You can almost smell the elephant droppings in this popular film that captures at least some of the fun, danger and excitement of life under the Big Top. The script is actually a lacklustre affair but that didn't seem to bother audiences of the day who flocked to see former acrobat Burt Lancaster in a milieu he loved as a famous circus trapeze artist, the stunningly beautiful Italian star Gina Lollobrigida and dashing young leading man Tony Curtis. It was an irresistible combination and catapulted director Carol Reed's disappointingly dull film to a top box office slot. The high wire work, as Lancaster and Curtis, doing most of their own stuntwork, attempt the impossible, a 'triple' somersault in mid-air off the trapeze, is exciting to watch, providing some compensation for script shortcomings once the drama hits the ground.

©ipc tx. Film content from TVTimes