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The Greatest Show on Earth

Play trailer 6:48 Poster for The Greatest Show on Earth Released Jan 10, 1952 2h 32m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
"The Greatest Show on Earth" is a dazzling spectacle of life behind the scenes with Ringling Bros.-Barnum and Bailey Circus, the best three-ring circus in the land. Celebrates the extravagant three-ring circus and depicts the passionate scenes of love and jealousy behind the greatest show on Earth.
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The Greatest Show on Earth

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Critics Consensus

The Greatest Show on Earth is melodramatic, short on plot, excessively lengthy and bogged down with clichés, but not without a certain innocent charm.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker A huge, mawkish, trite circus movie directed by Cecil B. De Mille in a neo-Biblical style. Jul 28, 2022 Full Review Times (UK) Staff Times (UK) Curious it is that, in spite of all the scenes. blaringly, glaringly effective which belong specifically to the sawdust ring, both Mr. de Mille and The Greatest Show on Earth are most themselves in the scene of the railway disaster. Apr 1, 2021 Full Review Edwin Schallert Los Angeles Times De Mille provides the maximum of entertainment in his production, not to speak of glamour, and above all the spirit that forever lurks under the big top. Apr 1, 2021 Full Review Mark Johnson Awards Daily DeMille was as big as the pictures he made – the ringleader of the Hollywood circus Jun 27, 2023 Full Review Howard McClay Illustrated Daily News (Los Angeles) One of the greatest entertainment values to hit the screen in years. Jul 13, 2021 Full Review James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk the subplots are regularly interrupted by DeMille's extensive documentary footage of the circus, which would work much better if it were substantially shorter and therefore more clearly integrated into the drama Rated: 2.5/4 Jun 17, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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This Old G Lots of spectacle and daring do. the highlight of the film is the spectacular train wreck these are all the best parts of the movie everything else pretty forgettable. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/19/24 Full Review Blu B The only way I can see this being a Best Picture winner is if you turn your brain off and just focus on the lavish colors, production values, and pur spectacle. In that regard yeah it's a masterpiece but this is all sizzle and no steak. The pacing is terrible, it starts out entertaining enough kind of like your actually watching a circus and it's not half bad but than it just starts to drag because the circus act scenes just start to get repetitive because you've seen it already and the drama never adds up to anything. Rinse and repeat, drama than a long 10 plus minute take of the circus performance that adds nothing to the story and if it does has no reason to be as long as it is. This easily should've been 90 minutes. The editing isn't good either. It feels like your watching a compilation of circus performances mixed with a bad melodrama about characters that is done Robert Altman style but isn't skilled enough to make it all work. None of the storylines really ever add up to anything meaningful and it feels like there really isn't any central character ot theme to any of it. Everything else is just ok. The music is a mix of circus music and generic Golden Era sounding tracks. The production value is insane but it gets so repetitive at points when it shows the tricks because you've seen it all before and it does work at first. The drama is so over the top at points like Buttons being a killer and the train crash. This really shows DeMilles worst tendencies as a director for bombastic productions but lacking substance. This should have just been a 90 minute compilation of circus performances and make it into a musical hybrid. It still owuld'nt be a masterpiece but at least it would'nt be the bloated unfocused over the top mess it is. I really can't recommend this to anyone. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/03/24 Full Review Selene P This was a classic my grandmother and I loved to watch. It won an Academy Award for best picture. It gives you drama, theatrics, secrecy and music. You get a better appreciation for the Ringling Bros circus acts. I watch it with my daughter now. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/27/23 Full Review Patricia G The good kind of movie with love, mystery and excitement without bad language and gore Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/21/23 Full Review Pam K This movie is a history lesson on the now bygone days of the circus. What a spectacular show they put on back in their heyday. I'm old enough to have witnessed a three ring circus and It was thrilling! The story line isn't all that interesting but the massive size of the circus with all the animals and performers certainly is. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/18/23 Full Review CodyZamboni Watchable, but overlong circus soap opera. The story bored me. I was more fascinated by the logistics of doing a circus ---- setting it up, taking it down, and taking it on the road. And I was really happy to see Gloria Grahame ---- sooo pretty and sexy. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Greatest Show on Earth

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The Greatest Show on Earth

The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - You're a Jealous Fool The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - You're a Jealous Fool 2:12 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Holly vs. The Great Sebastian The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Holly vs. The Great Sebastian 2:12 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - They Made It The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - They Made It 2:11 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Clowns Only Love Once The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Clowns Only Love Once 2:13 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Be a Jumping Jack The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Be a Jumping Jack 1:26 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Train Wreck The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - Train Wreck 2:12 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - The Great Sebastian Arrives The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - The Great Sebastian Arrives 2:08 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - The Great Sebastian Falls The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - The Great Sebastian Falls 2:12 The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - The Circus The Greatest Show on Earth: Official Clip - The Circus 1:31 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis "The Greatest Show on Earth" is a dazzling spectacle of life behind the scenes with Ringling Bros.-Barnum and Bailey Circus, the best three-ring circus in the land. Celebrates the extravagant three-ring circus and depicts the passionate scenes of love and jealousy behind the greatest show on Earth.
Director
Cecil B. DeMille
Producer
Cecil B. DeMille
Screenwriter
Fredric M. Frank, Theodore St. John, Frank Cavett, Fredric M. Frank, Barré Lyndon, Theodore St. John
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 10, 1952, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2011
Runtime
2h 32m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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