Nonureva Really Surprised!

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

HotToastyRag It's so very sad to see two great and beautiful talents, Doris Day and Stephen Boyd, thrown together in an empirically terrible movie. After she showed she could act in a drama in Midnight Lace, and after he showed his wonderful presence in Ben-Hur, they joined forces in a movie about an elephant in a circus. Yes, you read that correctly. And no, it's not as absurd as it sounds; it's more. At one point, they both dress up as clowns and wind up in embarrassingly sexual positions during the dance number.Stephen's so incredibly handsome-and talented, let's not forget that-and he's forced to act in Billy Roses's Jumbo? His singing voice was dubbed-although James Joyce was such an excellent match it's nearly impossible to tell-so it's not as though he wanted to surprise audiences by showing he could sing. I don't know why he and Doris didn't just walk off the set one day and never return. The two famous songs from the film are "My Romance" and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", but while they're pretty songs, you're better off just listening to the soundtrack rather than watch this ridiculous movie all the way through. If you do, you'll probably get an uncontrollable fit of the giggles, and not because of the humor in the film. It'll be the type of laughter one gets in the midst of Chinese water torture when one realizes how funny it is that the noise will never end. Trust me, by the time Stephen Boyd sings, "The most beautiful star in the world isn't Juno, isn't Venus, but between us. . ." you'll double up in laughter finishing up the rhyme in your own way.

writers_reign The only real selling point in this entry is the score by Rodgers and Hart and when that is performed listlessly as it is by all concerned then we're left with a flabby plot and indifferent acting. Stephen Boyd was, of course, a joke and strictly from the Forestry Commission School Of Acting and was the last person that should have been cast as a romantic lead opposite Doris Day. As is usual with Hollywood adaptations of Broadway musicals they tampered with the score, bringing in things like This Can't Be Love, written for The Boys From Syracuse. Ironically it was released the same year as the Hollywood version of Gypsy, which retained its original Broadway score and suffered no interpolations. Gypsy was so far ahead of Jumbo on all counts that it isn't even funny. The resulting scorecard reads something like: banal, hokey plot, wooden and/or uninspired performances which could have been redeemed by the fine score had anyone attempted to 'put the songs across'. Result: Major Disappointment.

Farsong The acting is horrid, the plot and dialogue predictable, the switching from the stars to stunt actors is so blatant, and there aren't any really good songs except "Little Girl Blue." Watch this movie and you will give yourself a headache from the number of times you will roll your eyes.I was praying for this movie, which I had to sit through for politeness's sake, to end quickly, and it doesn't. It is over two hours long.I LOVE musicals, but this one? EW. If you want to watch a movie about circuses, get The Greatest Show on Earth instead.

wes-connors Doris Day goes to the circus. As you might expect, there is a plot involving a mean rival circusman trying to put Ms. Day's circus out to pasture. Day runs the circus with her pop Jimmy Durante. Stephen Boyd is the high wire act, love interest, and man of mystery.There are long, dull sequences depicting circus performers doing their thing; by 1962, you'd think movie makers would have figure out this circus stuff works better when seen live. The main attraction is the elephant who gives the film its title, "Jumbo". Elephants can't display too much personality on the screen, and Jumbo comes off as more frightening than endearing, despite the wink. He may scare smaller children. It's also unnerving to see Day and Mr. Boyd flying around in the air.On the plus side, Day and Mr. Durante are fine; have these two ever delivered a less-than-professional performance? The music helps move the film along, but the male lead should have been assigned to a musical performer equal to Doris Day. Martha Raye is an entertaining love interest for Durante."The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and "Why Can't I?" are more famous songs, but Day's solo "Little Girl Blue" is the film's real highlight, due to Day's splendid performance. ***** Jumbo (1962) Charles Walters ~ Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Stephen Boyd