Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Spikeopath The Big Circus is directed by Joseph M. Newman and jointly written by Irwin Allen (who also produces) and Charles Bennett. It stars Victor Mature, Red Buttons, Rhonda Fleming, Kathryn Grant, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre. Plot sees Mature as Hank Whirling, the owner of The Whirling Circus, where, having seen his partner break away to form his own show, he finds he has to beg a loan off the bank to keep the Whirling show going. The bank agree to the loan but on condition that their financial whizz Randolph Sherman (Buttons) travels along with the show to keep an eye on the finances. He in turn hires publicity agent Helen Harrison (Fleming) to professionally sell the product, but both of them are not wanted by Whirling. However, there are more pressing concerns for the show, there is a saboteur at large and it seems whoever it is will stop at nothing to finish off the Circus.Looking for a Sunday afternoon time filler full of colour, vibrancy and delightful circus sequences? Then look no further than Irwin Allen's The Big Circus, an entertaining and tidy picture that seems to have been forgotten in the wake (fall out) of The Greatest Show On Earth. Making no bones about it, Allen follows the formula of the Cecil B. DeMille behemoth pretty much all the way, only the budget is considerably smaller so it obviously isn't as gargantuan as the 1952 Best Picture Winner. Fair to say there's some overacting, notably from Mature, but the mystery element is played close to the chest, with pretty much everyone under suspicion, and the high wire/trapeze antics are joyous. Nice cast, nice film and easy to recommend to the undemanding crowd. 6.5/10

Albert Mazeika OK, OK, so it's NOT a classic, but it IS entertaining. I take GREAT exception to SINGLE BLACK MALE's assessment of Victor Mature as an actor, a criticism I can only describe as...IMMATURE (LOL). Victor Mature turned in some EXCELLENT portrayals, notably in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, KISS OF DEATH and THE ROBE. Also, let me clarify a couple of other comments posted for this film: The train wreck here is NOT the climactic set piece that the one in GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH was and ZACH's (Gilbert Roland) attempt to walk Niagara falls is not this film's climax. As for why Vincent Price was in the cast, here comes my spoiler: The saboteur in the circus' troop turns out NOT to be the often-cast-as-villain, Price, but rather the young, clean cut, all-American boy, fresh from the OZZIE AND HARRIET show, David Nelson. A nice "red herring" to throw the audience off the scent of the real villain. I also thought Peter Lorre's "Skeeter the Clown" was just fine, especially when he is asked what bank watchdog/accountant, Red Buttons' "act" is: "He's a juggler. Juggles figures". Plus, Kathryn Grant (eventually Mrs. Bing Crosby) and Adele Mara both look great in tights!

fpferrante The Big Circus was produced ten years after Cecil B. DeMille's Oscar winning "The Greatest Show On Earth" as brought to a close a decade of circus genre films. In this film, Victor Mature plays Hank Whirling, half owners of the Whirling-Borman Brothers Circus - The Biggest Show on the Face of the Earth.The film begins with Whirling breaking off from the Borman Brothers with his half of the circus. He seeks financial backing from one of the oldest establishments on Wall Street - they will back the project, but aren't sure of the man. They force him to accept straight-laced Red Buttons as his financial adviser.Buttons hires the beautiful Rhonda Fleming as the shows press agent and soon to be love interest for Mature. Things begin to go wrong for the show at the first Press Party when an escaped lion slinks ferociously into the tent while the party is going on. There are so many possible villains to choose from. Is it the aloof ringmaster played with understated style by Vincent Price? Could it be the daring aerialist, played by film heavy Gilbert Roland? The lovable, but scary clown played by Peter Lorre? Or even the head man himself, Henry Jasper Whirling played by Mature - can you REALLY trust someone with the middle name of JASPER?The escaped lion is followed by a freak fire that almost kills off all the circus animals and a train wreck that kills Roland's wife. Meanwhile the natural disasters are taking their tolls on the shows success - harsh and brutal rains diminish audiences while the Bormans' bask in the sunshine.The show is going to go under if something BIG doesn't bring back the crowds. Mature influences, forces and shames Roland's wire walker to "Walk The Falls" for the good of the show. Cross Niagra Falls walking a tight rope!We still do not know who the real villain is, but we know he has one last chance to bring the show to it's knees.Buttons does a great turn as a foil to Mature's anger and bumbles his way through a classic clown routine doubling for an incapacitated Lorre. Kathryn Grant is great as Whirling's sister.

Anne_Sharp A typical Irwin Allen spectacle, this has its moments--the daring publicity stunt involving a tightrope walker crossing Niagara Falls is genuinely exciting--but for the most part is just too prosaic and small-minded to be the blockbuster it was undoubtedly intended to be. It would have helped if Victor Mature's shifty circus owner were either less of a jerk or an out-and-out villain, and certainly if Vincent Price (who seems to have been cast as the ringmaster simply because of his moustache) had been given more to do than to stand around in unbecoming leisure outfits. On the other hand, Peter Lorre (whose presence as a clown alienates both Lorre fans who view it as the ultimate insult to that ill-used actor's dignity, and clownophobes who see it as a confirmation of their worst fears) gives the film a heart and humor it wouldn't have had otherwise.