I am entirely unfamiliar with Cecille B. DeMille's work or even what the public reaction was to his career although I've heard a few negative things, and I've heard a lot more negative things about this picture's Best Oscar win (since it won over such AFI top 100 entries as High Noon and A Place in the Sun).
The film is somewhat metacinematic: It brings the joys of the circus to the viewer in the same way that it does for the audience in the film. With authentic circus acts thrown into the mix, these scenes are very exciting. But the film extends beyond just bringing footage of the circus to a movie audience as it effectively captures the drama backstage and brings you into a unique world.
The film is slightly more spectacle than story, in the sense that it sometimes feel like the story is secondary to the lions, tigers, and other circus acts. The plot bobbles through multiple story lines, but mainly centers around circus manager Brad (Charlton Heston), trapeze primadonna Holly (not much of a circus name, I know), and a womanizing Frenchman named Sebastian who becomes the circus' new headline trapeze artists and hopes to steal the heart of the woman she stole the spotlight from. Also featuring heavily into the story are Angel (Gloria Grahame), a past flame of Sebastian; Klauss, an elephant tamer with an obsessive desire for Angel; and Jimmy Stewart as a wise old clown who has been hiding a couple of secrets.
Among the cast, Heston, Grahame, and Stewart really stick out for excellent performances. Heston's circus manager is a man of very strong character who you come to empathize with because he's got the careers of thousands of people on his backs and is willing to sacrifice his personal relationships, his health, and his ego (when dealing with cocky people like Sebastian) to see to it that the show is a success. Gloria Grahame brings such wit and sass to one-line jabs and insults that it makes a convincing character out of what would otherwise have been a two-note shill. Lastly, Stewart is classic Stewart but he delivers that Midwestern persona underneath a veneer of make-up and in a supporting role.
The film is somewhat metacinematic: It brings the joys of the circus to the viewer in the same way that it does for the audience in the film. With authentic circus acts thrown into the mix, these scenes are very exciting. But the film extends beyond just bringing footage of the circus to a movie audience as it effectively captures the drama backstage and brings you into a unique world.
The film is slightly more spectacle than story, in the sense that it sometimes feel like the story is secondary to the lions, tigers, and other circus acts. The plot bobbles through multiple story lines, but mainly centers around circus manager Brad (Charlton Heston), trapeze primadonna Holly (not much of a circus name, I know), and a womanizing Frenchman named Sebastian who becomes the circus' new headline trapeze artists and hopes to steal the heart of the woman she stole the spotlight from. Also featuring heavily into the story are Angel (Gloria Grahame), a past flame of Sebastian; Klauss, an elephant tamer with an obsessive desire for Angel; and Jimmy Stewart as a wise old clown who has been hiding a couple of secrets.
Among the cast, Heston, Grahame, and Stewart really stick out for excellent performances. Heston's circus manager is a man of very strong character who you come to empathize with because he's got the careers of thousands of people on his backs and is willing to sacrifice his personal relationships, his health, and his ego (when dealing with cocky people like Sebastian) to see to it that the show is a success. Gloria Grahame brings such wit and sass to one-line jabs and insults that it makes a convincing character out of what would otherwise have been a two-note shill. Lastly, Stewart is classic Stewart but he delivers that Midwestern persona underneath a veneer of make-up and in a supporting role.