High jinks on and off the high-wire with Lancaster as Mike, injured master of trapeze and the only guy who can teach ambitious Tino (Curtis) the death-defying triple somersault. Into their lives comes Lola (Lollobrigida), who seduces the younger man but really loves Mike.
Reed, whose best days as a director were over, enjoyed a commercial success with the colourful, if overlong, movie largely filmed in the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris. This was thanks to the casting, especially the male leads who convincingly perform at least some of the dangerous exploits. It’s also rare in conveying some of the atmosphere of a circus. Full marks to Reed’s great colleague, Krasker, whose camerawork is outstanding .
cast
Burt Lancaster as Mike Ribble
Tony Curtis as Tino Orsini
Gina Lollobrigida as Lola
Katy Jurado as Rosa
Thomas Gomez as Bouglione
Johnny Puleo as Max (dwarf)
Minor Watson as John Ringling North
Gérard Landry as Chikki
Jean-Pierre Kérien as Otto
Sid James as Snake Charmer
Gimma Boys as Circus family children
Los Arriolas as Specialty Act
Gamil Ratib as Stefan
Pierre Tabard as Paul
Edward Hagopian as 3rd partner of Lola
crew
Director: Carol Reed
Script: James R. Webb
Camera: Robert Krasker
Music: Malcolm Arnold
USA | United Artists | 105 minutes | 1956
