The Greatest Show on Earth

Last night my bride and I watched The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Cecille B. DeMille’s homage to the circus.  Growing up, DeMille had been born in 1881, the circus had been the favorite form of mass entertainment in the America of DeMille’s youth, with a yearly visit from a circus being a red letter date in most communities, especially small towns.  (Still is to some extent.  My local Rotary Club sponsors a circus to come to town every three years.  Hordes flock to it, and the smiles and cheers of the children are heartwarming.  A precious keepsake is a picture of our three kids riding on the backs of one of the elephants.  And yes, the animals appeared to be well treated and in good condition.  I checked.)  Ironically, DeMille had been part of an industry, the movies, that supplanted the circus and that mode of entertainment was clearly in decline by the time he made the film, something that DeMille notes in the film.  It is thus a wistful nostalgic look at something that was in the process of dying out, and the fight by the circus performers to keep their beloved way of life alive.

The film is vastly entertaining.  Betty Hutton was the star.  Now largely forgotten, she burned through several husbands and several fortunes.  After declaring bankruptcy in 1970, she had a nervous collapse.   She embraced Catholicism, and helped by a kindly priest she found a better path in life.  A Catholic priest is shown in the film blessing the circus train as it embarks.

Even for many non-Catholics, when something serious is afoot, time to call on the Church.

Charlton Heston plays the circus boss and does it as a tough guy with a heart of gold.  He served as a model for Indiana Jones, in this film and in 1954’s Secret of the Incas:

Jimmy Stewart is a clown with a dark secret, DeMille recognizing that all the death and carnage that Stewart saw flying as a bomber pilot, he rose from private to full colonel, in the Eighth Air Force during the War gave his performances a depth that they had lacked prior to that searing experience.

Cornel Wilde, the child of Jewish immigrants from Hungary, now entirely forgotten, was a big star in his time and gives his role the swashbuckling brio that was ever his trademark.

Of course the true star of the film is the circus and the film is studded with great acts of the time from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.  It is sad that this circus closed in 2017 after 146 years of giving joy to children of all ages.  The film is a magnificent celebration of a type of entertainment that will never be replaced or surpassed.