Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

moonspinner55 Irwin Allen produced this circus melodrama for second-string Allied Artists Productions, from a screenplay he co-authored with Charles Bennett and Irving Wallace--did all three of them fall in love with 1952's "The Greatest Show on Earth"? A financially-strapped traveling circus unknowingly harbors a killer amongst its troupe, revealed in a big climax under the tent with a full audience in attendance and at least one TV camera rolling! Allen did his best to round up colorful talents for this Big Top opus, and Victor Mature, Gilbert Roland and Vincent Price (as the master of ceremonies) each do good work. The weak supporting cast and even weaker attempts at humor are another matter. The song at the closing says 'it's a gay time at the circus,' which in this case is false advertising. ** from ****

blanche-2 "The Big Circus," from 1959 is one of those spectacles in color that begged to be seen on a big screen, the type of film intended to lure audiences from their TV sets back into the movie theater.It's a predictable story. Henry Whirling, the owner of the Whirling Circus (Victor Mature) gets a loan from a bank, but an accountant (Red Buttons) is sent along to watch the investment. He hires a publicist (Rhonda Fleming), though Whirling objects strenuously. Meanwhile, a rival circus is trying to sabotage Whirling's efforts to get into the black.The film also stars Vincent Price as the ringleader, Gilbert Roland as the aerialist Colino, Peter Lorre as a Skeets the clown, David Nelson, a member of the high wire act, and Kathryn Grant. Grant plays Mature's sister -- they are twenty years apart, but it's within the realm of possibility.With more attention paid to the care of animals today, I doubt you'd see multi-colored elephants, which really bothered me.Some interesting aerial routines, a little suspense, and need I say that Red Buttons takes Skeets the Clown's place at one point.This is before CGI and computers, so the process shot of Colino walking a wire at a national landmark is lousy.The acting is nothing special. The best actors like Lorre and Price have smaller roles. Victor Mature was a serviceable leading man. Very, very few men in Hollywood were handsome throughout their lives; I think Gilbert Roland was a notable exception. He's quite effective in a dramatic role.All in all, entertaining.

johnfd53 The Big Circus is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy with creditors chasing them around the country trying to foreclose. Hank (Victor Mature) does a great job avoiding and hiding from them but unfortunately he has less luck in finding the saboteur that is destroying his show. Seeing it for the first time I was caught up in the mystery of finding the saboteur and the motives involved. Excellent circus scenes, a tightrope walk over Niagra Falls, great music, a little romance and just the right amount of comedy relief round out this picture. Strong supporting performances by Peter Lorre, Vincent Price and Gilbert Roland keep things interesting throughout. The only film I can compare this with is Circus of Horrors which also gives a good share of action and chills.

StuOz Irwin Allen's take on circus life.Not really the sort of film I review.Footage of out-of-control wild animals upsetting folks in the circus does bring to mind later episodes of Lost In Space, Land Of The Giants and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea when wild animals/monsters would threaten the stars of these shows.Big Circus might not be the greatest show on earth but it is a taste of things to come, in the 1960s, from producer Irwin Allen!