The Greatest Show on Earth, 1952

A very few of the stars: Betty Hutton, Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour...
The list goes on.

My grandmother always got a dreamy look when she told us grandchildren about the circus. She said when the farm children heard the circus trains they tied their coins in handkerchiefs, “climbed on their ponies and galloped over the hill”. They ate peanuts, popcorn and cotton candy which Grandma made sound like food for gods.

I am reading “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen and wanting to remember more of what Grandma said about the circus. There is a movie for everything, I believe.
The Greatest Show on Earth is partly a documentary. The movie shows some of the set up: the center poles being set, the canvas being unrolled and raised and the loaded trains.
It mentions the class distinction of laborers and performers: “stardust and sawdust”

The movie also tells a story with “three rings” of plot:
Two overlapping romantic triangles
a (very) friendly professional competition
and the survival of the circus against a crummy economy and shadowy but ever present con artists who follow the circus like parasites.

The documentary parts are interesting. And I enjoyed both the movie actors drama as well as the “real” circus performances which are interwoven. And the locals are interesting too. Read the signs the crowd carries and on the buildings of their towns. Also, watch the audiences carefully. I believe I saw Bob Hope and Bing Crosby looking up in slack jawed awe. There are many other familiar faces!

umm, I can smell the popcorn and a subtle whiff of elephant poo. Enjoy this great movie.