{"id":21800,"date":"2012-01-04T10:50:04","date_gmt":"2012-01-04T17:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21800"},"modified":"2021-01-24T23:59:56","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T06:59:56","slug":"greatest-show-on-earth-the-1952","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21800","title":{"rendered":"Greatest Show on Earth, The (1952)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Is it me you&#8217;re worried about, or the circus?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Greatest-Show-on-Earth-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Greatest-Show-on-Earth-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-21802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Greatest-Show-on-Earth-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Greatest-Show-on-Earth-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Greatest-Show-on-Earth-Poster.jpg 502w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA circus manager (Charlton Heston) hires a famous aerialist (Cornel Wilde) as a new star act, provoking the jealousy of one of his current aerialists (Betty Hutton), who was hoping to take center stage herself. Meanwhile, a clown (Jimmy Stewart) with a deep secret hides his identity behind a permanent mask of make-up, and an elephant-rider (Gloria Grahame) dating an aggressive trainer (Lyle Bettger) secretly pines for Heston.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Betty Hutton Films<\/li>\n<li>Carnivals and Circuses<\/li>\n<li>Cecil B. Demille Films<\/li>\n<li>Charlton Heston Films<\/li>\n<li>Cornel Wilde Films<\/li>\n<li>Dorothy Lamour Films<\/li>\n<li>Gloria Grahame Films<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart Films<\/li>\n<li>Lawrence Tierney Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Rivalry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary doesn&#8217;t review this notoriously &#8220;unworthy&#8221; Best Picture winner in his <em>GFTFF<\/em> (where he simply lists it in the back as a film with Historical Importance) &#8212; but in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, he summarily dismisses it as &#8220;entertaining junk&#8221;, noting that it likely won the award simply because &#8220;voters probably knew somebody in the all-star cast or huge production crew&#8221;. Peary&#8217;s certainly not alone in his cynical assessment; a quick glance at message boards on IMDb reveals the depth of many viewers&#8217; frustration that such worthy Oscar contenders as <em>Singin&#8217; in the Rain<\/em> and <em>High Noon<\/em> (for instance) were passed over in favor of <em>TGSOE<\/em>. (I&#8217;ve found that people tend to feel harshest about films they believe &#8220;undeservedly&#8221; stole critical kudos from acknowledged classics.)  <\/p>\n<p>At any rate, given its overall negative rap, I was surprised to find myself reasonably engaged as I revisited this over-the-top Technicolor spectacle (Cecil B. DeMille&#8217;s second-to-last directorial effort), which &#8212; as DVD Savant writes &#8212; &#8220;has too much color and too many varied circus acts to be boring.&#8221; I couldn&#8217;t seem to help getting caught up in the drama of it all &#8212; and darned if the central love quadrangle (between Heston, Hutton, Wilde, and Grahame) isn&#8217;t milked effectively until the very end, leaving you in &#8220;suspense&#8221; about who will end up with who. However, this faint praise is not meant to diminish the film&#8217;s more troublesome elements: it frequently (very frequently) devolves into campy melodrama; DeMille&#8217;s intrusive voice-over narration is often laughably grandiose; there&#8217;s some truly sloppy editing at times; the subplot involving Lawrence Tierney as a corrupt carny shyster is given too little screentime (we learn almost nothing about him &#8212; he simply appears, looking menacing); and there are far, far too many self-serving reaction shots of audience members gawking in wonder at the marvels of the circus (we get it already!). <\/p>\n<p>At least the lead actors all seem game with the material. Hutton has been raked over the coals for her hyper-kinetic performance here, but what else would one expect from her? I actually think she&#8217;s wonderfully convincing as an acrobat (clearly she worked out quite a bit in preparation &#8212; <em>before<\/em> such things were so commonplace in Hollywood), and, as someone aggressively pursuing fame in her own life as well, she seems to suit her role to a tee. Heston is likewise perfectly cast as a man with so much &#8220;sawdust in his blood&#8221; that he literally breathes &#8220;circus&#8221; in and out. Wilde is the pleasant surprise of the bunch &#8212; he has rollicking fun with his role as a womanizing egomaniac with an alluring foreign accent (and what a body he crafted for the part!). Grahame&#8217;s role is frustratingly underwritten during the first half of the film, but she&#8217;s allowed more of a welcome presence during the second half. Stewart &#8212; notoriously remaining in make-up throughout the entire film &#8212; is appropriately subdued and mysterious in his critical role, which is based on a provocative premise. Meanwhile, the spectacle surrounding their various intertwining melodramas provides an interesting glimpse at what passed for entertainment in mid-century America &#8212; much of it (i.e., the acrobatic acts) remains just as thrilling today, while the remainder (i.e., the various &#8220;albums&#8221; paraded through the rings) is simply laughably quaint. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Along with Tierney, poor Dorothy Lamour seems least-well-served here; her character is essentially a send-up of her previous glamour-girl roles (and watch for a silly cameo by her <em>Road To&#8230;<\/em> co-stars in the audience). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cornel Wilde (having great fun) as the Great Sebastian<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Wilde.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Wilde.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Wilde.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Wilde-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Wilde-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An interesting time capsule glimpse of mid-century circus life and performances<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21805\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances2.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21804\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances3.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances3-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/GSOE-Performances3-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>Plenty of unintentionally hilarious dialogue: &#8220;The only thing I like about you are your elephants.&#8221;\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its historical notoriety. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0044672\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1952\/01\/11\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-de-mille-puts-greatest-show-on-earth-on-film.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/greatestshow.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4608\/the-greatest-show-on-earth#articles-reviews?articleId=153083\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1167show.html\">DVD Savant Review (spoiler alert)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/SoghIgtM0to\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Is it me you&#8217;re worried about, or the circus?&#8221; Synopsis: A circus manager (Charlton Heston) hires a famous aerialist (Cornel Wilde) as a new star act, provoking the jealousy of one of his current aerialists (Betty Hutton), who was hoping to take center stage herself. Meanwhile, a clown (Jimmy Stewart) with a deep secret hides his identity behind a permanent mask of make-up, and an elephant-rider (Gloria Grahame) dating an aggressive trainer (Lyle Bettger) secretly pines for Heston. Genres, Themes,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21800\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21800"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65822,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21800\/revisions\/65822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}