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Among Oscar buffs, Cecil B. DeMille's star-spangled 1952 epic is notorious as perhaps the most surprising winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, as it triumphed over fellow nominees High Noon and The Quiet Man. (The classic Singin' in the Rain famously went un-nominated.) This is grand, old-school Hollywood entertainment, though, with something for everyone "ages 6 to 60," to quote DeMille's Barnumesque narration. Charlton Heston heads the glittering cast as a circus master with "sawdust in his veins" who is struggling to stay in the black and finish out a full season despite economic pressures to skip the small towns. When Heston is reminded that times have changed, he thunders back: "Kids haven't!" Cornel Wilde costars as Sebastian, the conceited trapeze superstar whose rivalry with Betty Hutton in the air doesn’t get in the way of his attempts to seduce her on the ground. Heston has eyes for Hutton, too, and the ravishing Gloria Grahame adds more romantic intrigue. Kids will thrill to the three-ring spectacle of the circus acts, the animal antics, and action set pieces, including the spectacular circus train wreck. At 2 ½ hours, it may at times seem like the longest show on earth, but if it's true that kids haven't changed, they will be entranced by this "spun-candy world of reckless beauty, twirling thrills, and mounting laughter." Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth is a lavish tribute to circuses, featuring three intertwining plotlines concerning romance and rivalry beneath the big top. DeMille's film includes spectacular action sequences, including a show-stopping train wreck. The Greatest Show on Earth won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Story. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

• UPC: 097360661743
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Sound: Dolby Digital Mono
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 2:32:00
• Sales Rank: 8,104

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