The Greatest Show on Earth
March 1, 2022
The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.
Related Event
Circus Cinema - Hybrid Film Talk
This talk examines movies that translate the world of the circus from the Big Top to the Silver Screen.
In Cecil B. DeMille’s Academy Award®-winning film, we step behind the scenes of the circus…in all its majesty and mystery. Charlton Heston stars as Brad Braden, the diehard circus manager who lives and breathes to keep the show rolling. With the Big Top about to hit rock bottom, Braden hires The Great Sebastian (Cornel Wilde), a daring trapeze legend, to revitalize the circus. His arrival sparks the rivalry and admiration of Holly (Betty Hutton), Braden’s girlfriend and trapeze star. After a death-defying battle to regain her place in the center ring, Holly soon finds herself torn between the love of workaholic Brad and the brazen Sebastian. Add to the mix a flirtatious elephant trainer, racketeers and a lovable clown (James Stewart) with a secret past, and every character becomes a tough act to follow.
- Director: Cecil B. DeMille
- Principal Cast: Betty Hutton, James Stewart, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, Henry Wilcoxon, Lyle Bettger, Lawrence Tierney
- Country: USA
- Year: 1952
- Running Time: 153 min.
- Producer: Cecil B. DeMille
- Screenplay: Barre Lyndon, Frederick Frank, Theodore St. John, Frank Cavett
- Cinematographers: George Barnes
- Editors: Anne Bauchens
- Music: Victor Young
- Language: English, Russian