CIRCUS WORLD
US, 1964, 135 minutes, Colour.
John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale, Rita Hayworth, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, John Smith, Miles Malleson, Kay Walsh.
Directed by Henry Hathaway.
Circus World had mixed reviews when it was first released in the 60s. It seemed to be a John Wayne vehicle, but it presents a very different John Wayne, a rather lower-key and non-violent John Wayne. It also boasted the presence of Claudia Cardinale with Rita Hayworth as her mother.
The film was begun by Frank Capra, of all people, but he withdrew because of creative differences. Henry Hathaway, who had directed Wayne in a number of films including Shepherd of the Hills and was to direct him in The Sons of Katie Elder and his Oscar-winning True Grit completed the project Hathaway had good experience of small-budget films as well as big-budget spectaculars.
The film was produced by Samuel Bronston who had entered the film business in the early 60s with The King of Kings. He also made such films as 55 Days at Peking and The Fall of the Roman Empire.
There is some spectacle, some circus acts, as well as a capsized ship – but, compared with other circus films, this didn’t have quite the impact.
1. How entertaining a film, spectacle, circus spectacle? The value of this kind of entertainment? Sheer entertainment. exploration of values at a popular level?
2. How did the film compare with other circus films? Elaborate production, the range of acts, the background to the circuses, the emotional clashes? Usual ingredients? How different?
3. The importance of Panavision, colour photography, American and European locations? The circus acts? The music? The special features and special effects? The shipwreck, the burning?
4. How credible was the plot? For the purposes of this kind of film? An American circus built up by Matt Masters, the destruction, the establishing themselves in Europe, success? The emotional tangles of Matt with Lily, with Toni, the other members of the circus? All the elements coming together and finally succeeding through disaster? Authentic, credible enough for this kind of film?
5. The presence of John Wayne in a circus, the overtones of the west, especially in his acts? Matt Masters as the John Wayne character, his style with Toni and bringing her up, with Lily and searching her out and being reconciled? With Cap Carson and the management of the circus, the rivalry with Stove and his not allowing people to grow up? His basic drive in getting the circus together, keeping it going despite difficulties, his ambitions in Europe, the searching out of Lily, the reconciliation, the suffering from Toni, uniting everyone happily? A conventional John Wayne hero?
6. The focus on Toni, Claudia Cardinale’s style and charm? Her vivacity, her ambitions to be like her mother, resentment of her mother and her absence, love for Stove? Her participation in the circus, support for Matt? Her kindness towards Lily, disillusionment with the truth, transcending it? A conventional heroine but attractive?
7. Rita Hayworth's portrayal of Lily, the shady background. The gradual revelation of a more noble truth, despite her cowardice? Her decline, her life in Europe and her friends at the hotels, her gradually seeing her daughter, the meeting, the entry into the circus, her skill on the high wire, her growing love for Matt, the dance, the disillusionment, the rescue, the saving of the tent, the happy ending?
8. Cap Carson and Lloyd Nolan's conventional standby? Support of Matt, of Lily, of Toni, of the circus? The usual portrayal of the standby man?
9. The touch of villainy with Aldo ? The haunting of Lily, the suspected villainy?
10. Stove as a conventional hero, foil for Matt, love for Toni? His achievement?
11. The minor characters and their place in the circus, the ringmaster, the clowns, Aldo’s daughter, the manageress of the hotel where Lily lived.? An authentic atmosphere?
12. The introduction and the atmosphere of the circus and this being sustained?
13. The initial crisis on the ship and the way this was remedied, emotional crises, the fire?
14. Which were the most memorable sequences and why? For this kind of film?
15. How well does this kind of entertainment film rely on conventional images of good and evil, romance. adventure, courage and challenge? A satisfying circus film?
