Circus World (1964)

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  • CIRCUS WORLD
    aka The Magnificent Showman


    DIRECTED BY HENRY HATHAWAY
    PRODUCED BY SAMUEL BRONSTON/ MICHAL WASZYNSKI
    MUSIC BY DIMITRI TIOMKIN
    SAMUEL BRONSTON PRODUCTIONS
    PARAMOUNT PICTURES



    INFORMATION FROM IMDb


    Plot Summary
    Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts
    a European tour of his circus.
    At the same time, he is caught in an emotional bind between
    his adopted daughter and her mother.


    Full Cast
    John Wayne .... Matt Masters
    Claudia Cardinale .... Toni Alfredo
    Rita Hayworth .... Lili Alfredo
    Lloyd Nolan .... Cap Carson
    Richard Conte .... Aldo Alfredo
    John Smith .... Steve McCabe
    Katharyna .... Giovana
    Katherine Kath .... Hilda
    Wanda Rotha .... Mrs. Schuman
    Margaret MacGrath .... Anna
    Miles Malleson .... Billy Hennigan
    José María Caffarel .... Barcelona´s Mayor (as Jose Maria Cafarell)
    Kay Walsh .... Flo Hunt
    Francois Calepides .... Ringmaster
    Robert Cunningham .... Ringmaster
    Hans Dantes .... Emile Schuman
    Víctor Israel
    Katherine Ellison .... Molly (uncredited)
    Moustache .... Bartender (uncredited)
    Sydna Scott .... Undetermined Role (uncredited)
    George Tyne .... Madrid bartender (uncredited)


    Writing Credits
    Bernard Gordon (story) front Philip Yordan and
    Nicholas Ray (story)
    Ben Hecht (screenplay) and
    Julian Zimet (screenplay) (as Julian Halevy) and
    James Edward Grant (screenplay)
    Philip Yordan (front for Bernard Gordon)


    Original Music
    Dimitri Tiomkin


    Cinematography
    Jack Hildyard


    Stunts
    Bob Terhune .... stunt double: John Wayne (uncredited)
    Fred M. Waugh .... stunts (uncredited)


    Trivia
    While filming a scene where the main tent catches fire, 'John Wayne' was almost killed when the set collapsed. As he was "fighting" the fire, Wayne was to be cued by the assistant director when to leave before the set was to collapse in flames. Either Wayne didn't hear the cue, or the a.d. mistimed it (it was never determined which), but the flaming set began to collapse before Wayne got out. He escaped with just a few seconds to spare before the entire set would have fallen down on top of him.


    Frank Capra began this project but left due to unhappiness with the script (Capra wanted to use his own script but 'John Wayne (I)' insisted that James Edward Grant be brought to rewrite it)


    David Niven was originally cast as Cap Carson but left after one of the earlier script rewrites, complaining that it was becoming simply "a typical John Wayne film" and that his role had become smaller. Lloyd Nolan replaced him.


    John Wayne was suffering from the early stages of lung cancer during filming (although he didn't know it at the time). After the near fatal fire scene accident he started having a chronic cough and that night started spitting up spots of blood (he continued to smoke still unaware of the real cause). The intense fire stunt seemed to inflame his condition.


    Final movie written by Oscar winner Ben Hecht.


    Goofs
    * Anachronisms: While the film is taking place in 1901, there are several mistakes with the European flags. One example is the Finnish flag that is seen in the movie. Finland didn't achieved independence (and the flag) until 1918.


    Filming Location
    Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain
    Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
    Chinchón, Madrid, Spain
    Liceu Opera House, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
    London, England, UK
    Madrid, Spain
    Paris, France
    Samuel Bronston Studios, Madrid, Spain
    (studio)
    Spain
    Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
    Vicálvaro, Madrid, Spain


    Watch this Trailer


    Circus World


    Here is a link to earlier discussion:-
    Circus World

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 14 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • Circus World (released as The Magnificent Showman in the United Kingdom) i
    s a 1964 drama film starring John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale and Rita Hayworth.
    It was directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Samuel Bronston,
    with a screenplay by Ben Hecht, Julian Halevy and James Edward Grant,
    from a story by Philip Yordan and Nicholas Ray.


    The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Song for Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington (lyrics),
    while Rita Hayworth was nominated for the Best Actress award.


    Well he's a good one to discuss, in my opinion, for what it's worth, not one of the better ones!
    Claudia Cardinale, was nice to look at, but she couldn't act, to save her trapeze act!!


    All in all, a pretty, unbelievable, poor film


    circusworldtop.jpg


    User Review

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 4 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • Hi,
    It seems all in all, a pretty sorry effort.
    Paramount originally hired Frank Capra,
    who did nothing but argue with screenwriter,
    James Edward Grant,


    Capra argued,


    Quote

    What I didn't realize,was, that when you took on Duke Wayne,, you took on a small empire, and part of that empire, was a personal writer, by the name of JEG


    Well, briefly, Capra, liked Duke, but not JEG,
    Henry Hathaway, was brought in, to replace Capra,
    and what we got, was, a slapstick mish-mash of
    a bad script, silly dialogue, sily scenes,
    and Duke with his incredulous face look, that was
    OK, in something like NORTH TO ALASKA
    but totally out of place, in what was supposed to be
    a romantic, circus story, all about the circus world.
    The picture was a storyline full of cliches.
    Lloyd Nolan said,

    Quote

    That was a terrible job


    Duke didn't enjoy the part, and as the work dragged on,
    he got more exausted.


    To sum up, you get exausted, just watching the film!

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • Quote

    Originally posted by ethanedwards@Dec 31 2005, 02:49 AM
    To sum up, you get exhausted, just watching the film!

    [snapback]24690[/snapback]


    That's probably one of the closest descriptions I've read about how I felt after watching the movie. I think I read somewhere that one of the reasons that John Wayne made the movie was that it was an opportunity to bring the Wild Goose to Europe and live aboard it - but I may be getting my stories mixed up . . . you know what happens after you pass 55 :blink: . Can anyone either confirm this story or dash it on the rocks?


    Chester :newyear:

  • Hi,
    You're quite right Chester,
    he had puchased the 135-foot WILD GOOSE, the year before,
    and since the film, was being shot in Spain,
    it gave Duke the perfect excuse, to put it, to it's supreme test.
    sailing across the Atlantic!
    In September 63, he sailed down the coast of Mexico,
    mooring at Acapulco, fished and relaxed.
    Continued down the coast to Panama, then across to Bermuda.
    He didn't take his family across the Atlantic, as he considered this too
    risky, however he called them, when re reached the Azores.
    Before the film started, he toured, the Northen coast ,
    where Henry Hathaway, and friends joined him.
    Seems to me, the film, was just an hinderence or excuse!!!

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • Yes, it is a truly awful movie that is a chore to watch. Also, remember Duke nearly got burnt to death with his dedication to the fire scene in the big top because nobody bothered to tell him that it was a wrap.


    According to Alissa this aggrevated his lung condition for the course of the movie thereafter.

  • I've never seen it but there's a rumor floating around the internet that Henry Hathaway became so angry with John Smith on this film that he ruined his career. :headbonk: Smith died an alcoholic of cirrhosis of the liver. This sounds like a proverbial cursed film if ever there was one. :uhuh:


    If anyone has further information on this I'd appreciate it. Also, what is considered Duke's worst film?

  • Quote

    Originally posted by CoriSCapnSkip@Mar 10 2006, 09:04 AM
    Also, what is considered Duke's worst film?

    [snapback]28791[/snapback]



    Hi CoriSCapnSkip,


    First of all thanks for your interest in the Reviews,
    and you need not look too far, for his worst!!!


    Here's probably the one, click below,
    although Circus World
    is not rated highly, amongst fans!


    The Conqueror

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • Yeah, thanks. And "The Conqueror" was rated highly by Howard Hughes--so highly, that he kept it from the public for decades. When it was allowed to be shown, the public found it hadn't missed much.

  • I'm still working with the VHS version that came out many years ago...just watched it for the second time, the first being those many years ago. It's certainly different, that much I can say...guess you really have to like those 135 foot yachts.

    Roger.

  • I'm still working with the VHS version that came out many years ago...just watched it for the second time, the first being those many years ago. It's certainly different, that much I can say..


    We've watched it on VHS courtesy of the local video store, but felt we would be better served waiting for it to come out on DVD. Unless we invest in a region-free player, that could be awhile. At the time, the VHS copies through ebay and elsewhere were pretty pricey, which is why we don't own it in that format.


    Chester :newyear:

  • I do have a DVD of Circus World that was released by Reel Corporation and the DVD is PAL format and media is locked to region(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6. Most computer DVD players will pay it because it looks at the region only not the format. But a normal stand alone DVD player will not recognize the format. If your video card connects to your TV you can play the video through your computer and my computer has 5.1 Surround to listen to the audio. So if you have a decent computer you can grab a copy of Circus World on DVD.

  • It's been so long I don't remember. I either found it on eBay or Amazon. I will tell you there are a lot of them on eBay right now that say they are NTSC DVD's but they have to be pirated or bootleg. Or copied from VHS which is the same as pirated. You might even check The John Wayne Film Society. We have some of those members on here. I am one and they have several movies available on DVD that we don't have here. You could email them also at: [email protected]


    WARNING: A word to the wise... the ones that are on eBay that say they are region free and are NTSC format I have found out they are from Hong Kong. In other words they are bootleg/pirated copies of the movie. They are usually a really crappy video. Here's the response after I questioned them on how they had an NTSC format.


    Quote from Duke Pirate

    [FONT=Arial, Verdana]My location in Hong Kong, Original DVD release in Hong Kong, Area code for all code area. Asia region availabe format for NTSC, O.k?


    In other words they are crooks, scum, bootleggers, etc.
    [/FONT][email protected]