My commitment to see
all the Oscar-winning Best Pictures by the end of this year continues! This
time around it is 1953’s winning film, The Greatest Show on Earth, directed
by Cecil B. DeMille. It’s a big spectacle film filled with a large roster of
celebrities of the day. It also gets my ranking as being the worst movie to ever be awarded a Best Picture Oscar.
The movie follows a traveling circus that appears to employ more people than a small city, but centers on about 10 of them. Approximately 120 minutes of this 152-minute film is spent showing off various circus acts, animals, and costumes and these moments are accompanied by some overly sensational documentary-style voice-overs by Mr. DeMille.
The remaining time attempts to weave several paper-thin and unimaginative plot threads into a story. Charlton Heston’s overacting would certainly be of appeal to any William Shatner Star Trek fan. Betty Hutton is way too overly exuberant and boy-crazy for a woman of her age. Dorothy Lamour has one characteristic, she’s dumb. Cornel Wilde is an insufferable and suave womanizer because he’s French apparently. Jimmy Stewart does what he can with a small role intended to bring mystery to the film. The only actor of any depth who lends a tiny bit of credibility to this motion picture is Gloria Grahame as Angel. Oh, and just for your added enjoyment, there’s some singing too.
About 20 minutes before the movie ends, the film presents its first somewhat unexpected and interesting plot twist. There is a train wreck. It almost seemed too fitting, given that this is a perfect metaphor for the movie itself. The Greatest Show on Earth is a huge train wreck.
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