Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, November 10, 2022

THE BIG CIRCUS

THE BIG CIRCUS (1959). Produced by Irwin Allen. Directed by Joseph M. Newman. 

Circus owner Hank Whirling (Victor Mature) has just split off from his former partner and is determined to make a go of it on his own. Randy Sherman (Red Buttons) is assigned by the bank that loaned him money to keep him on the financial straight and narrow and also hired a public relations woman named Helen (Rhonda Fleming). For reasons that are never quite explained, Hank objects to having a woman doing publicity for him, and the two come to figurative blows almost immediately. A bigger problem is that an unknown person working with Hank's former partner is committing dangerous acts of sabotage. A variety of problems seem to be working against the circus' success as the bank keeps threatening to foreclose ... 

Red Buttons and Victor Mature
Producer Irwin Allen later became famous for his disaster flicks but The Big Circus is no disaster. The film is well-paced and quite entertaining, with some very satisfying performances. Red Buttons and Gilbert Roland as a first-class high-wire aerialist, come off best, along with Kathryn Grant, saucy and sexy, as Hank's sister. Mature saunters through the movie with his usual aplomb and Fleming is also appealing as his very feminine combatant. Vincent Price is adept if under-utilized as the ringmaster, and David Nelson [The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker], although he has little to do until the climax, plays a role very different from his part on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Peter Lorre is as lovable as ever as a clown in greasepaint. Although the process work isn't always great, the best and most suspenseful scene has to do with Roland's thrilling walk on a cable across the entire length of Niagara Falls! 

Verdict: This is superior to Jumbo and The Greatest Show on Earth. ***. 

2 comments:

angelman66 said...

Had no idea Irwin Allen produced this--enjoyed it a lot as a kid. Need to see again. Red Buttons is underrated as an actor; every time I see him I enjoy him. He is truly wonderful in Sayonara with Brando, in Poseidon, as Carroll Baker's mensch agent in Harlow...and recently rewatched the old 1977 telefilm The Users with Jaclyn Smith, and there he is, playing a sleazy Hollywood super agent.
-Chris

William said...

I absolutely agree with you about Buttons, very underrated. He was seen as mostly a stooge on comedy shows but was clearly capable of so much more!