The Greatest Show on Earth

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The Greatest Show on Earth is also the slogan for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 film set in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille.

The film stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde as trapeze artists competing for the center ring, and Charlton Heston as the circus manager running the show. The three are also involved in a romantic triangle. Other subplots involve performers played by Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame, and a clown who never removes his makeup, played by Jimmy Stewart. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby get cameo roles as circus spectators.

Behind-the-scene melodrama is interweaved with almost documentary-style scenes of realistic circus performances in lavish costumes (by Edith Head and others), and towards the end, a spectacular scene involving the two trains that carry the circus from town to town.

The movie won an Academy Award for Best Picture. It also won an Oscar for Best Story.

Controversies

Best picture award

Despite its awards, The Greatest Show on Earth has often been cited by film historians and movie buffs as one of Cecil B. DeMille's lesser motion pictures. Discussions among film fans (especially on the Internet movie newsgroups) have referred to this film as "the worst movie ever to win Best Picture." Supporters of this belief especially note that High Noon and The Quiet Man are generally held in higher critical acclaim.

Controversial acts

Jimmy Stewart's clown character, "Buttons," is a doctor on the run from the law. He never removes his makeup because he wants to remain undetected after the "mercy killing" of his terminally ill wife. Some critics believe that the "Best Picture" Oscar was Hollywood's method of voicing support for euthanasia.

Main cast

• Betty Hutton as Holly
• Cornel Wilde as The Great Sebastian
• Charlton Heston as Brad Braden
• Dorothy Lamour as Phyllis
• Gloria Grahame as Angel
• Henry Wilcoxon as FBI Agent Gregory
• Lyle Bettger as Klaus
• Lawrence Tierney as Mr. Henderson
• James Stewart as Buttons the Clown

 

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