead acrobat. The script, however, does not make much of this disclosure. There is a vague implication have started the fire deliberately in revenge for his brother's death, but this implication is never followed through so we do not discover the truth of the matter). Wayne is not bad as Masters, but this is not really one of his great films. His image was very much that of the strong man of physical action; he normally would play the cavalry officer leading his troops into action rather than the general back at the base, or the cowboy on the trail rather than the rancher back at the ranch. "The Magnificent Showman" is therefore a departure from his normal style, as Masters is the man on the ground giving the orders rather than the performer in the air entertaining the crowds. Heston, who could play both types of role, is rather better as the equivalent character in "The Greatest Show...". Rita Hayworth as Lili was still strikingly attractive for a woman in her mid-forties, but again this is not one of her better films. I was rather surprised to learn that she was nominated for a "Best Actress" Golden Globe award. There is certainly little chemistry between her and Wayne, which suggests that the rumours about their off-screen clashes may have been true. (He was apparently angered by her heavy drinking). Claudia Cardinale looks gorgeous as Toni, but her foreign accent seemed wrong for the part; Toni may be Italian, or of Italian ancestry, on her father's side, but she has spent all, or most of, her life in America, so should really have an American accent. Overall, "The Magnificent Showman" (I will use the British title with which I am more familiar) has some entertaining and exciting passages, but does not really say anything new about its circus theme which had not already been said in similar films. This lack of originality may have been one reason why the circus genre fell from favour in the seventies and eighties, although there have been occasional revivals since in films like "Water for Elephants". 6/10

ma-cortes The movie talks about a circus employer (a proprietor beset by problems called Matt Masters well played by John Wayne who was suffering from the early stages of lung cancer) who decides to take his show on a European tour along with his fostered daughter (a gorgeous Claudia Cardinale) and her lover (John Smith) . Meanwhile , the Circus owner searches for the mother of his adopted daughter , who disappeared years before , she is a trapeze artiste (a veteran Rita Hayworth) who bears a dark secret that originates the drama .In the picture there is a love story , circus show , melodrama in which protagonists are caught in emotional conflicts , but it isn't fast movement and that's why it is a little boring and dreary . Furthermore , film runtime is overlong : two hours and some , 135 minutes approx. , and there happens a few events . ¨The greatest show of the earth¨ by Cecil B. Mille with Charlton Heston resulted to be much better and obtained several Oscars , while ¨Circus world¨ , a typical John Wayne film , was a real flop and failed in the box office and didn't achieve success at nowhere . In spite of the numerous and famous screenwriters : Ben Hetch's last film , Philip Jordan Nicholas Ray and James Edward Grant (who John Wayne insisted to be brought to rewrite it) , the plot is confusing and embarrassing . The picture finished to sink the Samuel Bronston's empire along with ¨The fall of the Roman Empire¨ because of both movies didn't make money . However, the circus spectacles are breathtaking : the racehorses , stagecoach pursuits with Indians riders, the clown shows , the trapeze artistes are spellbound . Support cast is frankly good , such as : Rita Hayworth , John Smith , Richard Conte , Jose Maria Caffarel , Milles Malleson and Lloyd Nolan replaced David Niven who was originally cast as Cap Carson . The movie was regularly directed by Henry Hathaway , though Frank Capra began this project but he turned it down due to he wanted to use his own script . Hathaway was a skillful craftsman with a long career . Big John Wayne played for Hathaway various films as ¨The sons of Katie Elder (65), ¨Circus World (64) ¨ certainly not one of his memorable movies , ¨How the west was won (62) ¨, ¨ North to Alaska (60)¨ , but his greatest hit smash was ¨True grit (69)¨ in which Wayne won his only Academy Award . Although Hathaway was a highly successful and reliable director film-making within the Hollywood studio system , his work has received little consideration from reviewers . The motion picture will appeal to John Wayne and circus fans . Rating : Average. Score : 4,30/10