Let's not forget the scene where the jealous elephant trainer punishes his ex-girlfriend for making a pass at Brad (picture a close-up of a giant fake, stuffed elephant foot bearing down on the beautiful Gloria Graham). And to add to the cheesiness, Jimmy Stewart stars as "Buttons" the clown is really a doctor who hiding from the law for killing his wife
Will Brad dedicate his life to the circus he loves or Holly, the woman who loves him? Will Sebastian's claw hand ever heal so that he can stop selling popcorn? Can the show go on after a horrific train crash threatens to end the circus? Will Buttons ever take off that makeup? You'll have to watch to find out.
Some questions will never be answered: Why on earth did Cecil B. DeMille allow Betty Hutton to sing in the show? Couldn't he have had her lip sync to someone who can actually carry a tune? Why was there endless time wasted on the circus acts? What's with the scenes of the crowd eating popcorn and licking ice cream cones? The world will never know.
I will ALWAYS love this movie!
DeMille's film also has something of an introspective quality: The circus is like an allegory for Hollywood, with everyone struggling to find their fortune, everyone coming to the melting pot from every walk of life, some finding themselves bruised by the mechanistic and sometimes brutal realities of showbiz. But perhaps I make the film sound more profound than it really is. At the end of the day, this is just entertainment. It is rather lengthy, mainly due to the periodic montages of circus trickery, artistry and buffoonery (though they are generally amusing enough). A good cast sustain it, however, including James Stewart as Buttons, "a clown", whose appearances are unfortunately fleeting.
