The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)

The general manager (Charlton Heston) of a large circus struggles to keep the wolves at bay. To this end, he hires a world class trapeze artist (Cornel Wilde) which antagonizes the current trapeze headliner (Betty Hutton) who must surrender the center ring to the newcomer. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille, this Oscar winning (best picture) movie is a valentine to the circus. The only problem is that not everyone is as enamored of the circus as DeMille. The film runs over 2 1/2 hours but if you eliminated all the circus acts, it would easily be under two hours. The storyline is simplistic but it's colorful and unlike the circus sequences, the dramatic portions are watchable. DeMille's narration reeks of pomposity, you'd think he was reading out loud from the bible! The film does have one (literally) smashing sequence, a train crash that's pretty spectacular. As cinema, it doesn't hold up well today and its best picture Oscar win is inexplicable. The large cast includes James Stewart, Gloria Grahame, Dorothy Lamour, Mona Freeman, Edmond O'Brien, Lyle Bettger, Lawrence Tierney, Nancy Gates, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.