3 Ring Circus (1954)

Two army buddies (Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis) join a circus after they've been discharged from the service. One (Lewis) has ambitions to be a clown so he accepts an offer to assist the lion tamer and the other (Martin) is broke so he becomes a handyman to the circus. Directed by Joseph Pevney (TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR). While I'm a huge Jerry Lewis fanboy, I dislike the circus and especially clowns. Lewis is cinema's great clown and he does wonders with a bland screenplay but still not enough to make it one of the better Martin & Lewis vehicles. It's all very attractive in wide screen VistaVision and while never boring, it just comes across as stale. Fans of the circus and circus clowns may feel differently. With Joanne Dru, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Elsa Lanchester (wasted) and Wallace Ford.