CIRCUS WORLDS!
Circuses used to tour all over the globe, huge combined shows and small family businesses. The movies found the circus irresistible sawdust infused fodder
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- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsJames StewartCharlton HestonBetty HuttonThe dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneRita HayworthClaudia CardinaleWhen circus proprietor Matt Masters decides to take his show on a European tour, it is beset by problems, while he searches for Lili, the mother of his adopted daughter, who disappeared years before.
- DirectorJim O'ConnollyStarsJoan CrawfordTy HardinDiana DorsA scheming circus owner finds her authority challenged when a vicious killer targets the show.
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsKevin CorcoranHenry CalvinGene SheldonTaken in by distant members of his family after being orphaned, Toby Tyler runs away to join the circus.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsVictor MatureRed ButtonsRhonda FlemingA circus owner tries to keep his financially troubled circus on the road, despite the efforts of a murderous saboteur who has decided that the show must not go on.
- DirectorMichael GraceyStarsHugh JackmanMichelle WilliamsZac EfronCelebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
- DirectorFrancis LawrenceStarsRobert PattinsonReese WitherspoonChristoph WaltzJacob takes a job as an animal caretaker in a traveling circus. There he meets Marlena, a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant Rosie leads to love, but Marlena's cruel husband stands in their way.
- DirectorJohn RichStarsElvis PresleyBarbara StanwyckJoan FreemanAfter a singer loses his job at a coffee shop, he finds employment at a struggling carnival, but his attempted romance with a teenager leads to friction with her father.
- DirectorBoris DolinRoman KarmenVasily KatanyanStarsBing CrosbyFollowing an introduction by Bing Crosby, the Cinerama screen widens for scenes of landscapes, cities, peoples, and entertainments of the Soviet Union. Highlights include the historic buildings and churches of Moscow, as the Kremlin; its subway and streets, a spring carnival, the seaside resorts on the Black Sea, a trip down the Voga River, skiers, a troika racing along a snow-covered road, a helicopter view of the North Pole, an Antarctic whale hunt, the capture of a wild boar in the Moyun-Kum of Central Asia, a race by reindeer-drawn sleds, divers in the Sea of Okhotsk, battling an octopus, the capture of antelopes, rafting logs down the Tisza River, and the development of new towns in Siberia. Other scenes include a visit to the Moscow Circus, where the renowned clown Oleg Popov performs, the dancing of the Moiseyev and Piatnitsky companies, and excerpts from the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater Ballet.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsDoris DayJimmy DuranteStephen BoydA debt-ridden circus is saved by a well-meaning but inept publicity man.
- DirectorWerner JacobsJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsChristopher LeeLeo GennAnthony NewlandsA circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder.
- DirectorRobert YoungStarsAdrienne CorriThorley WaltersAnthony HigginsAs the plague sweeps the countryside, a quarantined village is visited by a mysterious traveling circus. Soon, young children begin to disappear, and the locals suspect the circus troupe might be hiding a horrifying secret.
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsAnton DiffringErika RembergYvonne MonlaurDr. Rossiter, a plastic surgeon wanted by the police, flees to France and under an assumed name acquires, by murder, a run-down circus. His first recruit is a woman criminal. He transforms her face by surgery and trains her.
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsTony RandallBarbara EdenArthur O'ConnellA mysterious circus comes to a western town bearing wonders and characters that entertain the inhabitants and teach valuable lessons.
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsBill SkarsgårdJaeden MartellFinn WolfhardIn the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsJessica ChastainJames McAvoyBill HaderTwenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.
- DirectorSamuel ArmstrongNorman FergusonWilfred JacksonStarsSterling HollowayEdward BrophyHerman BingRidiculed because of his enormous ears, a young circus elephant is assisted by a mouse to achieve his full potential.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsColin FarrellMichael KeatonDanny DeVitoA young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandGene KellyWalter SlezakA girl is engaged to the local rich man, but meanwhile she has dreams about the legendary pirate Macoco. A traveling singer falls in love with her and to impress her he poses as the pirate.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsRed SkeltonJane GreerTim ConsidineOnce a famous Ziegfeld star, Dodo Delwyn is reduced to playing clowns in burlesque and amusement parks as a result of his drinking. His son Little Dink idolizes him and faithfully believes in a comeback. He persuades "Uncle" Goldie, Dodo's agent in the good old days, to find a booking for Dodo. He can't, and Dink is sent to live with his remarried-and-wealthy mother Paula. The unhappy Dink runs back to his father. His welcome return gives Dodo the courage he needs to try a knockabout TV show offered by Goldie.
- DirectorClyde BruckmanW.C. FieldsStarsW.C. FieldsMary BrianKathleen HowardHard-working, henpecked Ambrose Wolfinger takes off from work to go to a wrestling match with catastrophic consequences.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsBurt LancasterTony CurtisGina LollobrigidaA crippled circus acrobat is torn emotionally between two ambitious young trapeze artists, one a talented young American and a less-gifted but beautiful Italian.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsDean MartinJerry LewisJoanne DruJerry and Pete are two friends with no money, looking for some job. They finally find one as workers in a circus, but Jerry has different dreams. He wants to become a clown.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallEdward F. ClineStarsW.C. FieldsEdgar BergenCharlie McCarthyThe owner of a debt-ridden circus contends with pursuing bill collectors and sheriffs, and his beloved daughter's relationships with one of his performers and a stuffy but wealthy young man.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx Brothers try to help the owner of a circus recover some stolen funds before he finds himself out of a job.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMerna KennedyAl Ernest GarciaThe Tramp finds work and the girl of his dreams at a circus.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsRiccardo BilliGigi RederTino ScottiA ragout of real memories and mockumentary, as Fellini explores a childhood obsession: circus clowns.
- DirectorJames B. ClarkStarsEsther WilliamsCliff RobertsonNehemiah PersoffThe owner of a German traveling circus is power-mad and exploits everyone in his path, including his family.
- DirectorNorman TokarStarsBrian KeithVera MilesPamela FranklinA tiger escapes from a circus truck as it passes by a small town, and hides itself in the surrounding woods. This throws the town into a panic and everyone wants the animal killed immediately, except for the daughter of the sheriff. She wants to capture the tiger and put it in a zoo, thereby saving the tiger's life. Her determination starts a nationwide campaign among children to raise the money to buy the tiger from the circus, but first, she, her father and an Indian tiger trainer must find the tiger before the National Guard do, who have orders to kill it on sight.
- DirectorHarry LachmanStarsSpencer TracyClaire TrevorHenry B. WalthallJim Carter moves in on the McWade's carnival concession which shows scenes from Dante's "Inferno". He makes it a going concern, marrying Betty along the way. An inspector calls the amusement pier unsafe but Carter bribes him. The pier collapses, leading to the inspector's suicide, injury to Pop McWade, trial for Carter, and Betty's leaving him. Carter starts over with an unsafe floating casino.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordZachary ScottSydney GreenstreetA corrupt small town sheriff manipulates local candidates to the state legislature but he eventually comes into conflict with a visiting carnival dancer.
- DirectorRobert KaylorStarsGary BuseyJodie FosterRobbie RobertsonTired of her dull job as a waitress, Donna decides to join two carnival hustlers and see what life in their field is like.
- DirectorJames Edward GrantWilliam A. WellmanStarsClyde BeattyPat O'BrienMickey SpillaneThe Clyde Beatty Circus seems jinxed, falling victim again and again to apparent accidents which are actually the acts of a murderous saboteur. Mystery writer Mickey Spillane comes on the scene to solve the case.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsJohn DallPeggy CumminsBerry KroegerTwo disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsLon ChaneyNorma ShearerJohn GilbertA bitter clown endeavors to rescue the young woman he loves from the lecherous count who once betrayed him.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsJackie GleasonGlynis JohnsCharles RugglesIf Jack Griffith's wife doesn't like the color of a neighbor's house, he'll arrange for it to be a house of a different color. If the owner of the ice cream parlor doesn't believe in selling triple banana splits for a penny, Jack will buy the establishment. And if Jack's little girl wants the pony in the circus parade, why not buy the entire circus! This last prank sends Amberlyn Griffith back to Texarkana c. 1900, where her father is running for his third term as mayor. Jack follows, bringing the entire circus.