Lee, from Tossing It Out, will enjoy( I hope), my theme this week since he use to be in a circus, from what I understand and was a pretty good juggler. I can only juggle my budget but I’m always amazed at what people can juggle and how much. It’s quite entertaining to watch along with the trapeze artists and even the good ole clowns. There are many films involving the circus including “ The Greatest Show On Earth” which should never…I mean, never have won Best Picture since it was up with “High Noon” and The Quiet Man” and “Singing In The Rain”. I didn’t choose this most obvious choice but went with 3 other movies and none are horror films….
1. TRAPEZE-1956
This film stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina with her 2 Lollas…sorry..I couldn’t help myself..Gina Lollabrigida as members of a circus who work on the trapeze. Burt, who used to work as an acrobat in a circus before he drifted into acting plays a former trapeze artist who did 3 somersaults in the air, or something like that, before becoming injured and now trains people like up and comer Stony Curtis. In comes Gina who will do anything to become famous and who slithers up to Tony but Burt knows what kind of woman she is. Can you say love triangle? It’s quite glitzy and the costumes are great along with the tension on the high wire. It’s a fun movie and Lollo’s amazing figure makes my mouth drop never mind all the men.
2. BERSERK! -1967
Joan Crawford owns this old circus keeping it going in any way possible. She loves the the man of ceremonies showcasing her legs every chance she can get with her hair wound up so tight that she doesn’t need a facelift. She is having an affair with a hunky, younger man who is a bit loose for brains and when there are killings on the circus grounds and business gets better, she is loving it. Is she the one killing people for her business? Who knows but people are dying in the most gruesome ways( poor Diana Dors). I was expecting this film to be bad but I was pleasantly surprised. It won’t win any awards but it’s a fun film to sit back and watch with some popcorn.
3. THE GREATEST SHOWMAN-2017
Glad you picked the last one. I was surprised how much I enjoyed that movie.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteAs a boy, I was enchanted by the circus. My folks took me to see it when it came to Hershey Park in Hershey, PA, and I regularly watched future Monkees member Micky Dolenz in the title role of the mid 1950s TV series Circus Boy.
I always enjoy watching movies that feature Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis and have seen Trapeze and Berserk! If you have not yet done so, I urge you to watch the excellent TV miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan, with Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange in the title roles. It traces the intersecting career paths of both iconic actresses as they transition from leading ladies to scream queens.
Two more great circus movies I can recommend are Victure Mature, Red Buttons, Rhonda Fleming, the late Kathryn Grant (Mrs. Bing Crosby), David Nelson (Rick's brother) and scream kings Vincent Price and Peter Lorre in The Big Circus (1959), and Anton Diffring and a cast of international beauties starring in Circus Of Horrors (1960). Notice how many circus films were released during a relatively brief period of time from the mid 50s to mid 60s.
I'm sure by now you have read the news about the death at age 93 of one of the last surviving legends of the Golden Era of the Hollywood Musical. R.I.P. Mitzi Gaynor.
I will unveil my second and last H-ween post of the season this Saturday and hope you can swing by for a visit at some point. Take care of yourself and your wonderful pets, dear friend BB!
I saw the last one, but I did not like it. When I was in school, I did a biographical report on PT Barnum, so I was hoping to recognize something from the movie. I did not. And that irked me. Not a great reason to hate a movie, but I don't usually make sense in what I dislike.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the attribution. Yes, Circus is one of my favorite film genres while my wife is no fan so I rarely watch these films with her. And yes, I did work in some circus settings though never really toured with any of them. I'm an okay juggler, but there are so many better ones that put my skills to shame. But at least I did make a living for several years juggling and entertaining. So show biz films usually strike a chord with me.
ReplyDeleteSo many great films from which to choose. You picked some excellent ones including one of my favorite films of all time, Greatest Showman
I'll add two from one of my favorite directors, Federico Fellini. La Strada is a true classic. His lesser known The Clowns is another favorite of mine.
Another that I enjoyed was Billy Rose's: Jumbo with Jimmy Durante. I've been trying to get my wife to watch that one, but she keeps resisting. It's a sweet musical.
Finally, a film with one of the best movie juggling sequences that I've yet seen, is Lola Montes (1955) which is based on the true story of a woman who lived in the 1800's. It's such an amazing story that I had to research it later to find out how much was really true. The film is actually pretty accurate.
I love today's topic!
Lee
I'm not really a "Circus" kind of guy, so the only movie utilizing that theme that I can think of, which I genuinely like, is 'DUMBO', the 1941 animated classic by Disney. I even own that one. ("Elephants got no feelings; they're made out of rubber!")
ReplyDelete~ D-FensDogG