This film was a bit of a disaster at the box office...and rightfully so. It demonstrated that even a top star like Doris Day has to make wise career choices...and this was Day's last musical.
There are some good things here. There's never a reason not to revel in the antics of the beloved Jimmy Durante, here playing the owner of the circus. And not far behind is his girlfriend -- Martha Raye, playing a circus performer. Durante and Raye are simply classic here. And, you will see some awfully good circus performers here.
But beyond those things, this film is fluff...the kind of clean-minded fluff that is so typical of Doris Day. But this is so sweet that it's almost sickening...because circuses just weren't this clean heartwarming. And, if you think about it carefully, these circus people are cheats who who bilk local vendors out of deserved pay for their products. But that is quickly brushed aside here.
Doris Day is just too pristine here. If you like that, she's good, but it's so unrealistic. She does have a couple of great songs -- "This Can't Be Love" and "My Romance".
Stephen Boyd does well here as the son of a rival circus who is secretly plotting to buy the circus from under Durante and Day...but feels darned guilty about it. His main song is "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", though he is simply lip-sinking. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much chemistry between Boyd and Day; not sure that it's the fault of either one...it just didn't quite work.
I can't say that I'm happy to see one of my very favorite character actors -- Dean Jagger -- as the bad guy here (the rival circus owner and Boyd's father). Although at least they give him the excuse of wanting to give the public the most wonderful circus experience that they will never be able to forget.
If there is one thing I'll give top notch credit to here, it's the doubles that are used for the various stars, including Doris Day and Jimmy Durant on the high wire and trapeze , etc. Well done and quite convincing.
This film has its moments, but the moments are too far apart to make an interesting whole. And the ending is atrocious and pretty much ruins whatever was good about the movie..
There are some good things here. There's never a reason not to revel in the antics of the beloved Jimmy Durante, here playing the owner of the circus. And not far behind is his girlfriend -- Martha Raye, playing a circus performer. Durante and Raye are simply classic here. And, you will see some awfully good circus performers here.
But beyond those things, this film is fluff...the kind of clean-minded fluff that is so typical of Doris Day. But this is so sweet that it's almost sickening...because circuses just weren't this clean heartwarming. And, if you think about it carefully, these circus people are cheats who who bilk local vendors out of deserved pay for their products. But that is quickly brushed aside here.
Doris Day is just too pristine here. If you like that, she's good, but it's so unrealistic. She does have a couple of great songs -- "This Can't Be Love" and "My Romance".
Stephen Boyd does well here as the son of a rival circus who is secretly plotting to buy the circus from under Durante and Day...but feels darned guilty about it. His main song is "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", though he is simply lip-sinking. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much chemistry between Boyd and Day; not sure that it's the fault of either one...it just didn't quite work.
I can't say that I'm happy to see one of my very favorite character actors -- Dean Jagger -- as the bad guy here (the rival circus owner and Boyd's father). Although at least they give him the excuse of wanting to give the public the most wonderful circus experience that they will never be able to forget.
If there is one thing I'll give top notch credit to here, it's the doubles that are used for the various stars, including Doris Day and Jimmy Durant on the high wire and trapeze , etc. Well done and quite convincing.
This film has its moments, but the moments are too far apart to make an interesting whole. And the ending is atrocious and pretty much ruins whatever was good about the movie..