Posts from ethanedwards in thread „Circus World (1964)“

Nice photo

Great action pic

AAAGH, Gee that's hot!!

Great pic Larry

Larry once again, thanks for these

Great lobby cards.
I tried to watch this movie again,
but I must admit I found it slow and tedious
and in the end flicked through it
just to watch the last twenty minutes!!
I din't think much of it in the first place,
and certainly don't now.
I will not bother again!

Thanks Jim,
I have edited into the first post

Quote from ethanedwards

Hi,
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!

I still stand by my original feelings about this film

Hi,
we do have a dedicated thread for this movie,
where there has been previous discussion and reviews.

Circus World

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

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!!!

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!

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

Quote

Bilge.
5 November 2009 | by planktonrules (Bradenton, Florida)

Apart from JET PILOT and THE CONQUERER, this is my choice for worst John Wayne film once he became a bona fide star. Sure, some of his very early B-movies were rough and silly, but considering he was young and had little star power, I wouldn't count these films. Plus, despite their shortcomings, the B-westerns were fun. CIRCUS WORLD, on the other hand just isn't any fun. Imagine, someone making a movie about circuses and there being no fun at all in the film...as well as some of the worst writing I've seen in an A-movie...ever.

The movie already starts out with a major handicap with the casting. While Claudia Cardinale is a lovely woman, she was 102% wrong for the film. She is supposed the to be the daughter of an American and an Italian who was raised since a very early age by John Wayne in the United States. So, why does she have this French accent?!?! She sounds NOTHING like Wayne (who raised her) or her mother (Rita Hayworth--who abandoned her) or her long-dead Italian father. What gives?!

Apart from that, the writing was the single worst problem with the film. Much of the dialog was clichéd, unbelievable and silly. Frankly, considering the considerable clout Wayne had at the time, it's amazing he'd have allowed such a terribly written script. If you read the trivia on IMDb, director Frank Capra left over changes in the script by Wayne--perhaps it WAS a good script until he "fixed it" but we'll never know for sure. The problems extend from scene to scene, where some characters (especially the emotionally labile Miss Cardinale) jump from one emotion or motivation to another. There simply is no consistency. For example, late in the film, Cardinale goes nuts and tells Wayne and Hayworth that she hates them. Then, 30 seconds later, she is clinging to them and all is well. This is the sort of emotional "flexibility" that you'd expect...in a mental patient! Also, many times, plots are simply lost in the shuffle. For a 2-1/4 hour movie, you'd think there'd be time to work out these dangling plot elements!! For example, the identity of who painted over the posters and how the fire began all seem to be forgotten by the time the movie ends...as well as exactly who hates Wayne and Hayworth so much...as well as why there was the affair many years ago (Wayne keeps saying that he'll have to explain it all to her...and never does). So, the writing is very broad, unbelievable and sloppy--like chunks of the film must have been missing it was that bad.

Otherwise, I guess I should say something about what I liked. Some of the animals were cute and some of the big spectacle scenes are not completely horrible (though unnecessary). And,...well,...that's it.

A bad film, even if John Wayne lovers would disagree. I love most of his films, but I'm calling it like I see it--a big, bloated, overblown mess. And, by the way, Wayne is completely miscast as well--what is this great western star doing running a circus that goes on tour to Europe?!?

By the way, my wife adds that SOMEONE must have had some incriminating pictures of Wayne to get him to make this film. My guess (and she does NOT agree) is that maybe he was kissing a Communist or burning an American flag...it had to have been THAT bad to merit making this film.

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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