The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 American drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in Technicolor and released by Paramount Pictures. Set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the film stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde as trapeze artists competing for the center ring and Charlton Heston as the circus manager. James Stewart also stars as a mysterious clown who never removes his makeup, and Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame also play supporting roles.
Plot
Brad Braden is the no-nonsense general manager of the world's largest railroad circus. The show's board of directors plans to run a short 10-week season rather than risk losing money in a shaky postwar economy. Brad bargains to keep the circus on the road as long as it makes a profit, thus keeping the 1,400 performers and roustabouts employed.
Awards
Cast
- Angelo Rossitto
- Betty Hutton
- Bing Crosby
- Bob Hope
- Cecil B. DeMille
- Charlton Heston
- Cornel Wilde
- Dorothy Adams
- Dorothy Lamour
- Edmond O'Brien
- Frank Wilcox
- Gloria Grahame
- Henry Wilcoxon
- James S. Armstrong
- James Stewart
- John Crawford
- John Kellogg
- John Ridgely
- Julia Faye
- Kathleen Freeman
- Lane Chandler
- Lawrence Tierney
- Lee Aaker
- Lillian Albertson
- Lyle Bettger
- Mona Freeman
- Robert Carson
- Van Johnson
- William Boyd