THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH: Blu-ray (Paramount, 1952) Paramount Home Video
Cecil B. DeMille once mused that “A man is no
better than what he leaves behind.” If this is the case, then DeMille’s
legacy is likely to remain a monument to cinema culture for all time. Without
question, he was a resplendent showman who ushered in the 20th century’s
greatest form a mass media, helped proliferate its iconography and endear it to
several generations of movie goers – future film-makers and starry-eyed
daydreamers alike – and one of the few undisputed giants in an industry
dominated by such larger-than-life names.
As a storyteller, DeMille’s philosophies were quaintly ‘out of fashion’
even in his own time. But his particular brand of corn was never insincere, his
pomp never telescopically focused on the thumping of his own chest. His
precision on the screen remains peerless and spellbinding. Yet, at the heart of
DeMille’s film-making philosophy there exists an intimate vision, as formidably
enriching as it continues to proliferate the globe as irrefutable populist
entertainment.
Only DeMille, it seems, could give us a circus, bigger
and more alluring on the screen than an opening night thrill of being under the
actual big top via Barnum and Bailey. And only DeMille had grasped the art of
making movies to call out such spectacle within a series of intimately
concocted stories, buffered by a glittering all-star cast. The Greatest Show
on Earth (1952) is quite simply that – and, a whole lot more. By 1950,
DeMille could have rested easy, knowing he had helped shape picture-making
artistry with millions; also, that his legacy as a picture maker had made him
one of the most easily identifiable figures in the industry; in fact, the
epitome of everyone’s idea of what a film director ought to be. Better still,
especially since DeMille wanted to continue making movies, his sixty-eight
feature films to date had grossed more than $600 million in 1950 dollars (or
roughly $12 billion by today’s inflated standards), selling 1.66 billion
tickets in the continental U.S. alone and another 1.44 billion worldwide. With
very few exceptions, DeMille’s reputation had been built on historical and
Bible-based screen spectacles. Thus, when he pitched the idea for a wholly
contemporary story with a circus motif, even Paramount’s executive brain trust
was left scratching their heads. They wanted more of the same from him. Had the
old master flipped his nut?
Few knew just how dear the idea of a splashy, big-top
drama was to DeMille. Based on Courtney Ryley-Cooper’s 1923 novel, Under The
Big Top, DeMille had carried something of the sawdust, spangles and dreams
of a carney ringmaster with him into those burgeoning Hollywood hills in an era
even before the name was yet synonymous with glamour, glitz and movie stars.
Ironically, it was a rival interest from David O. Selznick that prompted DeMille
to further pursue his lifelong dream to make The Greatest Show on Earth.
Selznick had endeavored to do just such a picture, using Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey as his backdrop. Then president, John Ringling North wanted
fifty-percent profit-sharing to seal this deal; too rich for Selznick’s blood.
He balked and DeMille stepped into the negotiations, employing his wit and
wiles to gain Ringling North’s trust; North’s fifty-percent profit-sharing
willingly granted, but only after the movie had twice recouped its negative
cost. For this, DeMille was virtually handed absolute control of the circus,
allowed to go on tour with the show for three months and film anything and
everywhere his heart desired. Carte blanche had rarely been afforded any film director
on location. Then again, Cecil B. DeMille was not just any director.
Only one thing worried DeMille: shooting on location.
Like all showman of a certain vintage, DeMille felt most at home within the
comfort and confines of his beloved Paramount Studios. Not only did it offer
him absolute creative control, but also the immediate facilities necessary to
make any sort of miracle on his ‘things to do’ list come to life at a
moment’s notice. Location work, with its unanticipated weather conditions, its fluctuating
light sources, and, its inevitable configuration of unexpected delays, to say
nothing of preparing his own caravan of bulky camera equipment, cast and crew,
dressing rooms and other paraphernalia, to be carted all across the country,
set up and repeatedly torn down just like the circus itself, meant more time
and money necessary to bring the whole enterprise together on time and under
budget. DeMille’s anxiety was marginally quelled by his new alliance with
Technicolor and the promise of a more light-sensitive film stock being
developed to capture all the richness of his own magniloquence. DeMille’s
initial template for constructing the action had been Edmund Goulding’s Grand
Hotel (1932); a film he held in very high esteem. Alas, its framework proved
unworkable within the copious research already gathered during nearly three
months of lumping it with the circus on tour. $113,000 later, DeMille had
distilled his research into a manageable 3-hour movie. It dawned on the
executives at Paramount the old master was indeed gearing up for another epic –
one set in the present.
“How fickle is a career?” Charlton Heston
would later muse, for he had not been DeMille’s first choice to star in The
Greatest Show On Earth. DeMille would have preferred Kirk Douglas, his
asking price of $150,000 too steep to consider. DeMille had already cast Cornel
Wilde over Burt Lancaster for the part of the egotistical aerialist, The Great
Sebastian when Henry Wilcoxin – a life-long part of DeMille’s professional
entourage – suggested he screen some footage of Charlton Heston for the pivotal
role of circus manager, Brad Braden. DeMille ran several pictures and thought
‘Chuck’ too dour to play the part. No, it just wouldn’t work. But then came a
moment of good fortune, destined to impact and forever alter both men’s
careers; Heston, unassumingly driving past DeMille on the backlot with his
trademark toothy grin, a dome of thick hair blowing majestically from the open
top of his convertible as he casually waved and called out “Hello, C.B.!”
Reportedly, DeMille turned to his secretary, Berenice Mosk to inquire who the
young Lochinvar was. “I like the way he waved just now,” DeMille
admitted, “Let’s get him in for a chat.”
The rest of the cast came to the project without much
delay. After getting James Stewart for a song – the star practically pleading
to make the picture at half salary – DeMille settled on Betty Hutton as Holly,
the lovesick trapeze artist. A few years earlier, DeMille had pegged Hutton for
stardom, if only she could restrain her gregarious lung power long enough to
turn in a performance. Indeed, Hutton’s early career wielded the sort of
uncontrollable and frenetic energy that made her a curious cross between a
female Bert Lahr and Ethel Merman. Save a promising star turn in Annie Get Your
Gun (1950) the rest of her films were relatively inconsequential. DeMille
found Hutton’s energy exhausting. But he could certainly recognize her talent.
Asked if she would do the film ‘his way’, Hutton’s absolute acquiescence to
this simple request, also her confession - she had been practicing the trapeze
in anticipation of getting the part - gave DeMille confidence he had found the
right star after all.
Now, only the part of Angel, the elephant tamer
remained. It ought to have gone to Lucille Ball. Instead, it went to Gloria
Grahame. DeMille was hardly pleased. He had diligently labored to have Ball
cast, particularly since she just pulled something of a fast one by slinking
out of her Columbia Studios contract without paying for the privilege. DeMille
had all but secured Ball’s participation on The Greatest Show on Earth
when she unexpectedly arrived at his office one sunny afternoon with Desi Arnaz
on her arm to inform DeMille she was pregnant. As Ball had suffered several
miscarriages in the past, she was determined to carry this baby to full term.
An extended film shoot was decidedly out of the question as was delaying
principal photography for nine months. DeMille, who quickly discovered even he
lacked the powers of persuasion to woo his star back from the brink of her
decision, instead allowed Ball to exit his office happily, but pulling Desi
aside, he sternly muttered, “Congratulations…you’re the only man in history
to screw Lucille Ball, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Harry Cohn and
Cecil B. DeMille all at the same time!”
Even before principal photography began, The
Greatest Show on Earth broke new ground. Told it was impossible to
effectively light the big top for Technicolor’s requirements, DeMille ordered
an entirely new system of lighting to be devised and controlled by remote
control, its cluster formations capably diffusing and spreading light
throughout the vast and cavernous tented interiors. The picture was shot during
the circus’ down time, primarily on its camp grounds in Saratoga, Florida; a
vast playground DeMille would later describe as ‘a world in miniature’; a
‘stream of civilization’ and a sort of ‘United Nations on parade’. He embraced
it with every fiber of his irascible being. Back at Paramount, DeMille had
already shot key dramatic scenes on sound stages, some between Charlton Heston
and Betty Hutton; also, Cornel Wilde during the aftermath of the climactic
train wreck meant to cap off the movie. Midway through this early preparation,
DeMille also gave a detailed interview to Collier’s magazine, admitting he
occasionally allowed his temper to overcome his better judgment, particularly
when he took notice of an extra playing checkers on a set that cost Paramount
$50,000 a day. “That fellow should be paying attention to his job!” DeMille
added with verve.
Typically, there were other snags along the way. You
cannot have a picture of this magnitude and not expect at least a few setbacks.
Years later, Charlton Heston would tell two apocryphal tales, both involving
the climactic train wreck sequence. Shot in confined quarters, the script
called for Heston to be semi-crushed beneath a pile of rubble, rescued by
Holly’s quick-thinking and an elephant hired to remove heavy debris from
Heston’s chest. Heston was indeed pinned beneath this weighty wreckage. But the
elephant seemingly suffered an attack of stage fright and was preparing to go
on a stampede. While cast and crew scattered to safety in all directions, Chuck
was left to await the elephant’s decision - whether or not to trample him. In
the other story, a leopard meant to escape its cage during the deluge actually
darted off in a direction unknown to its wranglers; DeMille and the cast,
again, frantic to know its whereabouts, whereupon DeMille turned in his director’s
chair to suddenly realize the elegant spotted cat had come around from behind
to see what all the fuss was about, left purring very close to his ear.
Cribbing from DeMille’s bountiful research, the final
draft screenplay by Fredric M. Frank, Barré Lyndon and Theodore St. John called
for a murder mystery subplot involving Buttons – the clown (James
Stewart). Buttons is on the lam, having
assisted in the suicide of his terminally ill wife. As written and eventually
performed by Stewart, the character achieved an unlikely empathy. At least
thematically, it gave a contemporary slant to MGM’s silent classic, He Who
Gets Slapped (1924); a similarly scripted tale about a scientist reduced to
the part of a circus clown. The PCA had come around to DeMille’s way of
thinking, in part because the old master possessed great persuasiveness when he
fervently believed he was right. But the Catholic League of Decency had other
ideas, rating The Greatest Show on Earth a very solid ‘B’ – meaning it
was morally objectionable in part for all persons. DeMille was left fuming. “With
those Catholics a little euthanasia goes a long way!”
Although no one could have known it at the time, The
Greatest Show on Earth would be DeMille’s second to last movie and his only
Oscar-winning Best Picture. As a time capsule of ‘50’s super kitsch, The
Greatest Show On Earth does live up to its namesake - rather delightfully,
although it remains somewhat of a stretch to deduce exactly what Academy voters
were thinking in bestowing a Best Picture Oscar on it in a year dominated by
John Huston’s Moulin Rouge, John Ford’s The Quiet Man and Fred
Zinnemann’s High Noon. In retrospect, The Greatest Show on Earth
is a mind-boggling and overstuffed bon-bon of oddities and legitimate circus
acts, the backstage intrigues puffed out with a lot of glitter and some
genuinely harrowing moments of melodrama; also, the unanticipated cameos of Bob
Hope and Bing Crosby, sitting in the audience and thoroughly fixated on the
high-flying Artonys. Wherever possible, DeMille populated his milieu with real circus
acts, The Realles, The Fredonias, Mroczkowski's Liberty Horses, Buzzy Potts,
The Flying Concellos, The Maxellos, among an overwhelming assortment, all
appearing as themselves in the movie.
After a rousing main title written by Victor Young and
Ned Washington, we settle into familiar DeMille territory, the old master paraphrasing
from Courtney Ryley-Cooper’s novel. DeMille was particularly interested in the
backstage mechanics of putting on such an elaborate travelling show, and
determined his audience should be dazzled, not only by the lavish absurdities
brought to them nightly under the big top, but equally by the herculean process
by which its spectacle is wrought. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey are
in a bad way. Times and tastes have seemingly shifted toward other diversions,
thus threatening to cut the full season by half, only playing the major cities
on the circuit. Circus manager, Brad Braden (Heston) fights this decision by
suggesting he has already secured the services of the Great Sebastian (Wilde),
but only if the circus commits to a full season. Sebastian is big news, so the
bosses reluctantly agree, but only so long as this travelling menagerie stays
in the black.
Sebastian arrives at the company’s year-round digs in
Saratoga via a police escort. Having racked up nearly a hundred dollars in
violations and fines, Sebastian is, of course, penniless. So, Brad pays out for
the privilege of adding him to the show. Almost immediately, this creates
friction between Brad and Holly. After all, with a big headliner like Sebastian
on the bill, Holly is expected to give up her plum spot in the center ring. It
is a bitter pill to swallow. Sebastian ingratiates himself to the ladies, some
of whom are old news; like elephant act, Angel (Grahame) and gum-chewing
singer, Phyllis (Dorothy Lamour). Angel and Sebastian evidently spent a weekend
together in Paris; old times more fondly recalled by him than her. On the
surface, this is particularly good news for the other half of Angel’s act,
Klaus (Lyle Bettger) who misguidedly believes he has a chance to become more
than a partner to Angel in the ring. But Angel fancies Brad who, of course, is
somewhat engaged to Holly who, in turn, will eventually fall in, then out, of
love with her competition – Sebastian. Ah, me, the foibles of flawed human
romance.
Surveying the obtuse sophistication of these
intertwining lives is Buttons, the clown (Stewart); who never appears in
anything other than his ghost-white pancake and smiling red makeup. No one
considers this odd, this being the circus. But Buttons’ made-up visage is
actually a disguise to mask his true identity. He is hiding out from the
police; a gifted surgeon who assisted in his terminally ill wife’s suicide. With
every town they play, Buttons faces the real possibility of being arrested. To
satisfy the production code, DeMille exploited every opportunity to reveal
Buttons’ humanity. He is kind to children, comforts his tearful and fearful
mother, gives good solid advice to the lovelorn Holly about Brad, and vice
versa to Brad and Angel, and, during the film’s climax, is instrumental in
saving a life, sacrificing his own freedom to do so. But for now, it’s business
as usual…well, almost. For behind the scenes there lurks an insidious plot to
ruin the circus from within as mafia thug, Mr. Henderson (Lawrence Tierney)
assigns one of his stooges, Harry (John Kellogg) to steal the circus blind
while running a rigged set of games that will threaten the good, clean reputation
of its showmanship. Learning of Holly’s sacrifice, Sebastian offers to give up
the center ring. It’s all part of his plan to seduce Holly and Brad isn’t
buying it for a moment. Besides, the public is paying to see a star attraction.
As the final decision rests with Brad, Sebastian stays in the center ring,
incurring Holly’s ire. She vows whatever tricks Sebastian performs in the
center ring she will copy from her own spot in the first. If he does a double,
she’ll do a triple. If he balances on his head using a safety donut, she’ll do
the same trick without such a luxury. Brad is staunchly opposed to their ‘healthy’
competition. It can only end with the two needlessly risking their lives merely
to prove a stubborn and very idiotic point.
But once Holly and Sebastian are off the ground, he is powerless to
prevent their rivalry.
The first few towns they play, this friendly
competition goes off without a hitch, although there are plenty of sweaty palms
in the audience - four of them belonging to Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in cameos
while taking a respite from their popular ‘Road’ series. Alas,
fate catches up to vanity. Sebastian, in daring a new stunt in front of a live
audience without the benefit of a net, or much rehearsal for that matter,
misses his grip in mid-air and plummets into the heavy sawdust. Helped to his
feet by Buttons and Brad, Sebastian is carted away in an ambulance, the circus’
doctor (Frank Wilcox) suggesting he may never perform on the trapeze again. In
lieu of his absence, Holly is repositioned in the center ring. After all, the
show must go on. In the meanwhile, Angel makes it very clear to Klaus she has
no romantic interest in him whatsoever. Realizing he can tweak Klaus’ jealous
streak to suit his own purpose, Harry suggests Angel has thrown him for Brad.
Indeed, as Holly has since given her heart to Sebastian, Angel has wasted no
time attempting to ingratiate herself to the boss.
Sebastian returns to the show, seemingly fully
recovered. His bravado masks the brutal reality, that his right arm was
paralyzed in the fall. Discovering the truth, Brad offers to keep Sebastian on.
But Sebastian bears the brunt of scars to his ego and self-worth. He would go
mad if surrounded by aerial artists while unable to partake in the pleasure and
excitement of their act. Sebastian vows to leave the show as soon as he can
establish another vocation and Holly makes it clear when he leaves the circus,
she will follow him onto whatever adventures their lives together have in
store. Buttons gets wind of Klaus’ plan to crush Angel beneath an elephant’s
hoof during a live performance. But Brad intervenes in the nick of time, saving
Angel’s life and ordering Klaus to pack up his gear and get out of town, lest
he reconsider pressing ‘attempted murder’ charges against him. Harry quietly goads Klaus with a prospect to
solve all their problems. As the circus train packs up and departs for its next
location, he and Klaus will perform a daring stick-up, stealing the company’s
bankroll and splitting the proceeds fifty-fifty. Actually, Harry has no reason
to do so. He is working for Henderson. However, fueled by jealousy, Klaus is
complicit and willing, and, easily manipulated. He can be the heavy for the
robbery while Harry makes off with the loot.
The two men drive out to a stretch of secluded tracks
on the outskirts of town. Harry orders Klaus to light an emergency flare; its
bright pink light seen by the conductor of the first train carrying the props
and company’s bankroll. Harry has Klaus knock out the guard with his cane
before holding up the train. Alas, the second train carrying all the acts is
barreling down the tracks at full steam and fast approaching, quite unaware the
first has stalled up ahead. Aboard also is FBI Agent Gregory (Henry Wilcoxin)
who is determined to begin interviewing every member of Brad’s entourage in
search of a killer. Brad forewarns Buttons his true identity is in jeopardy. In
the meantime, Klaus has had a change of heart. Hearing the whistle of the
second train, he elects to warn them of the inevitable derailment. Harry tries
to stop Klaus, but is knocked out in the process. Klaus turns on his high beams
and drives his convertible onto the tracks. Too late, the conductor of the
second train spots his vehicle, plowing into Klaus and then the first train at
full speed. In the resulting catastrophe, many of the animal acts are freed
from their cages, costumes and props strewn about the wreckage and all of the
performers placed in peril with some, seriously wounded. Discovering Brad under
a pile of debris, Angel’s quick thinking employs one of Klaus’ elephants to
lift the heavy rigging off his chest.
To everyone’s horror, one of Brad’s major arteries has
been punctured. He is badly hemorrhaging and will surely die without the proper
medical treatment. There is no time to get him to a hospital. As the company’s
doctor has been knocked unconscious in the wreck, Holly relies on Buttons to
save Brad’s life. As every split-second counts Buttons elects to sacrifice his
own discovery by Agent Gregory to save Brad’s life. A few harrowing minutes
pass. Brad loses consciousness. Ultimately, however, his life is spared.
Realizing he has found his man, Agent Gregory places Buttons under arrest. It
looks as though the show will have to fold. But Holly has other notions.
Carrying on as Brad would want, she organizes the surviving acts into an
outdoor parade and later, a show without the benefit of the big top. Brad
awakens to realize not only has he survived his ordeal, but that the greatest
show on earth will endure, thanks to his paramour’s quick thinking. The two are
reconciled in an ‘all’s well that ends well’ finale.
Audiences responded to The Greatest Show on Earth
with exuberance and enthusiasm. DeMille’s attention to detail had inevitably
paid off – handsomely. Everyone gets into the act. DeMille even cast John
Ringling North as his Master of Ceremonies, prominently featured throughout the
story. Ultimately, DeMille understood his movie had to do more than extol the
virtues and excitement of a real circus exhibition. It had to tell a story –
and hopefully, more than one. Nevertheless, his soapy behind-the-scenes
narrative gets off to a rocky start. DeMille’s obligatory introductions to the
principles is somewhat clumsily stitched into a series of atmospheric vignettes
and montages, designed to give his audience a genuine flavor for the show
within a show. In act two, it all comes together and effectively so, the cast
having established their purpose and character traits, now let loose to become
integrated into the actual background milieu of these legitimate circus acts.
There is a lot of blue screen, model and miniature work. Only some of it is
convincingly achieved. Nevertheless, DeMille insisted on authenticity. While
Cornel Wilde and Betty Hutton rarely left the ground, or were suspended merely
feet from it, each performs some daring stunt work in close up with George
Barnes’ cinematography making it appear as though they are dangling
precariously high from their trapeze. A few long shots illustrate obvious
doubles for both stars. After the
picture had been in circulation for a couple of weeks, DeMille showed Charlton
Heston a handwritten prevue card, thanking DeMille for resurrecting the magic
of a night under the big top. The comments were praiseworthy of the entire
cast, but made particular mention to DeMille’s casting of ‘that circus
manager’ who “managed to do a splendid job and hold his own amongst the
actors.” Heston would later muse, “High
praise indeed. You can’t get much better than that!” Circus movies are rare
these days, their charm and allure blunted by our present-day outlook on
animals in captivity, and people performing death-defying stunts, merely for
our amusement. Like the changing times, circus pictures have come and gone. But
63 years later, DeMille’s classic arguably remains the greatest show on earth!
Well, it’s about time! Paramount’s
decision to finally restore and remaster this Oscar-winning Best Picture for
Blu-ray has, arguably, been well worth the wait. Previous DVD editions of The
Greatest Show on Earth have suffered from brutal instances of Technicolor
mis-registration, and some fairly disturbing halo effects that reveal the
crudeness of the primitive blue-screen work done throughout, wed to a barrage
of age-related artifacts, dirt and debris. Bottom line: The Greatest Show on
Earth didn’t look so ‘great’ on home video for a long while. So, it is most
gratifying to report that the new 4K scan from original negatives, another
first in the Paramount Presents…line-up Blu-ray debut of this epically mounted
and escapist fluff entertainment has yielded the meticulous efforts put forth
by the studio to finally do - almost - right by DeMille and create a master that is, quite
simply, as near to perfection as one might hope. The lush hues of 3-strip
Technicolor come bursting forth from the screen as never before with an
eye-popping brilliance that will surely delight young and old. Wow! What a
stunningly handsome image harvest it is, with bang-on contrast, a light
smattering of grain looking indigenous to its source, and oodles of fine
detail, popping as it should. Gone – the Technicolor mis-registration issues
that abounded on the DVD, also the instances of gate weave that made certain
process shots appear quite unstable. For reasons only known to Paramount execs, the digital restoration did not remove the cue marks intermittently scattered throughout this transfer, nor some fairly light, though nevertheless present age-related scratches. Go figure. With just a bit more finesse this one could have been perfect! The audio is DTS 1.0 mono and represents
the movie well enough. Disappointing, The Greatest Show on Earth rates
only a passing introduction from noted historian and author, Leonard Maltin. For a definitive ‘collector’s
edition’ – and, an Oscar-winning picture from one of Hollywood’s founding
fathers no less - one would have sincerely hoped for at least an audio
commentary to cover the extraordinary history of its mammoth production. Alas,
no. Oh well, can’t have everything, I suppose. Bottom line: Paramount has done
the picture proud with a newly restored and remastered element that, at long
last, resurrects the true grandeur of DeMille’s spectacular show of shows. A ‘must
have’ Blu-ray release of the year. Buy today, treasure forever!
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
4
VIDEO/AUDIO
4
EXTRAS
1
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