Circus world
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Circus world |
| Original title | Circus World |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1964 |
| length | 135 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Henry Hathaway |
| script |
Ben Hecht , Julian Zimet , James Edward Grant |
| production | Samuel Bronston |
| music | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| camera | Jack Hildyard |
| cut | Dorothy Spencer |
| occupation | |
| |
Circus World , also known as Circus World and Hero of the Arena (Original title: Circus World ), is an American drama film starring John Wayne , Claudia Cardinale and Rita Hayworth from 1964. Directed by Henry Hathaway .
action
Matt Masters, American circus owner of the early 20th century, decides to travel through Europe with his successful show . Secretly, he hopes to find the hiding artist Lili Alfredo, who is the mother of his ward Toni. Many years ago he and Lili also shared a deep love. However, when Lili's husband, the best trapeze artist in the circus at the time , got wind of it, he fell to his death out of jealousy. Full of guilt for his suicide, Lili then left the circus and with it her little daughter Toni, who then grew up in Matt's care and never found out how she lost her parents.
The celebrated arrival of the circus ship in Barcelona leads to a catastrophe: First a man goes overboard, whereupon the large number of passengers curiously move to only one side of the ship, which overturns as a result. All people and animals can be saved, but the technical equipment of the circus, especially the large tent, is lost. Matt, Toni and their admirer Steve McCabe have no choice but to appear on a local Wild West show for the time being. Due to her great success at the spectacle, Matt is determined, contrary to all expectations, to rebuild his circus in Spain during the winter months. To this end, they travel all over Europe to get the best artists under contract, such as Aldo Alfredo, the brother of Lili's husband, whom they hire as a high-wire artist. When Matt recognizes Lili in the audience one day, he tries to confront her. She is deeply ashamed of her life and her now run-down appearance. She definitely doesn't want Toni to find out about her.
In Hamburg , Matt finds out that Lili lived in the monastery for many years and then became increasingly addicted to alcohol. He is all the more surprised when one evening Lili asks him to work as a tightrope artist. In doing so, she continues to insist on hiding her identity from Toni. At first this seems to work, but then Aldo Alfredo, Lili's former brother-in-law, breaks his silence and anonymously sends Toni an article in the newspaper in which the circumstances that led to her father's death are grossly exaggerated due to a shameless affair between Lili and Matt become. Toni is stunned and feels betrayed by everyone. After she confronted her mother angrily about the article, Matt explains the other side to her: Lili was heartbroken in her marriage, but a divorce was out of the question for her husband. It was only thanks to Matt's love that Lili could endure her fate.
During this argument, right before the dress rehearsal in the new big top, a fire breaks out. In order to save as large a part of the tent as possible from the flames, Lili and Toni climb the ropes to separate the already burning strips of fabric from the intact ones. Together they make it at the last minute and then hug each other warmly. The very next evening they put on an acclaimed show in a partially open tent in the heart of Vienna . Both women are beaming with happiness, and Matt can finally look forward to a future together with Lili.
background
Originally Frank Capra was supposed to take over the direction of Circus-Welt . However, he left the project when John Wayne insisted on having Ben Hecht's original script revised by his favorite author, James Edward Grant . Actor David Niven , who was supposed to play the role of Cap Carson, also withdrew from the project due to his dissatisfaction with the new script. Initially, Lilli Palmer was planned for the role of Lili Alfredo . She was replaced by Rita Hayworth.
The shooting took place with the participation of the then "Rennbahn-Circus Franz Althoff ", whose special construction was integrated into the film plot. Filming locations were, directed by Henry Hathaway, Barcelona, the Samuel Bronston Studios in Madrid , Aranjuez , Toledo , London , Paris and Vienna. Because of her difficulty memorizing the dialogues, it is now believed that Rita Hayworth was suffering from the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease , which she was diagnosed years later, at the time of shooting . John Wayne also had health problems during the shoot; he was in the early stages of lung cancer .
Decades later, filming in Barcelona became the basis of the novel News from the Real World ( Noticias Del Mundo Real , 1999) by Spanish writer Juan Miñana. In it, two Spanish boys go in search of John Wayne, who disappeared from the film set under mysterious circumstances .
Circus-Welt was first released on DVD in Germany in 2002. In 2004 the film was released on DVD under the title Circus World - Hero of the Arena and 2010 as Hero of the Arena .
Reviews
For the lexicon of international film , the circus world was a “[with] show effects overloaded spectacle from the circus milieu”. Because the "lavishly but conventionally staged and top-class film [...] was supposed to serve Rita Hayworth's comeback", it was "not free from sentimentality". “Sentimental, but splendidly filmed and well cast,” said Cinema . Sound Stage wrote at the time that the success of the film "depends on the pull of its stars and its story". Rita Hayworth has "the best role in the film" and delivers "the best performance".
"The flaws in this film are so numerous that it would be pointless to go into detail," said Films in Review . In the role of a middle-aged woman, however, Rita Hayworth delivered a surprisingly "good" performance and was therefore "the only good thing about the circus world ". "Enduring this film", according to the US magazine Time , corresponds to "letting an elephant sit on your lap for two hours and fifteen minutes".
Awards
At the awards ceremony of the Golden Globe Awards in 1965 , the film received a Golden Globe in the category Best Original Song in which Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington with their title song Circus World , among others, to From Russia with Love by John Barry , Lionel Bart and Monty Norman from Greetings from Moscow were able to prevail. Rita Hayworth was also nominated for Best Actress . At the Laurel Awards , John Wayne received a nomination for Best Actor in an Action Drama.
German version
The German dubbed version was created in 1964.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Masters | John Wayne | Arnold Marquis |
| Toni Alfredo | Claudia Cardinale | Marianne Mosa |
| Lili Alfredo | Rita Hayworth | Tilly Lauenstein |
| Carson cap | Lloyd Nolan | Heinz Engelmann |
| Aldo Alfredo | Richard Conte | Paul Edwin Roth |
| Steve McCabe | John Smith | Thomas Bride |
| Hilda | Katherine Kath | Beate Hasenau |
| Mrs. Schumann | Wanda Rotha | Tina Eilers |
| Billy Hennigan | Miles Malleson | Erich Kestin |
| Barcelona Mayor | José María Caffarel | Hans Walter Clasen |
| Ringmaster | Robert Cunningham | Heinz Petruo |
| Emil Schumann | Hans Dantes | Gerd Martienzen |
| barman | Mustache | Fritz Tillmann |
Web links
- Circus World in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Circus world at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- Pictures of the film on cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 230.
- ↑ Randy Roberts, James S. Olson: John Wayne. American . Free Press, New York 1995, ISBN 0-8032-8970-7 , pp. 507f.
- ↑ cf. literaturkritik.de
- ↑ Circus World. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 27, 2019 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ↑ " Circus World must depend on the power of its stars and its story to keep the ticket wickets active. [...] Miss Hayworth, incidentally, has the film's best role and she gives the best performance. " See Sound Stage quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 231.
- ↑ “The flaws of this film are so many it is pointless to particularize. […] The cast also includes Rita Hayworth in a middle-aged role. Believe it or not, her performance is good, and the only good thing in Circus World . " See Films in Review cited. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 231.
- ↑ "To sit through the film is something like holding an elephant on your lap for two hours and fifteen minutes." See Time quoting. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 231.
- ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de