The Big Circus
| The Big Circus | |
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| Directed by | Joseph M. Newman |
| Produced by | Irwin Allen |
| Screenplay by | Irwin Allen Charles Bennett Irving Wallace |
| Story by | Irwin Allen |
| Starring |
Victor Mature Red Buttons Rhonda Fleming |
| Music by |
Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
| Cinematography | Winton Hoch |
| Edited by | Adrienne Fazan |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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108–109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.7 million (est. US/ Canada rentals) |
The Big Circus is a 1959 film starring Victor Mature as a circus owner struggling with financial trouble and a murderous unknown saboteur. It was produced and co-written by Irwin Allen, later known for a series of big-budget disaster films.
Hank Whirling (Mature) needs a bank loan to keep his Whirling Circus going. He gets it from a stuffy New York City bank, but only on the condition he take along accountant Randy Sherman (Red Buttons) and publicist Helen Harrison (Rhonda Fleming) to help the circus turn a profit.
Hank's top act is the Colino trapeze troupe, featuring family patriarch Zach Colino (Gilbert Roland) and newcomer Tommy Gordon (David Nelson), as well as ringmaster Hans (Vincent Price) and clown Skeeter (Peter Lorre). Unknown to Hank, his little sister Jeannie (Kathryn Grant) has held a lifelong ambition to fly on the trapeze and has been secretly training with the Colino act for the past year.
An unknown saboteur sets a lion loose at a party thrown to celebrate the start of the circus season, terrifying the VIPs in attendance until Hank manages to capture it with the help of Colino. Helen accuses him of staging the incident for publicity. Subsequently, they discover the lion's cage had been deliberately opened.
Harrison and Sherman are infuriated by Whirling's refusal to accept their help. Hank and Helen clash over the best way to publicize the show; he feels she is intruding on his turf because he actually IS a very good publicist. Hank and Randy clash over Randy's firing of 40 roustabouts and replacing them with a stake-driving machine that expedites raising the Big Top. The machine is sabotaged and sets a pile of hay on fire; only swift action by Hank keeps the main top from burning. Hank, Helen and Randy begin to wonder if a saboteur is riding with the show.
The first section of the circus train derails en route to a new stand. Mama Colino (Adele Mara), the show's "den mother," is killed, leaving Zach Colino heartbroken. He loses his nerve and is unable to go on. As he is the star of the show and the show's publicity is built around him, this is a major disaster. Coupled with the foul weather they have been enduring for weeks that keeps the circus goers at home, the books are looking grim. Only glib talk by Sherman keeps the show on the road.
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Wikipedia