I suppose if one is fixated on the idea that this film didn't deserve it's Best Movie Oscar, then it will affect your entire enjoyment of the picture. Maybe what's best is to view this one in a couple of different ways. For it's pure spectacle and color it has few rivals, and the train wreck sequence near the finale was rather impressive, even if the mock-up toy trains were more than evident. If I were to disqualify the picture from it's top award, it would be for the ridiculous attempt at a love story angle between the principals. The romantic pairings bounce off each other like ping pong balls and aren't credible in the least. So there, I've said it and now I've got that out of the way.

The thing I think a lot of the reviewers on this board don't appreciate is the sheer immensity of the effort to put on the Big Show. It was mentioned at one point that the Circus employed fourteen hundred and it took a veritable army of people and equipment to move it from one town to the next. Even the filming of the roustabouts putting up and tearing down the Big Top didn't quite capture the enormity of the task, not to mention the skill and precision required to keep it all in some semblance of order. I could only marvel at the effort.

As for the show itself, I thought the filming did a good job of presenting a huge array of entertainers as they made their way into the Big Top. The costumes were marvelous and the parade of entertainers and animals made you want to be part of the action. Every now and then you had to get a kick out of the expressions on the faces of the customers. Many quite obviously were filmed without their knowing it, as the unbridled happiness and laughter was entirely evident, and I got a particular kick out of youngsters who might have sat expressionless not knowing what to make of it all. Every now and then an unexpected cameo appearance made it's way on screen, Hopalong Cassidy as a one night stand was pretty cool for example. An even better one might have been Hope and Crosby downing their popcorn as Dorothy Lamour did her 'Lovely Luawana Lady' routine.

Regarding the principal players, I thought they did an adequate job apart from the romantic angles I mentioned earlier. It became apparent later in the story why we never saw Jimmy Stewart's real face except in a photo. Personally I thought his character might have been let off the hook after saving Brad Braden's (Heston) life, but you had to consider justice being served. Funny, but you never hear Emmett Kelly's name mentioned any more, he being the sad faced clown who appeared every few scenes. His name used to come up between my friends and I back in the day, along with Bozo and his infamous 'Eat it, Clown' comment that I'm chuckling about as I write this. Yeah, those were the days.

So I don't know if you need to have ever been to a real, live circus to appreciate this picture but I don't think it could hurt. They're few and far between these days, and it seems when they show up there are plenty of free passes to go around, so their allure as an attraction has probably passed. A shame in a way, as watching the picture today brings back memories of a life gone by when families could enjoy the simple things together and have fun doing it. You could see it in the faces of the crowd.

When I see a discussion about best Picture winners, I can't count the number of times the Greatest Show on Earth has been headlined as one of the worst. I am going to be honest, I do not think this movie deserved Best Picture over The Quiet Man, High Noon and the un-nominated(???) Singin' in the Rain. However, I do not think it is a bad movie, and as far as best Picture winners go while it was for me undeserved it is better than Braveheart, Cimarron, Crash and The Hurt Locker.

The Greatest Show on Earth does have its flaws. The film does have some uneven dialogue, some is good but some is very corny, the story is a little overstuffed with a lot going on and with so many stories going on with its length and purposefully done pace it could have been better developed too, and Betty Hutton overdoes it a bit.

That said, it does look wonderful. The costumes, scenery and cinematography are wonderfully lavish. The music is a plus, it isn't heard all the time, but when it does play it's quite nice. I liked the rousing number at the end, though it did take some time to get accustomed to the singing. The direction was good, quite corny but efficient all the same, the trapeze work is excellent and the pacing while mannered is fine. The acting is good enough, aside from Hutton. Charlton Heston is interesting here, and Cornel Wilde is quite nice. The most memorable performance comes from James Stewart, he has been better and he has been in better movies than this, but he does do a great job as Buttons, the film's most interesting character. On a final note, the last half-hour was quite riveting.

All in all, far from a masterpiece but it isn't awful either. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This movie has done the impossible. It somehow finds a way to make circus life look BORING. How? My assumption is that it all boils down to Cecil B. DeMille. Although an important name in Hollywood history, his movies tend to be much bigger than the stars. In other words, the dialog and development of character is, at best, secondary to DeMille. Instead, he is the master of the spectacle--HUGE overblown scripts incorporating "casts of thousands". From the silent film days until his last picture, DeMille films had the same distinct flavor--bland but spectacular. And, I think that is why I was so indifferent to this movie. The stunts looked great but the story bogged down in the quieter moments. I honestly believe this (and other DeMille films) could have been improved with 2 directors--DeMille for the BIG scenes and anyone else for scenes involving PEOPLE.

If you don't agree with me, I challenge you to watch this film--or even better, watch The Ten Commandments. Observe how good actors and actresses often totally overdo their lines (as if performing for a high school play) because that was what the director wanted.