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From my favorite movies..

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Irwin Allen produced this circus melodrama for second-string Allied Artists Productions, from a screenplay he co-authored with Charles Bennett and Irving Wallace--did all three of them fall in love with 1952's "The Greatest Show on Earth"? A financially-strapped traveling circus unknowingly harbors a killer amongst its troupe, revealed in a big climax under the tent with a full audience in attendance and at least one TV camera rolling! Allen did his best to round up colorful talents for this Big Top opus, and Victor Mature, Gilbert Roland and Vincent Price (as the master of ceremonies) each do good work. The weak supporting cast and even weaker attempts at humor are another matter. The song at the closing says 'it's a gay time at the circus,' which in this case is false advertising. ** from ****

After losing his business partner, "Whirling Circus" manager Victor Mature (as Henry "Hank" Whirling) must borrow a half million dollars so that the show can go on - a US tour. He gets the money, but must accept two new staff members to insure a profitable return on the loan. Joining the troupe are full-figured publicist Rhonda Fleming (as Helen Harrison) and penny-pinching banker Red Buttons (as Randy Sherman). Having a female press agent irks Mr. Mature, but you wouldn't want to bet against a kiss before the closing credits. This being a circus movie, you might suppose a lion could be let loose, at some point. Also, figure on one or more mysterious accidents, which might actually be murder...This closely follows the circus picture pattern, especially Cecil B. DeMille's hit "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952). "The Big Circus" has a smaller budget, but producer Irwin Allen makes less look bigger than expected. It's colorful and bland, but must have been a cool way to spend time in the summer of 1959. The cast member shining is former "silent" screen star Gilbert Roland (as Zach Colino), looking incredibly fit as the circus' main attraction. "Ozzie and Harriet" son David Nelson (as Tommy Gordon) is also fit, as a younger model. Bing Crosby's second wife Kathryn Grant (as Jeannie Whirling) is likewise sexy in tights. Looking sneaky and clownish are veterans Vincent Price and Peter Lorre.***** The Big Circus (1959-07-05) Joseph M. Newman ~ Victor Mature, Gilbert Roland, Red Buttons, Rhonda Fleming

"The Big Circus," from 1959 is one of those spectacles in color that begged to be seen on a big screen, the type of film intended to lure audiences from their TV sets back into the movie theater.It's a predictable story. Henry Whirling, the owner of the Whirling Circus (Victor Mature) gets a loan from a bank, but an accountant (Red Buttons) is sent along to watch the investment. He hires a publicist (Rhonda Fleming), though Whirling objects strenuously. Meanwhile, a rival circus is trying to sabotage Whirling's efforts to get into the black.The film also stars Vincent Price as the ringleader, Gilbert Roland as the aerialist Colino, Peter Lorre as a Skeets the clown, David Nelson, a member of the high wire act, and Kathryn Grant. Grant plays Mature's sister -- they are twenty years apart, but it's within the realm of possibility.With more attention paid to the care of animals today, I doubt you'd see multi-colored elephants, which really bothered me.Some interesting aerial routines, a little suspense, and need I say that Red Buttons takes Skeets the Clown's place at one point.This is before CGI and computers, so the process shot of Colino walking a wire at a national landmark is lousy.The acting is nothing special. The best actors like Lorre and Price have smaller roles. Victor Mature was a serviceable leading man. Very, very few men in Hollywood were handsome throughout their lives; I think Gilbert Roland was a notable exception. He's quite effective in a dramatic role.All in all, entertaining.

If you assemble a cast consisting of Victor Mature, Red Buttons, Rhonda Fleming, Vincent Price and David Nelson, I will not expect much. Between them, they created few quality roles. Unfortunately, they lived up to my lack of expectation.But blame this debacle on Irwin Allen, whose "vision" created this lackluster production. As has been mentioned, Allen's plot is very derivative of The Greatest Show on Earth (the worst winner of the Best Film Oscar) . Someone suggested that Big Circus be viewed as camp. I guess you could try that with all bad movies. Try as it might, the horrible script could not dim all the talents of Gilbert Roland as the aerialist. And Kathryn Grant (not long married to Bing Crosby) shines on screen, despite the ridiculous story lines. (lucky her, she wins the affections of Red Buttons even though she thought Rhonda Fleming had dibs on him). The only portion of the plot I enjoyed was Red's surprise clown performance as a substitute for the morose Peter Lorre.What else is wrong with this film? The incidental music is intrusive, the staging is rigid and unnatural (notice how the director manages to routinely display up to 9 characters in a tableau), and the dialogue is trite and uninspired (there are some really insipid lines).The big cat act is fine (as cats cannot act), though uninspiring. The trapeze act is realistic, because it's real. But these minor aspects lend little to the overall story.This big top is a big flop.SPOILER: One more thing. There is an unknown saboteur among the circus performers. The director goes way out of his way to force Vincent Price (renowned movie villain) upon us as a suspect. It's so obviously a red herring. In the end, the villain is revealed to be David Nelson (America's good boy heart throb, playing against type--get it?). As Bugs Bunny would say, "what a maroon!"