The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) | |
| Director(s) | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Producer(s) | Cecil B. DeMille, Henry Wilcoxon (associate) |
| Top Genres | Drama, Family, Romance |
| Top Topics | Circus, Romance (Drama), Show Business |
Featured Cast:
The Greatest Show on Earth Overview:
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) was a Drama - Family Film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and produced by Cecil B. DeMille and Henry Wilcoxon.
SYNOPSIS
A dazzling, only-by-DeMille spectacle focusing on life with a traveling three-ring circus. Stewart appears in an unfamiliar guise as a clown hiding from his past (as a doctor!), and there is romance and adventure under this big top, too. Look for many guest appearances. DeMille went all out recreating the color and pageantry of the circus, even traveling with Barnum and Bailey to learn the rhythms of big-top life.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
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Academy Awards 1952 --- Ceremony Number 25 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Costume Design | Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Miles White | Nominated |
| Best Director | Cecil B. DeMille | Nominated |
| Best Film Editing | Anne Bauchens | Nominated |
| Best Picture | Cecil B. DeMille, Producer | Won |
| Best Writing | Fredric M. Frank, Theodore St. John, Frank Cavett | Won |
BlogHub Articles:
The Greatest Show on Earth ( 1952 )
By The Metzinger Sisters on Nov 19, 2016 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film LoversFor Cecil B. DeMille there was no such thing as a regular feature film...it always had to be a spectacle. Circus films were a dime a dozen in the 1930s, but none of them really captured that thrill of seeing a circus in person. A circus was meant to be a spectacle, and the circus itself had to tak... Read full article
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
By Beatrice on Sep 16, 2015 From Flickers in TimeThe Greatest Show on Earth Directed by Cecil B. De Mille Written by Written by Fredric M. Frank, Barr? Lyndon, and Theodore St. John; story by Frank, St. John, and Frank Cavett 1952/USA Paramount Pictures First viewing/Netflix rental I will cut this movie some slack for the circus acts and Jimmy ... Read full article
Classic Films in Focus: THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952)
By Jennifer Garlen on Sep 21, 2012 From Virtual ViragoCritics often deride The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) as one of the worst Best Picture winners in Oscar history, but Cecil B. DeMille’s elaborate circus spectacle deserves a better reputation among classic movie fans. Yes, High Noon is the better film, but the blame for choosing the safer pic... Read full article
Classic Films in Focus: THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952)
By Jennifer Garlen on Sep 21, 2012 From Virtual ViragoCritics often deride The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) as one of the worst Best Picture winners in Oscar history, but Cecil B. DeMille’s elaborate circus spectacle deserves a better reputation among classic movie fans. Yes, High Noon is the better film, but the blame for choosing the safer pic... Read full article
Classic Films in Focus: THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952)
By Jennifer Garlen on Sep 21, 2012 From Virtual ViragoCritics often deride The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) as one of the worst Best Picture winners in Oscar history, but Cecil B. DeMille’s elaborate circus spectacle deserves a better reputation among classic movie fans. Yes, High Noon is the better film, but the blame for choosing the safer pic... Read full article
See all The Greatest Show on Earth articles
Quotes from
Angel: Flattery rolls right off me.
Brad Braden: [while Buttons is doing first aid] Buttons! If that detective sees you doing this, he won't need *fingerprints*!
[first lnes]
Narrator: We bring you the circus, pied piper whose magic tunes greet children of all ages, from six to 60, into a tinsel and spun-candy world of reckless beauty and mounting laughter and whirling thrills; of rhythm, excitement and grace; of blaring and daring and dance; of high-stepping horses and high-flying stars. But behind all this, the circus is a massive machine whose very life depends on discipline and motion and speed. A mechanized army on wheels, that rolls over any obstacle in its path, that meets calamity again and again, but always comes up smiling. A place where disaster and tragedy stalk the big top, haunt the backyard, and ride the circus train. Where death is constantly watching for one frayed rope, one weak link, or one trace of fear. A fierce, primitive fighting force that smashes relentlessly forward against impossible odds. That is the circus. And this is the story of the biggest of the big tops, and of the men and women who fight to make it "The Greatest Show on Earth."
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Facts about
During one scene Sebastian (Cornel Wilde) is hanging from the trapeze by his knees. He catches Holly (Betty Hutton) then pulls her up and kisses her. This shot took several takes and during one of the early takes Wilde tore the ligaments in his shoulder. He managed to make it through two more takes, then had to stop. He was unable to use his arm for several days so Cecil B. DeMille shot scenes where he was not needed.
Although the film was shot in 35mm three-strip Technicolor, Paramount did shoot some test footage on the set using its newly developed wide-screen process Vistavision which ran 35mm film horizontally through the camera, exposing two standard frames, eight perforations wide. The footage still resides in the Paramount film library.
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