Review of The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) by Catherine H — 04 Dec 2010

"Women are poison." There is a solid story hiding under all the countless circus porn performances, but it's hard to make out through Cecil B. DeMille's obviously demented love over one of my most hated/feared formats of entertainment.

Charlton Heston just wants to keep the show going and it's so damned hard with the flipflopping feelings of nutty dames like Gloria Grahame and Betty Hutton...not to mention villainous Nazi elephant trainers, Lawrence Tierney heavies, and Jimmy Stewart's meddling clown.

I don't know how this ever won Best Picture, but if you have a strong bladder it's worth squirming through. VF.