"The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952)
"The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952)
Paramount Pictures Corporation
The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle. - "The Greatest Show on Earth" is American drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille; shot in Technicolor; and released by Paramount Pictures. Set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the film, narrated by producer/director, Cecil B. DeMille, stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde as trapeze artists competing for the center ring, and Charlton Heston as the circus manager running the show. James Stewart also stars in a supporting role as a mysterious clown who never removes his make-up, even between shows, while Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame also play supporting roles.
In addition to the movie's actors, the real Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' 1951 troupe appears in the film, with its complement of 1400 people, hundreds of animals, and 60 carloads of equipment and tents. The actors learned their respective 'circus' roles and participated in the acts. The film's storyline is supported by lavish production values, actual circus acts, and documentary, behind-the-rings looks at the massive logistics effort which made big top circuses possible."
Genre': Drama, Family, Romance
Release date: January 10, 1952
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Written by: Fredric M. Frank, Theodore St. John, Frank Cavett, Barré Lyndon
Music: Victor Young
Cinematography: George Barnes, + J. Peverell Marley
Edited by: Anne Bauchens
Narrated by: Cecil B. DeMille
Cast: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, Lyle Bettger
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures Corporation
Awards
- Best Picture
- Best Writing, Motion Picture Story
- Best Motion Picture - Drama
- Best Director
- Best Cinematography - Color
* © 1952 Paramount Pictures Corp.
"The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952)
