Grade: C
Synopsis: A circus owner (John Wayne) embarks on a disastrous tour of Europe in the hopes of finding his lost love (Rita Hayworth).
Circus World is quite a hodgepodge of a movie. Nicholas Ray wrote the original script with Frank Capra set to direct. Once Paramount was brought in to help with the financing, they insisted on John Wayne in the lead. Once John Wayne came aboard he brought James Edward Grant in to rewrite the screenplay, but his rewrites caused both Frank Capra and David Niven (who was originally attached to costar) to bow out, and subsequently Henry Hathaway was brought onboard. Unfortunately, by this point they already had several sets built for Nicholas Ray’s screenplay, which had to be used, and Claudia Cardinale had already been cast (this is important because it explains why she has an accent despite being raised by Americans). Finally, after filming was almost completed, director Hathaway was informed that the movie would be shown in Cinemascope. Of course, the movie wasn’t shot with this in mind, so it never really takes advantage of the format.
Despite all this, Circus World isn’t that bad. John Wayne carries the movie easily, and has a few really good comedy bits. Claudia Cardinale had a bad habit of over-emoting, but the rest of the supporting case works out fine.
Bottom Line: Wayne fans should enjoy it, others beware.
