rekcilorf I have never understood how Heston and the circus bosses did not know about the extent of Sebastion's injury. You have to think with so much invested in his presence at the show, they would have kept careful tabs on his progress. The circus must have had some kind of insurance for him as well.Still, this movie is a great deal of fun.

JohnHowardReid Unsuitable for younger children. A few stand-alone critics also claimed the film was unsuitable for adults as well, but the general consensus was highly favorable. COMMENT: Saw it twice when it first came out. Loved it! Was not so impressed, however, when I saw the movie on TV. This time, I was a bit bored with the slow-moving and somewhat juvenile old-hat drama on the ground with its familiar clichés and its earnest but not very engaging acting from such folk as Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde (complete with funny accent) and Charlton Heston. Indeed, aside from James Stewart who remains disguised as a clown throughout and Gloria Grahame who has the sort of sulky, vampy role she can excel in, the players did little to transform the sawdust dross of familiar big- top romance into believable or emotionally involving gold.And some of my favorite players had virtually nothing to do. Poor Dorothy Lamour didn't have much of a part to begin with, but in the TV print, she is just background decoration. Although she still sings the song, "Luawana Lady", her high-rope teeth act has been eliminated! Emmett Kelly also hovers around but has only a few bits of business (mainly he's a support for James Stewart). And he has exactly one word of dialogue, "Parade?"Still, all the romance is just really the stuff between the circus acts (oddly enough, more attention seems to be given to parades and musical numbers than to the traditional circus feats of juggling, acrobatics and animal dexterity — the circus has lions for example but no lion tamer or tricks) and the extended high wire and trapeze episodes above ground where the film really takes off. Hutton and Wilde are obviously doing some of their own stunts, although even a child would notice that they are doubled in the long shots and the very effectively staged episode when Wilde has his accident.When I was young I was also very impressed with the train wreck but now it is obvious to me that it was staged with models — still effectively put across though.With trimming you could salvage both a very-fast-moving and interesting if superficial circus feature and a fairly interesting – if weighed down with a somewhat overblown commentary spoken by Cecil B. himself – documentary short. "The Greatest Show On Earth" is really two films not very expertly grafted together (notice how often wipes have been used to join jump-cuts) and with sharp differences between the studio photography of Marley and Barnes and the circus documentary footage shot by Wallace Kelley.AVAILABLE on a superb Paramount DVD.

djmes Watched "Greatest Show on Earth" 1952 w/Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton & Cornel Wilde. It won Best Picture Oscar in 1952 somehow beating out "High Noon" Don't waste your time! How this flick won best picture is beyond me. Over 1/2 of the movie is filled with filmed Ringling circus acts (though in rich Tecnhicolor!). The weak story is 2nd rate soap opera.

ThatMOVIENut The film that inspired Steven Spielberg, this grand DeMille drama set against the thrills and spectacle of a 50s circus gives us a behind the scenes peek at the unlikely bunch that put on all sorts of shows for the public. These include the under pressure manager (Heston) his girlfriend/wannabe starlet (Hutton), world class trapeze artist The Great Sebastian (Conrel Wilde) and Buttons, the clown with a mysterious past (Stewart).Corny, melodramatic and cliché though it may be, this circus tale from, fittingly, one of Hollywood's greatest showmen is not without charm or a sense of fun. A game cast all embrace their larger than life roles well, with Stewart shining as both the funny yet poignantly tragic Buttons. And as expected of DeMille, the film offers tons of great, large scale spectacle (including but not limited to elephants, aerial acrobatics and the famous train crash that actually still holds up okay as a tense action scene), all set to some very cheery, smile-inducing songs to create an old fashioned type of charm and warmth that carry the picture over its weaker points.The disdain against the film's win back in 1952 stems from being seen more as an arbitrary honouring of the aging DeMille, and 'Show's' sketchy plot, stretched to over two hours, and stock characters don't do it any favours in trying to defend its title. It's all very routine soap opera that, were it not for all the wonderful sights and osmosis surrounding it, would be really by the numbers and uninspired. Plus, there is some shoddy 'early greenscreen/keying' done for some stunts which stick out painfully, However, in spite of all that, I was left with a smile on my face by the film's end. Films like this define terms like 'feel-good' and 'they just don't make 'em like this anymore'.