It's unfortunate that this circus musical comedy tends to live in the shadow of Cecil DeMille's non-musical "The Greatest Show on Earth", made nearly a decade earlier. I find the present film more enjoyable, with its intertwining of music, comedy, drama and romance. It certainly didn't lack star power. Doris Day may have been nearing 40, but could have passed for 25 and was perfect for the lead role. Of course, Jimmy Durante and Martha Raye were veteran entertainers of the vaudeville style. Perhaps, as some reviewers have suggested, their comedic talents were underutilized. Jumbo is self-explanatory. The casting of Stephen Boyd as the male lead is more questionable. He was a good looking hunk, but no singer and had no special charisma to match that of Doris. Perhaps we would have to look to Elvis or Robert Goulet for an ideal male singer on a par with Doris at this time. On the other hand, Boyd did come across as a believable lead circus performer. His singing and acting were sometimes understated, but I didn't find this annoying in most scenes. James Joyce, as Boyd's dubber, did a fine job with the introductory tune in the first scene, a perfect number for Robert Goulet. The preceding overture should have been deleted, as it was not memorable and was overlong.
In the romance department, we have an implied double wedding in the finale, one the culmination of a stale 14 year engagement between Durante and Martha, the other a whirlwind affair between Doris and Boyd. Prior to this, Boyd found himself in the increasingly uncomfortable position of being a spy for his father, who plans to take over this circus, yet is falling in love with Doris, who is the owner's daughter. Meanwhile, Doris is trying to hold off multiple creditors, due to the irresponsible gambling of Durante. Boyd helps her satisfy the creditors for a while by giving her loaded dice to win big in a crap shoot.
The score consists of a variety of moderately memorable Rogers and Hart songs from the original 1935 play or other sources. This was the final film choreographed by the famous Busby Berkeley, after having been virtually inactive since the early '50s. Doris's first number is the fun "Over and Over Again". After she begins to strike up a romance with Boyd, she sings the upbeat "This Can't be Love" and "My Romance". After the announcement that their circus had been taken over by Boyd's father, she sings the somber haunting "Little Girl Blue". Both Boyd and later Durante sing "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" to their respective sweethearts. Of the several choreographed circus routines, the multiple flying butterflies was perhaps the most striking spectacle. Unfortunately, it was cut short by the failure of the tent roof in a violent rain storm.
After Boyd joins the other stars with their traveling medicine show, things turn fanciful, as we see them again inside a big circus tent, eventually dawning clown suits. The guy's boxing match is dull, but the girl's routine is more comical. The fanciful finale follows.
In the romance department, we have an implied double wedding in the finale, one the culmination of a stale 14 year engagement between Durante and Martha, the other a whirlwind affair between Doris and Boyd. Prior to this, Boyd found himself in the increasingly uncomfortable position of being a spy for his father, who plans to take over this circus, yet is falling in love with Doris, who is the owner's daughter. Meanwhile, Doris is trying to hold off multiple creditors, due to the irresponsible gambling of Durante. Boyd helps her satisfy the creditors for a while by giving her loaded dice to win big in a crap shoot.
The score consists of a variety of moderately memorable Rogers and Hart songs from the original 1935 play or other sources. This was the final film choreographed by the famous Busby Berkeley, after having been virtually inactive since the early '50s. Doris's first number is the fun "Over and Over Again". After she begins to strike up a romance with Boyd, she sings the upbeat "This Can't be Love" and "My Romance". After the announcement that their circus had been taken over by Boyd's father, she sings the somber haunting "Little Girl Blue". Both Boyd and later Durante sing "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" to their respective sweethearts. Of the several choreographed circus routines, the multiple flying butterflies was perhaps the most striking spectacle. Unfortunately, it was cut short by the failure of the tent roof in a violent rain storm.
After Boyd joins the other stars with their traveling medicine show, things turn fanciful, as we see them again inside a big circus tent, eventually dawning clown suits. The guy's boxing match is dull, but the girl's routine is more comical. The fanciful finale follows.