Harrison's Reports (1952)

2 HARRISON’S REPORTS January 5, 1952 “The Greatest Show on Earth” with Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame ( Paramount , no rel. date set; time, 151 min.) “The Greatest Show on Earth”, in Technicolor, is great, not only in name but also in fact; it is the best picture that Mr. DeMille has ever made and one of the few best in the history of the motion picture business. It should draw as big crowds, if not bigger, than any other picture ever produced. It is so immense that it defies description. It is just like a tenring circus, with the spectator taking in every act in every ring, missing nothing. The Technicolor photography adds indescribable glamor to it. Every im' portant act seen in the Bungling BrothersBarnum 6? Bailey Circus appears in this picture. The aerial acts are breath-taking; they should remind old-time exhibitors of the suspense in the German picture “Variety,” with Emil Jannings, released in the silent picture days. The trained animal acts, particularly those of the trained horses, are a treat. The music, the parades, both in town and under the big top, are so realistic that one feels as if he is seeing circus parades in real life. The train wreck is fearfully realistic; it tops any train wreck ever depicted in any other picture, and will be talked about by all who see it. The story is really the story of the people of the circus, with their joys and their sorrows, their petty jealousies as well as their sacrifices, and with one thought uppermost in their minds — the show must go on! With this picture, Cecil B. DeMille not only does himself proud but he also adds glory to the picture business at a time when it is decidedly in need of a “lift” : — By promising to keep the circus in the black, Charlton Heston, manager of the Ringling Bros.-Barnum 6s? Bailey Circus, induces the owners to let him play a full season instead of confining the tour only to big cities. Heston’s ace-in-the-hole is debonair and flamboyant Cornel Wilde, a spectacular French aerialist. Wilde’s assignment to the center ring is a blow to Bette Hutton, to whom Heston had promised that position. The decision was not an easy one for Heston, however, for he loved Betty. A strange rivalry grows up between Wilde, the star of the show, and Betty, who determines to draw the spectators’ attention to herself by bold and dangerous maneuvers on the high trapeze. Keenly aware of the rift between the two is Gloria Grahame, the elephant girl, a sexy but shopworn little redhead, who sets her cap for Wilde, fully knowing that her aim is too high. This by-play is observed by James Stewart, a clown with a mysterious background, and by Dorothy Lamour, the worldlywise “iron jaw” girl. In Wilde, Gloria finds a person more of her type, for he, too, had been “around,” and both, as a matter of fact, had met and loved before. But Gloria’s immediate worry is Lyle Bettger, her tyrannical boss, an elephant trainer who had been stung frequently by her flirtations. The rivalry in the air between Betty and Wilde goes too far when Wilde, attempting a double somersault through a hoop to a free swinging trapeze, falls and injures his right arm permanently. Betty takes over the center ring, but she feels responsible for Wilde’s injury and turns to him affectionately, leaving Heston fair game for Gloria. Goaded by Gloria’s attentions to Heston, Bettger threatens her life in the elephant act. Heston discharges Bettger, putting him in a vengeful mood. Events move to a swift and violent climax when Bettger, spurred on by a confidence man who had failed to get his crooked games into the circus, agrees to hold up the circus train’s red wagon, in which the daily receipts were kept. In a bold night-time robbery, he stops the first section of the train, unaware that the second section was following closely behind at a high rate of speed. The second section plunges into the halted first section, shattering steel and wood amid the crescendo of injured humans and the screams of escaping animals, with the tangled wreckage creating an awesome spiderweb of death and disaster. Although dying of serious injuries, Heston tries to rally the show back together again. Meanwhile, Stewart, revealing himself as a famous surgeon sought by the police for murder, risks the danger of arrest to save Heston’s life by an operation. Realizing what the circus meant to Heston, Betty takes charge and organizes what is left, while Stewart is led away by Henry Wilcoxon, a detective who had been trailing him. True to the “show must go on” tradition, Betty organizes a parade and draws a huge crowd. It ends with Betty and Heston back together again, while Wilde, the strength returned to his right arm, has it firmly around Gloria’s willing waist. The circus rolls on in gay fashion, proving that circus people are a brave lot, and that it is truly the “Greatest Show on Earth.” It was produced and directed by Mr. DeMille, from a screenplay by Fredrick M. Frank, Barre Lyndon and Theodore St. John, based on a story by Messrs. Frank, St. John and Frank Carette. Excellent for everybody, and for years to come. “Another Man’s Poison” with Bette Davis and Gary Merrill ( United Artists; Jan. 16; time, 88 min.) Produced in Britain, this is an unpleasant tragic drama of a woman who does not hesitate to murder in order that she may find happiness in the arms of a young man she had become infatuated with. The part Bette Davis plays is similar to the many unhappy parts she has played in the past, the only difference being that, in this picture, she plans and carries out a few murders, eventually dying of poison, drunk from a bottle she herself had prepared for a confederate. Those who like Miss Davis in her unpleasant parts may feel that her acting is superb. None of the other players are well known to American picturegoers. Another drawback is the title, which is not conducive to drawing people. There is no comedy relief. The photography is dark, adding to the drabness of the subject matter. “Vat 69” scotch whiskey is displayed prominently in many of the scenes: — Bette, a successful but arrogant and calculating mystery -story writer, lives alone in a stately house on the Yorkshire moors. She always grasps desperately at what she thinks is a chance at happiness, but is disappointed when her wishes do not materialize. Bette sees an opportunity for love and happiness in Anthony Steel, a dashing young man who loved the same things that she loved, particularly horses. She determines to capture him, although he is engaged to Barbara Murray, her young secretary. But her scheme is endangered by the sudden appearance of a fortunehunting ne’er-do-well she had married secretly years previously. She murders him, then telephones Steel in London to come to her immediately, believing that his