Review of Sawdust and Tinsel (1953) by Cassandra M — 09 Sep 2009

Talk of sexual conquest and repeated losses of dignity. These two things are found in every weekend trip to Vegas but they also serve as the foundation of this depressing account of down-on-their-luck circus performers looking for an escape from an industry that really offers no room for career advancement possibilities.

So we have the ringleader, Albert, and his mistress, Anne (who, by the gods, could probably get away with murder if she weren't busy getting director Bergman away from his marriage). While Albert wants to abandon the nomadic performance lifestyle to return to his family he abandoned three years prior, Anne wants to find someone to love her in fear that Albert won't stick with the team.

Enter theatre performer, and master swindler, Frans. Albert's dreams are crushed, Anne is victimized (a few times), fist fights break out, a bear is shot and no one walks away happy (par for the course for Bergman, though).

There's something "off" here that, while keeping me from outright loving this, I cannot put my finger on. It's not the bizarre story sequence about soldiers leering at a nude woman who, in reality, is hard to take pity on.

It's not the characters, though Frans really hams things up. The pacing, maybe? I don't know. Not for everyone but not a bad 90 minutes at all.